SPRINGCLEANING

TO SELLYOUR HOME

The Andy Esbenshade Team

You’ve probably become numb to the

appearance of your floors, but for people

considering buying your home, the floors

couldn’t be more important. For hardwood

floors, cleaning is a multi-step process, and

each time you go over the floor, you get

through another level of dirt.

F L O O R S &C A R P E T S

WALLS, CROWN MOLDING, AND BASEBOARDSEspecially if you have small children, your walls

may have been shown a lot of love while

you’ve lived in the house. First, of course, patch

up any holes or nicks in the walls. Then, gently

wash your walls with soap, water, and a cloth to

remove any stains and dust. For crown molding

and baseboards, you can use paint sponges to

get into the nooks, crannies, and corners that

host lots of dust. If the damage is really serious,

consider having a professional repaint the

rooms in the worst shape.

You may have been able to ignore some leaks and

faulty faucets, but prospective home buyers may

not. When you’re cleaning, make sure that you

repair all the leaks, shine all the steel, and de-gunk

all the drains. One sneaky little place that might be

the source of some mold and odor is the undersides

of the plastic flaps in your kitchen sink. Take a

toothbrush to scrub away all the refuse that’s caked

up on the insides and undersides of your garbage

disposal.

S I N K S A N D F A U C E T S

HANDLES, HINGES, AND LOCKSLittle is more important to families looking to

buy a home than the security of where they’re

living. Go through your house room by room

and ensure that all the hinges are well-

lubricated, all the handles are generally clean

and functional, and the locks are all in perfect

working order.

CURB APPEAL If your mailbox is weather-worn and your siding

is caked in dirt from storms long past, you

could lose the interest of drivers who would

have otherwise stopped to take a look at your

house. Once the weather gets warmer, make

sure you take care to plant flowers, power-

wash your exterior, repair any broken fence

posts, and seal up cracks in your driveway.

Before you start, make a plan All the cleaning and necessary work can be

overwhelming to the point of near paralysis. Once you

decide what needs to be done and how long each task

will take, take an hour or two to plan out when you’ll

handle the work.

HAPPYSPRING

CLEANING!The Andy Esbenshade Team