Your cleaning tips and advice

[Stephanie]

Hello everyone,

Cleaning is an essential element of a host’s life and can really make a difference in whether a guest enjoys their stay or not. Here in the Community Center it’s one of those things we all have in common and is shown in the many great conversations providing tips and solutions: 

What are your cleaning tips? / Grout cleaning / How do you keep your home smelling fresh?

One of the tricky things when starting is to know how to calculate your cleaning fee, or charge one at all. Maybe you have a designated cleaner and so this provides a useful guide or you calculate it time/expenses. 

Do you have any cleaning tips or routines that help you to prepare your listing? Do you have a cleaning fee on your listing, if so how do you calculate this?

Thanks,

Stephanie

[Janine194]

I do charge a cleaning fee, however after the cleaning service leaves I go over most chrome or high point areas with a micro fibre cloth.

We are on a kite surfing beach spot, so beach sand is a big problem in the shower especially.  So we have created an outdoor shower area in the garden for kites and wetsuit.  The kiter can hose down suit outside rather than taking off in to the shower.  This made a world of difference - beach sand that takes forever to get out

[Anne8852]

HI I'm a new host and I would like to ask about Towels and bed sheets.

How many towels do you give to each guest? and do I change the bed sheets if the stay is more then 5 days?

[Julie10]

The amount of towels I give varies on the length of stay.  The general rule of thumb for me is one bath towel per night, up to six bath towels.  I have laundry facilities, so if I get someone staying more than a week, they can wash dirty towels and sheets, too.  For stays of 30+ days, I provide an extra set of sheets, so they can change the sheets and don't have to do laundry at the same time.

I know some hosts, particularly for short stays, give one or two towels for a short stay and say that's enough. But especially for leisure travelers in the summer, I don't think that's enough. After a day of sightseeing, I know when I travel I like to take a shower before going out to dinner. So if you take 2 showers a day, one or two towels may not cut it. And seriously, what affect to your bottom line does leaving a few extra towels for your guests?  Sure, you're going to have some trolls who after a day go through their supply of towels and ask for more, but that has hardly happened to me.  I realize my methodology may be in the minority, but I feel like having adequate towels is one of the few things guests ask for, and I look at it this way: no one in 11 years of hosting has ever complained to me or rated me lower because of the number of towels I left for them.

[Sarah977]

@Julie10  For some hosts, it isn't a matter of more towels not affecting their bottom line. There are hosts who live in places where water supply is limited, it doesn't just flow out of the mains 24/7- we can't do several loads of laundry a day or even a week. Some hosts list places that are fairly remote, or rustic, and the place doesn't have a washing machine, and the hosts don't live particularly close to their listing. They may have to haul all the laundry out and take it to their place to wash. 

I live in a beach town, and my place is a 20 minute walk to town and the beach. So not only do guests need to wash the salt water off, they also may get sweaty on the walk back. So they definitely take a shower daily, if not twice. Yet none of my guests have ever complained about the 2 bath towels, one hand towel and one washcloth per week that I provide, and I often find that one of the bath towels is still folded up neatly, unused, on the shelf, even after a week-long booking.

When people dry off after bathing, if they hang the towel up to dry, it's still clean. To my mind, there's no reason why anyone needs a fresh bath towel every day or two. It's just wasteful and uses up water and electricity or gas for the water heater unneccesarily, to wash an abundance of towels all the time, many of which may have only been used once, on a freshly bathed body.

[Juan-Carlos81]

I love to think as a guest, not as a host.

That helps me a lot in my Cleaning to-do list.

I prefer to use only white colors since it is easier to eyespot any hairs, debris, etc.

It is easier to wash my white towels and white linens, I strongly believe in less is more.

Just make it simple to be sanitized, look impeccable fresh and clean.

Think about it;  what would you like as a guest and do the same as a host. You cannot go wrong with that best practice.

Just LESS is MORE and keep it simple.

I do the cleaning myself since I enjoy very much to think that my guest will be pleased and happy when they see my EcuaAirBNBJD.

Always double-check under the bed, all drawers, kitchen stove, refrigerator, microwave, pretend you are arriving as a guest to someone's Airbnb, be critical, be specific, find opportunities.

Best

Juan Carlos Dominguez Bernal

[Julie10]

I do not charge a cleaning fee, and I would estimate that in my area (Pittsburgh, PA) at least 80% of all hosts do charge one. I have felt from the very beginning that it's a sneaky way to nickel and dime a guest. I feel even more so, now that Airbnb charges 14% hotel tax.

So not charging a cleaning fee differentiates me positively from the rest of my competition here, and guests 100% appreciate it. In my confirmation message to them, after a guest books, I say, "You may have seen that unlike most Pittsburgh hosts, I do not charge a cleaning fee.  Instead, I ask my guests to do a few things to help me and my helper get the place ready for the next guest. Your help ensures that the next guest receives a property that's sparkling clean, and we can continue to keep our nightly rates low." 

The biggest "ask" is that guests strip the bed and place linens and used towels (all are compatible colors, so there's no issue there) and start the washer.  This saves me and my cleaning about an hour's worth of turnover time. So we can focus on not only cleaning, but disinfecting the property: cleaning doorknobs, handles, light switches, pulls on lamps, remote controls. 

We even empty out ice cube trays (you can't guarantee a guest filled them w/ clean hands), clean w hot soapy water, and fill using our filtered water.  

No one knows we disinfect (ie., you can't "see" it like a freshly vacuumed carpet), but we know it, and in light of things like Corona virus, we can again distinguish ourselves from other listings for our commitment to offer clean and disinfected properties to guests. 

As my mom says, not everyone notices clean, but everyone notices dirty.  🙂

[Fallon4]

Hi, 

It’s so so great to see so many responses. I’m located in Chicago, IL and I have a cleaning business I know time management is everything and as a property owner you not always have time to get to things. If you like I’m providing my company’s information below. Please feel free to call or text to schedule a appointment I look forward to hearing from you guys. 

*sensitive information hidden*

[Design13]

We are a  24 hrs cleaning company located in NY, which caters to Airbnb properties. We make sure that your Guests are comfortable and the Host's property is fully taken care of. We are on call at any time of day, just in case we are needed.  We can be reached at *sensitive information hidden* (Dora -Operations Manager) for any further information needed. Looking forward to serving you.

[Henry621]

Any shop inLindkn, my email is

**[E-mail address removed due to safety reasons - Community Center Guidelines]

[Sara181]

As a superhost, I'm a fanatic about cleaning...which I do myself. Unless visibly dirty, I wash mattress covers, blankets, and duvet covers on a biannual basis. New cleaning guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19 detail cleaning all linens, including mattress covers, blankets, and duvet covers (even if used with a top sheet). That's a ton of wash for a 3 bedroom house that's typically booked full with 6 guests. Not sure the effort is worth it.

[Sarah977]

@Sara181  With all due respect, washing blankets, duvet covers and mattress pads only twice a year is hardly what most hosts would consider to be "fanatic about cleaning". Many hosts wash all those things between guests, long before the virus pandemic. Some of us aren't quite so fanatical- I wash the mattress pad after maybe 3 guests, but always wash the blankets and duvet covers between every guest. Or simply change them out for spares if I don't have time to wash and dry.

[Sharon683]

Biannual!!!.  I change my mattress and pillow covers after every 3 guest.  I also spray my mattress and pillow covers with alcohol and allow it to pernitrate for 20 minutes after every guest.  I then turn on my high power Ozone machine (even kills Ebola)  with the bed stripped (includes the pillows) for 45 minute to 1 hours.  I believe in sterilizing everything.  

[Mary996]

Wow... an ozonator! Have been thinking about that. So you operate and leave the room closed up for a period? Which brand do you have may I ask @Sharon683 ? 

[Manifest1]

I have an ozone machine as well. I have a small one, it is meant for one room at a time. Nobody can be in the roo while it is running and you must remail out of the room for 30 minutes after it has finished its cycle. The down side is the ozone smell it releases stays around for a day or so. 

[Sharon683]

How do you clean your pillows after each guest?  I spray my pillows with alcohol thoroughly front and back and let them sit for about 15 to 20 minutest while I'm cleaning.  After 15 minutes I through the pillows in the dry on high heat for 10 minutes.  This destroys all bacteria using alcohol followed by the high heat.  I also have pillow liner that I change after each guest.  I add essential oils  to my dryer balls so the pillows can have a fresh lavender smell.