FLOORING
First and foremost you want to make sure your floor is as clean as possible. Below is a handy chart for steps you can take before the last and most expensive option of replacing the floor completely. Let’s go a little more in depth about carpeting, which tends to fare worse than other types of flooring: Shampooing is a great option if your carpet’s in fairly decent shape. Carpet shampooers are cheap to rent and easy to use. The hardest part is that you need to take all the furniture out of the rooms. It’s also important to make sure all the soap’s out and that nobody walks on the carpet until it’s completely dry. Steam cleaning is the best option for stained carpets. If there’s only light staining, you might be fine using a steam cleaner, which, like the shampooer, can be rented. You can also hire a professional, which is a good call if the damage is more extensive. Keep in mind that if your carpet’s got some major stains, you should definitely get an estimate first. There’s a chance that cleaning it will cost more than replacing it. That’s not to say that you should replace a stained carpet. In some cases, it’s better to clean it and use rugs to minimize the appearance of the stains. As always, it’s best to be upfront about the stains regardless of their size, though! If not, buyers may still realize the carpet needs to be replaced and might wonder what else you’re trying to hide from them. Two reasons not to replace carpet, even when it’s got permanent stains, are the issue of cost and the issue of taste. Buyers might not like the new carpet you pick, or they might want a different kind of flooring altogether, so why spend all that money on a replacement that doesn’t improve your sale price anyway because your buyer thinks it’s ugly? You can always negotiate the price down a little or
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