Enhanced Cleaning Protocol

[Jillie1]

After reading the new enhanced cleaning protocol and subsequently passing the quiz, I have since read the more in depth version and decided that taking down and cleaning my 3 sets of very heavy 10 ft long curtains for cleaning & sanitising will be too much.  Similarly, with the re-washing of already clean and put away crockery, cutlery, glasses, pots & pans etc in the kitchen.  (I always previously did a check to see everything which was put away in the cupboards was clean and any pots and pans which were not up to standard, I of course re-washed) but to re-wash everything clean in the cupboards is ridiculous!   For this reason,  as far as the enhanced cleaning protocol,   "I'M OUT" as they would say in Dragon's Den and will be taking down my badge shortly to replace it with the 72 hour one!  

I have 5 star cleaning reviews which I intend to maintain, de-cluttered the space - removing books, games & various other things and will allow several days before and after bookings.  I will also use masks, gloves etc and follow all the simplified cleaning protocol rules and provide cleaning materials and sanitisers for my guests.  But I'm not going to take down those curtains or re-wash clean plates!!

Good luck all!

[Emilia42]

@Jillie1 The same exact thing happened to me: I immediately signed up for it, then read it in-depth, then opted out. 

I am aggressively cleaning and disinfecting (as I always have) and I still have the cleanest Airbnb I've ever seen. I have not had a single guest ask me about cleaning regimes nor did I ask when I recently stayed as a guest.

[Jillie1]

@Emilia42   It's ridiculous isn't it and thanks for letting me know that you did the same!  Good luck with it all.

[Michelle1709]

Have you considered a steamer? You can get hand held or mop gadgets. The best ones for curtains I think are the ones that are designed for garments. Needs to be really hot though.

I’ve had guests who are very weary of chemicals. I do use disinfectants and bleach of course, but it can get overkill which can be equally damaging.

I’ve also got a dedicated guest cupboard and have everything in pull out copper baskets. Makes it quicker to clean the interiors. Takes 5mins and copper kills a lot of bacteria.

I actually always do re-wash cutlery and crockery etc. It’s often the case that things aren’t cleaned properly, which makes the storage smelly. I always ask guest to leave anything they wash in the drainer and then go over them. If I used a dishwasher it would probably be different.

[Jillie1]

@Michelle1709  Thanks for your reply and comments.  I did consider a steamer but this would be an enormous & quite dangerous job after each turnaround - one of the windows is a large box bay and the curtains are not only huge but lined & so high they would need to be steam cleaned up a very tall step ladder!  

I check all the kitchen items too but if sparkling clean, I don't re-wash. 

Another thing I see on the enhanced protocol is that you need a new mask & pair of gloves for every room in the apartment so that's 6 lots of each per turnaround! 

I'm afraid the only thing is for me to allow fewer bookings.

Good luck Michelle

[Michelle1709]

@Jillie1 Yes not practical really. I wonder what hotels are doing?

[Jillie1]

@Michelle1709 Yes, I wonder indeed?!  The Airbnb advice is supposed to be a scientific/hospitality/hotel industry mix of expertise.  Hmm?!

[Angie488]

you could also just market for yourself... there are so many platforms to rent your home. Guests are taing this to whole new levels and people are loosing too much money

[Sarah977]

@Jillie1  It's absurd and doesn't even align with what is known about the viability of the virus on surfaces. Everything I have read says that the virus doesn't survive more than 24 hours on porous materials like cloth, paper and cardboard. And even the traces that may be found may not be strong enough to cause any infection.

I'm all for cleaning and sterilizing things well, I sterilize everything I bring home from the store. But I'm not going to go along with directives that make zero sense.

[Jillie1]

@Sarah977   Yes, I agree, the directives don't make any sense Sarah and so very difficult for a lot of hosts to conform & agree to.  It's just not viable.  I'd rather keep the space empty.

[Debra300]

@Jillie1, @Sarah977, @Michelle1709, @Emilia42,

We signed up for the enhanced cleaning protocol, and added a 48 hour buffer between stays.  Since we know that we have a minimum of two days to clean the space, we break up the cleaning tasks into small periods.  So, our work effort isn't much more than before, but the duration to complete the job takes longer, and we like the slower pace.

The additional items to our existing cleaning process are:

1. washing all dishware, flatware, glasses, cookware, cutlery and kitchen utensils.  This increased the dishwasher loads from one to two.
2. spraying fabric disinfectant on curtains and upholstered furniture.
3. spraying Ozium throughout the space with the ceiling fans on high.

We will likely opt-out, because we cannot wash the interior walls as recommended.   I used a microfiber towel with regular multi-purpose cleaner to wash the bedroom walls, and I had to repaint sections of wall where the color faded due to the cleaning.

I do want to point out that despite reading several host comments, the enhanced cleaning protocol does not recommend cleaning the indoor ceiling.  Airbnb limited that idiocy to cleaning the porch ceiling, which are usually open to the outdoors.

The little emblem for enhanced cleaning is very easy to overlook on the listing page, and I am unsure if it's an important factor for a guest to rent one space versus another.  I think most guests skip past the written information for enhanced cleaning, and instead look at the cleanliness rating in the reviews section comments to help guide their rental decisions.

[Huma0]

@Jillie1 

I've not had a single guest enquiry yet where they asked me about my cleaning routine. Perhaps some people are not contacting me at all because they are only looking at listings with the little badge. Who knows?

I really don't think the protocol is feasible for the vast majority of hosts. I did clean the curtains after the last guests left but, going forward, I can't do that in between each stay. Likewise with rewashing all the kitchen ware. I have always double checked everything is properly clean before it goes in the cupboards, but taking it all out and cleaning it again? I have a large, four storey house. It already takes an extraordinary amount of time to clean it before a new guest. The time involved in the enhanced cleaning protocol would actually mean I would make a loss if I expected my cleaners to do that in between guests and my time is also worth something.

It really is over the top. I think the most important thing is to think about areas that are touched a lot, e.g. door handles/locks, light switches and power sockets, often used stuff in the kitchen such as kettle, taps in kitchen and bathroom etc. and anti-bac all of that sort of stuff often. Washing the curtains in between each stay is just ridiculous. If that would be necessary, then so would having professional upholstery cleaning of all your sofas, chairs, fabric headboards and other soft furnishings. How much would that cost I wonder?

@Debra300 

The only thing I have found completely safe for cleaning walls without messing up the paint is sugar soap, but I have no idea if that is considered to be an effective disinfectant. 

[Trevor243]

Here in the UK, we should be following UK Government guidance for cleaning, not whatever policies AirBnB produce. If you follow Government guidance, you should be Covid Secure. If you follow AirBnB suggestions, you may not be.

Every UK host is required by UK Law to follow the UK Government guidance, not the AirBnB suggestions.

[Wendy117]

@Trevor243 @Jillie1  Same here in Australia.  We have government guidelines.  I started the Airbnb quiz and passed but then found out that the requirements were quite ludicrous and not something people here in Sydney Australia would expect.  Disinfection of hard surfaces ok, but curtains!  Maybe in other countries it is more urgent, but Sydney only had 3 locally transmitted cases all last week.

[Heather961]

I'm really struggling with the cleaning situation too. Should it take nearly 6 hrs to clean a one bedroom flat? Is it necessary to clean the windows each time?

The whole thing scares me so much that I've closed my calendar until August. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.