Selling your home? Carpet and couch prep for listing photos and showings
Buyers in Vancouver look at a listing on their phone long before they walk through the door. Grey traffic lanes in a living room, a dark path up the stairs or a couch with a shadow on the armrest all show up in photos, and they show up again at the open house. Clean carpet doesn’t add a line to the listing, but tired carpet makes a home look less cared for. Here’s how to plan carpet and couch cleaning around a sale, whether you’re selling a West End condo, a Kitsilano character house or a family home in Dunbar.
When to book it
Work backwards from the photographer:
- Declutter, paint and do repairs first. Painters drip, and moving furniture drags dirt across the floor. Clean after the messy work, not before.
- Book the clean one or two days before photos. Most carpet is dry in 3 to 6 hours, so a morning clean is ready for staging that evening or the next day.
- Stage after the carpet is dry. If a stager is bringing furniture, ask them to arrive once the carpet is dry to the touch.
If the home will be empty by the time it lists, the clean is quicker, because there’s nothing to work around. If you’re still living in it, put away small things like plants, toys and breakables. We can work around big furniture or move lighter pieces for you.
What to clean first if you’re choosing
You don’t have to do every room. For photos and showings, these matter most:
- The living room and main hallway. They’re in the first listing photos and they carry the most foot traffic.
- The stairs. Every buyer walks them, and stair edges show wear first.
- The primary bedroom. It’s usually the second room people judge.
- The couch and armchairs if they’re staying for staging. A clean light sofa photographs far better than a covered one.
- Pet areas. Buyers notice odour the moment they open the door. If you have pets, tell us where they sleep and where accidents have happened, so we pre-treat those spots.
What it costs
Carpet is priced per area: $90 an area before the current promo, plus GST. One area is a room up to 150 sq ft, a hallway or a set of stairs. The minimum is $210, which covers up to 3 areas. Couches are $90 a seat, armchairs $90, and area rugs about 10×8 or bigger are $90 (smaller rugs are $65).
Some examples from the price list, before the promo and GST:
| Home | What’s cleaned | List price |
|---|---|---|
| Yaletown or West End one-bedroom | Bedroom, living room, hallway | $210 (minimum) |
| Mount Pleasant two-bedroom condo with a 3-seat sofa | 2 bedrooms, living room, hallway, sofa | $630 |
| Kerrisdale or Dunbar house, carpeted upstairs | 3 bedrooms, hallway, stairs | $450 |
| Same house, plus the main-floor living room and a 10×8 rug | 7 areas total | $630 |
You see the exact total online before you choose a time.
What a pre-sale clean includes
- A walkthrough first, to agree on what’s being cleaned and flag any stains or worn spots.
- Pre-treatment of traffic lanes, pet areas and spots.
- Truck-mounted hot water extraction on every carpeted area. In houses, the van stays outside and only the hose comes in. For towers where the van can’t get close, we bring a portable unit.
- Plant-based, pet-safe solutions on request.
- For couches and rugs, we ask for a photo of the tag first, so we use the right method for the fabric.
- A final walkthrough before we leave, and a dated invoice listing everything that was cleaned. Some sellers like to have it on hand if a buyer or agent asks what was done.
When cleaning won’t be enough
Cleaning lifts dirt, stains and odour. It doesn’t fix carpet that’s worn through, burned, matted flat or faded by years of sun through a south-facing window. If the carpet in a room is past saving, we’ll tell you at the walkthrough. Then you can decide whether to replace it, or whether the rest of the house is worth doing on its own.
If you’re buying, or renting the place out
The same timing works after a sale. Buyers often book a clean between possession and moving day, while the rooms are still empty. If you’re a landlord getting a unit ready for new tenants instead of selling, we can bill you or your property manager directly. Either way, book move-out carpet cleaning in Vancouver online and pick a time that fits the keys.
Common questions
How far ahead should I book? A week or two ahead is safest, especially near the end of the month, when move dates fill the calendar first.
Do I need to be home? Not for an empty home. Many move-out and pre-sale cleans are done with a lockbox or a key left with the building manager, and we text you when we start and finish.
Can you clean tile at the same visit? Yes. Kitchen, bathroom and entry tile can go in the same visit. Tile floors are priced by the technician on arrival.
Ready to book? See move-out carpet cleaning in Vancouver, or call (604) 802-8500.