Home Staging Tips: Cleaning Your Home to Sell with BKF

April 28, 2021

I never thought about home staging tips when I rented. Don’t get me wrong, moving in or out is always a big deal. And whether you rent or own, cleaning should always be part of your move-out plan. But, when you’re selling a home, clean, bright, and pristine are critical. Even in today’s sellers’ market, a clean and well-staged home is easier to market, and that could mean more dollars in your pocketbook when it sells.   

Although every room in a home is important, two spaces must be spotless. If the kitchen or the bathroom isn’t clean and sparkling, it makes for a bad impression. 

Yes, all the rooms must be clean and uncluttered. The living room, dining room, and bedrooms may be a priority for some buyers. A hobbyist may want a specific area in the home or garage. A buyer might be looking forward to creating a recreation area in the basement. So, the best home staging tip we can share is to clean it all but start with the kitchen and bathrooms. 

Home Staging Tips

Cleaning the kitchen

Appliances

A dirty stove, fridge, microwave, or dishwasher is a turn-off to potential buyers. Clean and bright appliances put a smile on faces. If you have stainless steel appliances, we recommend our Stainless Steel Cleanser & Polish. But don’t just take our word for it. “Cleaners that contain oxalic acid, like Bar Keepers Friend, will remove rust, tarnish, and small blemishes.” GE Appliances — How to clean stainless steel. 

Do you have a greasy and tarnished stovetop? BKF powdered cleanser is excellent in the kitchen, but we recommend  Cookware Cleanser & Polish for extra grease-cutting power. Our Cookware Polish has a high percentage of surfactants, which break down and remove grease.

Pro tip: Be sure to clean the inside of all your appliances. Interested people will look—for example, the inside of your oven door. 

“Sometimes, it seems like that layer of grease that builds up on the glass of your oven door is impossible to clean without harsh cleaning products. But Bar Keepers Friend can take care of it easily! Just smear a layer onto the glass, then rub or scrub it away. The grease will disappear, and you’ll be amazed! All the grime scrubbed right off in just a couple of minutes!” — 14 Things You Can Clean with Bar Keepers Friend That Will Amaze You

Countertops

Kitchen countertops are a bacteria and food stain battleground. I learned that last Thanksgiving when I let a spot of my homemade cranberry sauce sit on the kitchen counter all afternoon. It turned a pleasant shade of pink. 

I used Bar Keepers Friend Granite & Stoner Cleaner & Polish. All I did was spray it on, let it sit one minute, and wiped it off with a paper towel. Here are a few more home staging tips. 

Bathroom 

Toilet 

Did you know BKF has a Toilet Bowl Cleaner? I didn’t until last year. Now, it’s part of my bathroom cleaning stash, along with a toilet brush, paper towels, sponge, BKF Powder Cleanser, and BKF MORE Spray + Foam. BKF Toilet Bowl Cleaner works on the toughest stains. Here’s what a BKF fan had to share.   

“After spending hundreds of dollars on cleansers that claimed they’d get rid of hard water stains in the toilet, and trying Coca-Cola, baking soda, and cleaning vinegar, none of which worked! I bought a can of Bar Keepers Friend – it worked! I had to use it twice, but it finally got rid of the hard water rings! I’m a fan for life! Thank you!” — Loreen M. 

Shower & Tub 

“Don’t hide your shower or tub from guests because you’re embarrassed about rust stains, mildewy grout, or marred surfaces. Bar Keepers Friend cleans porcelain, tile, fiberglass, and more.” — How to Clean Bathtub Grime with Bar Keepers Friend 

“Soap scum and hard water deposits make shower doors look cloudy. You can use harsh chemicals to remove that film, but you might also damage your shower door in the process. Bar Keepers Friend Cleanser is a smarter alternative – it’s non-toxic and safe for most surfaces. Ready to learn how to clean glass shower doors? We’ve got some tips for you.” — How to Clean Shower Doors 

“It doesn’t matter how clean your shower or tub is – if you’ve got rust stains, it’ll always look dirty. Water with high iron content is usually to blame for those unsightly orange-brown streaks, but corrosion around fixtures can cause rust stains, too. So, what can you do to remove rust stains from the shower?” — How to Remove Rust Stains from the Shower 

Windows 

Cleaning window glass with BKF is not only easy, but it also works on the toughest watermarks. Make a paste of Bar Keepers Friend Powdered Cleanser and water. Rub it on the glass and then let it sit for five minutes. Wipe it with a soft wet cloth or paper towel and then shine it clean with a dry rag. Here’s more, How to Clean Windows. 

Floors & More

You can use BKF Products on granite, stone, tile, and grout. It also works wonders on vinyl flooring. Caution: Although our fans have used BKF on carpet and wood flooring, we do not recommend it. If you’d like to learn more about BKF for the floor, read this, Cleaning with BKF from the Grout Up!  

More Home Staging Tips

Declutter

I mentioned clutter earlier but didn’t elaborate. A cluttered home not only looks messy and unorganized, but clutter makes spaces seem smaller than what they are – not a good thing when selling a home. Before you put your home on the market, purge it. Throw away junk from the garage, donate clothes you haven’t worn since 2012, clear out the attic and if you have no room for aunt Alice’s antique china that’s been sitting in a box in the attic since you moved in, give it to another family member or sell it on eBay.    

What’s that smell? 

If your son’s room smells like a frat house locker room or the place where old seals go to die, it will create bad juju. You may be used to the smell, but your prospects aren’t. Do your best to eliminate the odor and not just cover it up. You can take it one step further and add inviting aromas. For example, if you have an open house, bake cookies. Who doesn’t love the smell of fresh-baked cookies? I’ll take chocolate chip, please.  

With a bit of planning, some elbow grease, and a full lineup of BKF products, you can make your home a home staging superstar. Good luck!

About the Author

Randy Clark is a speaker, coach, and author. He publishes a weekly blog at Randy Clark Leadership.com. Randy is passionate about social media, leadership development, and flower gardening. He’s a beer geek and on weekends (after COVID-19) he can be found fronting the Rock & Roll band Under the Radar. He’s the proud father of two educators; he has four amazing grandchildren and a wife who dedicates her time to helping others. Randy is the author of the Amazon bestseller The New Manager’s Workbook: A crash course in effective management.