Pets: Why You Should Make Your Home Look Pet-Free Before a Showing

Image by Andreas Thurmayr from Pixabay

When you set up an open house, it’s important to do all you can to let the prospective buyers envision themselves in that space. They need to be able to see it as their own and imagine all the possibilities it holds. But if signs of your pets are around every corner, it could detract from their vision. Fortunately, you can easily remove your pets from the equation by taking the following steps.

Relocate Your Pets for the Day

You’ll want to get your pets out of the house to a doggie daycare, pet sitter or trusted friend during each showing. Without pets in their midst, prospective homebuyers can explore the property at their leisure while envisioning how they will use the space.

Beyond that, your pets will appreciate the time away since it can feel distressing to have so many people coming through their house all day. Just be sure to arrange for early drop off, so you have time to tidy up the house before your guests arrive.

Put Away Their Toys and Gear

For each home showing to be a true success, you need to create somewhat of a blank canvas by putting away all your personal items. That goes double for your pets.

As you go through your house, put away all their:

• Crates
• Cat trees
• Bedding
• Toys
• Dishes

Since these items likely sink to the background in your daily life, you’ll likely need to go through the house a couple times to get it all.

Make the Space Odor Free

Even the cleanest pets leave behind their odor in the places they spend the most time. Only by getting rid of their lingering aura can you truly keep their presence off the minds of the visiting homebuyers.

You can do so by sprinkling deodorizer powder on the carpets and cleaning the rest of the flooring. Then, treat the air with an essential oil diffuser or by setting out small containers of potpourri.

Right before everyone arrives, pop a couple batches of cookies in the oven to fill the air with the scent of fresh baked goods, and you’re golden. As an added benefit, you can set out the cookies on the refreshment table for all to enjoy.

Bring in the Professional Cleaners

If you have time, it’s always a good idea to bring in the professional cleaners. They can see your home from an all-new perspective and hit on the areas where your pets spend the most time. As they do a quick wipe down of all the surfaces in the home, all pet fur will disappear like magic.

While they work, focus your attention outdoors where your pets go potty and zoom around the yard. Make sure that all messes are picked up, leaving behind fresh green grass for your visitors to admire.

As you move through these steps, all signs of your pet will disappear, so you can hold your open house with confidence everything looks and smells its best. You’ll want to repeat this process before each showing, but it shouldn’t take much time after your first run through.