The week before your home goes to market is one of the most important — and most hectic — of the entire sale process. Photography is booked, your agent is ready, and the clock is ticking. Here's a room-by-room checklist of everything that needs to be cleaned before the camera arrives and the first buyers walk through.
Why photography day is the deadline that matters
Your listing photos are the first thing every potential buyer sees. In Brisbane's competitive property market, buyers shortlist properties online before they ever step foot inside one. If your photos look dark, cluttered or unclean, many buyers won't even book an inspection.
Getting the cleaning right before photography doesn't just make your home look better — it means your listing photos work harder for you from day one, which translates directly to more enquiries, more inspections, and better offers.
Timing tip: Schedule your pre-sale clean the day before photography, not a week before. A home that was cleaned two weeks ago won't look the same through a lens.
The room-by-room pre-sale cleaning checklist
🍳 Kitchen
- Oven interior cleaned — walls, base, element, racks and trays
- Oven door glass inside and out — smears show up badly in photos
- Rangehood exterior wiped and filter degreased
- Stovetop and burners or induction surface polished
- Splashback degreased and wiped streak-free
- All cupboard fronts wiped
- Sink polished — stainless steel should gleam
- Taps polished, limescale removed
- Benchtops completely cleared and wiped
- Dishwasher exterior wiped
🚿 Bathrooms
- Shower screen cleaned streak-free — smears are very visible in photos
- Shower tiles scrubbed
- Grout cleaned — mould is immediately off-putting to buyers
- Bath polished inside and out if applicable
- Toilet cleaned — bowl, seat, base and cistern
- Vanity wiped inside and out
- Mirrors polished completely streak-free
- Taps and fixtures polished
- Towels replaced with fresh, matching ones for photography
- All personal items removed from benchtops and shower
🏠 Living Areas & Bedrooms
- All surfaces dusted — shelves, furniture, art, TV units
- Skirting boards wiped
- Ceiling fans dusted
- Light fittings dusted and globes cleaned
- Blind slats cleaned — dust shows up in photography
- Windows cleaned inside
- Window tracks cleared
- Wall marks spot-cleaned throughout
- Light switches and power points wiped
- All personal items and clutter removed
- Beds made with fresh linen
- Wardrobe doors closed
🪟 Floors
- All hard floors vacuumed and mopped
- Carpet vacuumed thoroughly — professionally cleaned if marked
- Rugs vacuumed or removed if worn
- Floor edges and transitions vacuumed
🌿 Outdoor & Entry
- Front entry swept and wiped down — first impression starts here
- Letterbox cleared
- Cobwebs removed from eaves and corners
- Driveway swept
- Balcony or deck swept and furniture wiped
- Garden beds tidied
- Bins hidden or moved
What to do on photography day
Once the cleaning is done, a few final touches make a big difference to how the property photographs:
- Open all blinds and curtains to maximise natural light
- Turn on all lights — including lamps — even during the day
- Remove all personal photos and anything that feels too "lived in"
- Clear kitchen benchtops completely except for one or two styled items
- Put the toilet seat down in every bathroom
- Move cars off the driveway and street in front of the house
- Put pets and their beds and bowls somewhere out of shot
Should you do the clean yourself or hire professionals?
You can absolutely do the pre-sale clean yourself — but it takes more time and the right products than most people expect. The kitchen alone, done properly, is a couple of hours' work. The whole house, done to photography standard, is typically a full day for a professional team.
If you're already juggling the logistics of moving, a pre-sale clean is one of the smartest things to outsource. At Bardon Clean, we work around photography bookings and listing timelines across Brisbane's inner west — and the result is a home that looks genuinely clean in photos, not just tidy.
Let us handle the pre-sale clean
Photography-ready results. We work around your listing timeline and photography booking.
See Our Pre-Sale Service →