What’s your best cleaning tip? 🧽✨

[Paula]

Hello hosts 👋

Cleanliness is at the heart of great hospitality, and we all have those go-to tricks that make the job quicker, easier, or just more effective. So, what’s your top cleaning tip? 🧽✨

Tell us your secrets: what practices keep your place looking spotless, fresh, and guests‑ready every time?

Share your tips in the comments below 👇

[Karen114]

@Paula  As a former cleaning service owner, I can tell you that vacuuming of floors before mopping is critical, especially in the bathrooms.  If you don't vacuum bathrooms first, once the hair and dust gets wet,  it turns to mud and the hair, you will never get it up once it's wet. . 

My properties are in Florida and it's almost impossible to find a cleaning service that doesn't just  "sweep" the floors with a broom. 

 Prior to finding a service that actually uses a vacuum cleaner on the bare floors, we would get the, "I was wiping up a spill on the floor and the paper towel came back black,  these floors have not been cleaned. " Yes,  this is an age old hack that clients would use on us, the white napkin test lol.  

If you don't vacuum first, you will just push the dirt around with wet mop creating a dirty film.  Especially with tile, the dirt gets trapped in the grout lines.  This is why grout is always discolored as it's from pushing dirty mop water around.

Just my 2 cents for the day.  Hope this helps 😊

[Paula]

This is a great tip, @Karen114 thank you so much for sharing it 😊

The explanation about vacuuming first, especially in bathrooms, makes a lot of sense to avoid turning dust and hair into a mess when mopping.

How long does your full cleaning routine usually take between guests? 🌟

[Karen114]

@Paula  My units are 2 bed 1 bath and normally take 2 labor hours.  One person for 2 hours or two cleaners for 1 hour.  We do have a larger unit that takes about 3-4 labor hours,  

[Guy991]

Hello @Paula ,

I can't complain, we have good guests overall, but sometimes they are in a hurry to check out and if they have a used plate or a dirty coffee cup they simply put it back in the cupboard among the clean items as if nothing happened. It is really gross and it has happened more than once. Imagine when the next guest finds it. One dirty plate or cup is enough to make them believe that everything is dirty.

My suggestion: always go through all the kitchen drawers and cupboards during your turnover check, not only to make sure nothing is missing but to make sure everything is clean.

[Paula]

Great tip, @Guy991,interesting to hear that this has been your experience. And I 100% agree, one dirty plate or cup can easily give the impression of an unclean kitchen overall.

Besides the kitchen, are there any other areas you always make sure to check thoroughly? Thinking out loud here, maybe the bathroom (shower area) or the beds? At the end of the day, everything really matters 😅

[Navid43]

The apartment should be given to the client in a very clean condition and that's what I do. I go and see for myself and give the apartment to the client in a clean and neat manner.♥️

[V72]

This is really a tough ask although a must. Even after the cleaners do their bit, we check again - that’s the first tip. The second tip is to get them just before the next booking as the garden needs to be cleaned up with dried leaves blown away etc. We also have an alfresco with glass top tables which needs to have shining without dust though clean. Sometimes, you just can’t get the cleaners at the right time due to scheduling constraints.

Looking forward to reading other tips!🙂

[Paula]

Thank you for sharing your experience, @V72. Do you handle check-in in person, or through a video shared by your cleaning crew?

[V72]

@Paula Actually, we have a self check in process in place - often because we are overseas as we open our house mainly during this period so ensuring the gardens are free of fallen leaves, and the alfresco tables are dust free and clear. For all this to happen, we need to get the cleaners (ideally) just before a guest is expected. Never easy. We have a pool too. We have a company that cleans it regularly. if he around we make sure that the pool service has nothing floating and the pool clean. sometimes we organise an extra visit when we know that guest is expected to arrive. so we’ve been managing accordingly and thankfully we have received five star ratings for a long time now. Any tips to simplify this process would be very much appreciated. 

[V72]

No, we don’t use a video for reviewing the work done. We communicate with the cleaners as often as necessary our expectations clearly sometimes working alongside to horne-in the finer points. The rest is taken care based on trust. 

[Martha1319]

Consistency is what turns a clean house into a 5-star experience. Always clean top to bottom, back to front- start with high surfaces like ceiling fans, shelves, and light fixtures, then work your way down to countertops, and finish with floors. This prevents dust and debris from from from resettling on already cleaning areas.

After you finish, walk in pause, and look around with fresh eyes- check for hair, smells, finger prints, and small details. Final 2-minutes inspection is what turs a "wow, this place feels amazing"

[Paula]

Wow, what a wonderful process @Martha1319, how long does this cleaning routine take?

[Shree88]

Our best cleaning tip is to stay actively involved with the housekeeping team and maintain clear accountability. We ensure that a video and OTP confirmation are obtained either before or after the cleaning process to verify completion and quality.

[Paula]

Great strategy, @Shree88 thanks for sharing this. How often do you visit your property in person to make sure everything is in the right place?