How to Clean Foreclosed Properties
- 1
Order a Dumpster to hold trash.garbage image by Mat Hayward from Fotolia.com
Check with local state offices to see if you need a business license to clean foreclosed homes for extra money. If you are cleaning a foreclosure you have purchased, call a local trash pick-up service and have them deliver you a Dumpster. This typically costs $70 to $100 dollars, and it can hold quite a lot of garbage. - 2). Go through the entire home armed with two garbage bags. One bag for items to donate, and one for garbage. You can color-code these if it makes it easier for you. Use white for donated items and black for garbage, for instance. Bag up everything that will fit. Put the garbage in the Dumpster. Load the donation bags into a vehicle.
- 3). Remove all furniture from the home and put it in the yard. If you wish to donate these items, call local charity organizations and ask if they can pick the furniture up. If you do not want to donate it, pile it up and ask the trash pick-up service to get it.
- 4). Sweep all hard flooring with a broom to collect debris, dust and small trash. Sweep it into a dust pan and put it into garbage bags. Vacuum all carpeted flooring. Mop all hard floors using a multi-surface cleaner or bleach and allow them to dry. Sweep off all porches to prevent dirt from being tracked back inside. Steam clean all carpeted areas to remove germs, dust and dirt from the carpets. Open the windows of the home and allow the carpets to dry for 12 to 24 hours.
- 5). Spray all surfaces in the kitchen with a multi-surface cleaner or bleach mixed with water. Bleach solution should be one part bleach to five parts water to effectively kill germs. Wipe up the cleaner with paper towels and throw them away. Spray the refrigerator with bleach solution and let it stand for 10 minutes. Wipe away the bleach solution with paper towels and throw them away. Clean the inside of cabinets using a clean cloth and plain water or wood cleaner.
- 6). Spray all bathroom surfaces with a foaming bathroom cleaner. Allow the cleaner to stand for five to 10 minutes and then wipe it away with paper towels. Clean toilets using a toilet bowl solvent and brush.
- 7). Do a final walk through the home and inspect your work. Remove any stray cobwebs with a broom, dust ceiling fans or air conditioning units and clean windows.
- 8). Have the trash pick-up service remove the garbage and Dumpster. Clean up any stray garbage in the yard and do some basic landscaping, such as mowing and weed-eating. Check the home's pipes, gutters and electrical system. This is to ensure that everything is in working order and safe to use. If you find a problem, hire the appropriate expert to fix the problem. For example, ask a plumber to repair a leaking pipe or an electrician to fix a faulty light switch.
Source...