This is the third blog post in my series Use Coronavirus to Maximize Your Homes Showing Potential, and I’ve realized throughout the process how much I enjoy home improvement.  I know most of us cringe when something needs to be fixed or cleaned in our home, but the satisfaction you can get when it is completed and the enjoyment of the updated item is so worth it.  This post is going to cover the most feared room in the house, the bathroom. You know you’ve felt that fear when you’ve bought a home and you do that final walk-through and see what kind of shape the previous owner left it in for you. You know you crossed your fingers when you headed towards the bathroom, wondering if you would have to perform an exorcism before you would ever be willing to enter it.  Bathrooms already require special attention, but when you’re trying to sell your home you’re going to want to up your game. Bathrooms are not that different from kitchens in the sense that they make a big impression on home buyers. Buyers are more often willing to live with less than perfect bathrooms than kitchens, but they still factor heavily into the decision process. Do not think that just because your home is three bedrooms and two bathrooms it is automatically worth the same as your neighbors that also has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. An updated bathroom can increase your home’s value by several thousand dollars, and as I mentioned in the original post, be prepared to pay for these things either ahead of time or in your selling price. First off, please understand that if you are going to update a bathroom in your house, the master bath will add the most value. This is assuming that there is a secondary bath or baths and that they are functional.  If the master bath is the only bathroom in the home, adding another bathroom if at all possible, would be a very valuable update.  Going from one bathroom to two, is a huge value in a home with 3 or more bedrooms. Do not forget to take the neighborhood your home is in into consideration before making a decision like this, you do not want to over-invest in your home.   For example, if all of the homes in your neighborhood only have one bathroom, then adding another may set you apart, but could also cause you to price yourself out of the neighborhood.  A real estate agent’s opinion can be very beneficial in this situation. As everyone has different priorities and preferences, the most important thing in a bathroom is that everything works correctly and it is clean. When we are discussing bathrooms and kitchens, when I say clean, I am not just referring to being dust and dirt free.  I am talking about figuring out how to remove mildew, calcium deposits, rust, and all of those items that you can’t just wipe away with a sponge.  Buyers do not want to move into a home and then have to immediately begin another difficult job!  Trust me all new homeowners will be giving the bathroom a good scrub whether you have or not, but they don’t want to have to wear a hazmat suit and rent equipment unless that was worked into the price. Bathroom priorities are space, layout, shower, vanity, flooring, and fixtures.  I didn’t mention the toilet because unless it’s in bad shape, most people don’t put a lot of thought into it unless they are remodeling.  I’m not discussing remodels in these posts, as they started in response to people being home during the COVID quarantines and finding ways to help that were not only inexpensive but also able to be done by a large number of people with no special talents needed.  Remodels are great and if you have the money to do it bathrooms, especially master bathrooms, have been trending in that area. When I am showing a home and I enter the bathrooms, my eyes go to one of two places first depending on the layout, the vanity, or the shower.  Although those draw the eye first, inevitably the amount of space and the layout are the most important.  However, for the purpose of remaining on topic and addressing inexpensive and simple ways to help your bathrooms show their best, I won’t discuss the space and layout.  There are plenty of ways to give new life to the existing shower, vanity, fixtures, and flooring, and lots of inexpensive options for replacing some of these. The shower is probably the most expensive item in a bathroom to change, whether you replace it completely or add tile. So, do not forget that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, which basically just means take care of things and they won’t cost you as much to fix.  I think cleaning shower tiles and grout might just be everyone’s most hated chore, and I can tell you from personal experience a little prevention after each shower will save you from needing knee and back surgery in the future! If your shower has a glass door and/or tile, drying it as quickly as possible after each use will be the best thing you have ever done.  I not only wipe down my tile and glass shower with a towel or squeegee after every use, but I also run the fan for 20 minutes.  Before doing this you are going to want to make sure all soap, shampoo, and any other products are completely rinsed away.  Refer to my last blog, Don’t Let Your Dated Kitchen Kill Your Homes Sale, for the best way to clean different tiles and grout.  The tile is pretty simple, but even my favorite grout cleaner didn’t rid my shower of some stains in the grout.  Some of these you may be able to gently scrape away with a razor blade or sandpaper, but be careful not to remove too much grout.  If this doesn’t solve the problem don’t worry,  Bob Vila assures us that removing old grout and replacing it is within most of our DIY abilities.  I think it is well worth a little hard work to replace not only the grout but to also cut out the old caulk and replace that as well.  You will be amazed at how much your shower will shine with this simple change.   If the glass has built-up residue or water stains, there are lots of homemade cleaners not to mention countless over-the-counter cleaners that will help with this.  I have tried the 50/50 water and vinegar solution,  the baking soda and vinegar combination, and the 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 4 parts water mixture and all worked.  Remember to rinse well and dry thoroughly.  To help prevent the build-up on the glass to begin with several websites suggest using repellants such as Rain X or Clean X.  The shower floor may be the same material as your tub, acrylic or fiberglass and you should clean these the same way as the tub.  The most common bathtub materials are acrylic, fiberglass, porcelain-enameled steel, and enameled cast iron.  There are different products for cleaning each of these.  Acrylic and fiberglass can be easily scratched so when working on stains use the least abrasive option, this is the water/vinegar solution or straight vinegar.  A paste of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda works on a lot of stains on the porcelain-enameled steel and enameled cast iron.  If the stains won’t budge or if your tub is scratched or chipped, there are repair and refinishing kits for all of these materials.  Be careful, it does take some skill to use these and you don’t want the tub to look worse than it did when you began.  The showerhead and bath faucet can just get a good cleaning as long as they are in good condition, and make sure to polish until they shine.  If they have leaks, they will need to be fixed or replaced unless you sell your home AS-IS.  If you need to replace these fixtures, you can save some money by looking at places like Habitat for Humanity’s Restore, the Salvation Army, or online resellers. There are so many options nowadays that it is easier than ever to improve a bathroom vanity. Again, you will want to refer to my last blog for ways to remove stains on most countertops.  The most common bathroom stains tend to be nail polish, makeup, and hair dye.  It is always best if you take care of the stain right away, however, if you are like me and you have a teenage girl whose superpower is spreading makeup, nail polish, and any other hard to remove item through your home at the speed of light, you don’t even know that it happened until it’s way too late!  My last two blogs offer a variety of ways to remove these stains.  After getting the counter as stain-free as possible, you will want to remove and replace all caulk on the sink and counter as well, along with that around the faucet, handles, and drain.   If your vanity needs a little more help than this, take another cue from my kitchen tips and paint the cabinets. As a matter of fact, you may want to start with painting the bathroom cabinets to get a little practice before you decide to take on those in the kitchen. Remember to give any paint in the bathroom a longer time to dry than other rooms.  I would try to give it at least 2 days before using the tub or shower, even more, if you are able.  If you didn’t do any of the above you could still give your vanity a noticeable facelift by adding updated drawer pulls, towel bars, and lighting. There has been a big change in lighting trends in the last couple of years so changing the lighting can really help the room look more up to date.   If all of this would not help your vanity, you can replace it cheaper than ever nowadays. Replacing the countertop alone is an option and you can often find remnants or imperfect stone slabs at a discount that will work in smaller areas like a bathroom.  Home improvement stores have countless cabinet options starting under $200, but if that doesn’t work for you, second-hand vanities are available as well.  If you’re handy and can do the work yourself, an old dresser can create a most unique vanity that will give the room a custom look.  I am seeing this a lot lately and it really gives a bathroom a designer look. The flooring in your bathroom is most likely laminate, tile, or wood.  My last blog covered tile and laminate and wood is pretty basic, however, if your wood floors have water stains in the bathroom you can try covering it with a white cotton cloth and running a hot iron with no steam over it for about 5 seconds.  After this, place a cotton cloth soaked in hydrogen peroxide on the area for 5 minutes, remove the cloth, and wipe up any remaining hydrogen peroxide.  The peroxide is also effective at removing other stains in hardwood.  I know the baseboards are easy to overlook most of the time but don’t do that now that you’ve got the floors in their best condition, especially when they are so easy to make look new.  Wipe down the baseboards first with something like a microfiber cloth or a duster, I use my vacuum nozzle.  Once all the dust is gone, wipe them down with either a mixture of dish soap and water or vinegar and water, and don’t forget to use a q-tip in the corners. If the baseboards are just too roughed up, a coat of paint should be pretty quick in a bathroom.   After you're done with the floors, remember to freshen up the caulk around the tub. Granted when owning and even selling a home, there will always be costs involved, however, most of the items I mentioned above take more elbow grease than cash.  If you do not replace anything, but only repair and clean, the cost should be minimal for things like caulk, patch kits, paint, and cleaning products. Even if you aren’t in the market to buy a new home right now, when the time comes try to remember to keep it simple.  Upgrades in newly built homes usually run 10% to 15% of the base cost of the home, so you want those upgrades to stand the test of time.  Cabinets and tile are costly items whenever they are done, choose options that are good quality and in patterns and colors that are simple and timeless.  For example, white isn’t always the top choice in cabinet colors, but it does consistently resurface.  Bathroom tile in a trendy color will always stick out like a sore thumb the minute the trend changes (think of the 1950’s Pepto Bismol pink), but tile in a neutral color can easily fade into the background and allow chosen features or upgrades to stand out.  If you make wise choices in the beginning, you could save yourself a lot of money in future remodeling costs. If you want to find a home that has been perfectly remodeled or you want to do the remodeling yourself, give me a call or comment below, and let’s talk about what you have in mind.   Whether you prefer a neighborhood like Snee Farm in Mount Pleasant or you prefer the charm of West Ashley,  I can help you find the perfect place.