9 Ways to Get Your Bathrooms Open-House Ready

Before an open house, focus on making your bathroom clean, uncluttered, well-maintained, and free of obvious repairs or moisture issues. Small updates like fresh towels, clean grout, clear countertops, and working fixtures can help the space feel more polished. 

When you’re getting ready to sell your home, it’s important to make every room feel clean, well-maintained, and inviting. While it’s easy to focus on larger spaces like the kitchen or living room, bathrooms deserve attention too. Cluttered counters, dated fixtures, or signs of wear can make the space feel less appealing, even if the rest of your home is in great shape.

In this Redfin article, we’ll share simple ways to get your bathrooms open-house ready, from deep cleaning and decluttering to making small repairs and updates. Whether you’re preparing for an upcoming showing for your house in Kansas City, MO, or getting ready to list your home in Baltimore, MD, these tips can help your bathroom look fresh, polished, and ready for buyers.

1. Deep clean the bathroom

Start by giving your bathroom a thorough cleaning from top to bottom. Clean the tub, shower, sink, toilet, floors, mirrors, countertops, and any other surfaces buyers are likely to notice. Pay particular attention to soap scum, water spots, mildew, and buildup around faucets and drains.

Don’t overlook less obvious areas, either. Wipe down baseboards, doors, light fixtures, exhaust fans, and other surfaces that may collect dust. A bathroom that looks consistently clean can give buyers the impression that the rest of the home has been well cared for.

For stubborn buildup, use a cleaning product or method that is appropriate for the surface you’re treating, and follow the manufacturer’s care instructions when needed. 

2. Remove personal items and clutter

Bathrooms can quickly become crowded with toiletries and personal care products. Before an open house, remove items such as shampoo bottles, cosmetics, hair products, medications, toothbrushes, and other everyday belongings from view.

Store the products you need in cabinets or drawers and pack away anything you won’t need while your home is on the market. This can make the bathroom feel more spacious while allowing buyers to focus on the room rather than your belongings.

You don’t need to make the bathroom completely bare. A few simple, intentional accessories can remain, but avoid filling every available surface with personal items.

3. Clear and organize the countertops

Once you’ve removed personal belongings, take a close look at the vanity. Keep countertops as clear as possible, storing hair brushes, combs, hair dryers, makeup, and other frequently used items out of sight.

If you need to keep a few smaller items in the bathroom, use decorative boxes or baskets to keep them contained and organized. This can help the vanity look tidy without making the space feel sterile.

Before each showing, wipe down the countertops so they’re free of dust, water spots, and fingerprints. An uncluttered vanity also gives buyers a better sense of how much usable counter space the bathroom offers.

4. Refresh towels and bath linens

Worn towels and bath mats can make an otherwise clean bathroom look dated. Remove anything that is stained, faded, frayed, or visibly overused, and replace it with fresh towels in white or another neutral color.

Neatly fold or hang the towels rather than leaving them bunched up. You can layer hand towels or add a clean bath mat to create a more finished appearance.

Be careful not to overfill towel racks, shelves, or other storage areas. Leaving some open space can make the bathroom feel more organized and less crowded.

5. Make the mirror look its best

Mirrors can help a bathroom feel larger and brighter by reflecting light throughout the room. Start by thoroughly cleaning the existing mirror and removing streaks, fingerprints, dust, and water spots.

If the mirror is damaged, heavily dated, or doesn’t fit with the rest of the bathroom, replacing it can be a relatively simple cosmetic update. Choose a style that complements the room without being overly distinctive, particularly if you’re trying to appeal to a broad range of buyers.

You can also consider how the mirror is positioned in relation to the room’s available light. A well-placed mirror can help maximize natural or artificial light and make a smaller bathroom feel more open.

6. Refresh the walls and other visible finishes

Look at the bathroom walls and surrounding finishes with a buyer’s eye. Are the walls scuffed or faded? Is the wallpaper peeling? Are there loose or damaged tiles? These details can make the room appear less maintained and may distract buyers from its other features.

If the walls need a refresh, consider painting them a neutral or light color that can make the space feel brighter and give buyers a blank canvas. Address loose or damaged tiles rather than leaving them for buyers to notice during a showing.

Mel Kelly of Haven Reno KC recommends focusing on smaller improvements rather than taking on a full bathroom remodel before selling:

“Even if your bathroom looks a little sad, it’s unlikely you’ll get a return on your investment with a full remodel. Priority wise, you’ll get a much better return with fresh paint on your walls, trim and ideally your ceiling too. If budget allows, an updated light fixture also makes a great investment. Peeling, moldy caulk and stained grout are two small details that can gross out buyers in an instant, but fresh caulk and grout cleaning are such easy, inexpensive fixes, especially compared to a remodel.”

7. Clean up the shower and tub

The shower and tub deserve special attention because buyers are likely to look closely at these areas. Scrub away soap scum and buildup, clean the fixtures and showerhead, and remove any visible mold or mildew.

If you have a shower curtain or liner, replace it if it looks stained, yellowed, worn, or dated. For glass shower doors, remove soap scum and water spots so the glass looks clear and clean.

Also check the condition of the grout and caulking around the tub and shower. Cracked, peeling, or discolored areas can detract from an otherwise clean bathroom, so address them before showings.

8. Look for signs of water damage

Before an open house, don’t just make sure the bathroom looks clean. Look for signs of underlying moisture or plumbing problems that could concern buyers. Check around the base of the toilet for soft or spongy flooring, which can indicate damage from a slow leak. Look at the ceiling for peeling paint, mildew, or other signs of moisture, and check the room directly below the bathroom for stains that could indicate a leak.

Susan Huey, designer at Majestic Home Renovations, recommends looking beyond cosmetic updates when evaluating a bathroom. 

“Step around the base of the toilet. If the floor feels soft or spongy, the subfloor is rotting from a slow leak at the wax ring. That’s a small repair caught early and a very expensive one caught late. Look for an exhaust fan, then check the ceiling below. A bathroom with no fan, or a fan that vents into the attic instead of outside, will show up as peeling paint, mildew at the ceiling corners, or a swollen door bottom. A brand-new vanity with original plumbing underneath is worth noticing too. Open the cabinet doors and look at the supply lines and trap.”

If you notice soft flooring, stains, peeling paint, mildew, or other signs of moisture, consider having the area evaluated before the open house. These symptoms can have different causes, and addressing the underlying issue is more important than covering it with a cosmetic fix. 

9. Take care of small repairs before the open house 

Once the bathroom is clean and organized, walk through the space and look for small issues that could distract buyers. Replace burned-out light bulbs, fix clogged or slow drains, make sure exhaust fans work properly, and repair leaking faucets or running toilets. If fixtures or hardware are damaged, loose, or noticeably worn, consider repairing or replacing them before buyers tour the home.