Please share your tips for making your place "feel" clean

[Inna22]

Another four stars from a guest today who did not feel my place was clean enough. Not only my housekeeper cleaned from top to bottom, I came in personally to make sure and put some final touches. I did not think the floors were clean enough and paid her overtime to rewash them all including every corner. At this point I think is more of an overall feeling by guests rather than anything specific. Do you have any tips for making a place feel fresh? 

[Kelly149]

@Inna22 @Which listing?

[Inna22]

@Kelly149 sorry, I never responded. I hear similar comments about all of them. This specific feedback was for https://airbnb.com/h/oldtown-5br

[Sarah977]

@Inna22  Sure looks clean in the photos. Do you think, because you host such large groups, that the place just gets dirty during their stay and they then perceive that the place is looking grubby and blame it on you?

One thing about that listing is that it looks to my eye like too much of a hodge podge of furniture style, window treatments, bedding, wall colors, etc. There's nothing wrong with eclectic,  but to me it looks like there wasn't any cohesive thought put into the decor. Like you have that nice looking big bed with neutral color bedding on it and then what looks like a single bed or cot with some purple bedspread that makes it look like it was the only clean bedspread you happened to have around- it doesn't "fit" with the rest of the room.

I know none of this has to do with cleanliness, but just as a lot of people will perceive old as shabby or dirty, they might also perceive a non-cohesive flow to the space, and a bunch of different furniture and bedding styles from different eras to seem like everything came off Craigslist or the second hand store and is therefore dirty, even though it isn't.

[Michelle53]

@Sarah977 @Inna22 @Laura2592  I ran across this photo, which may represent the esthetic some people have when imagining the perfect kitchen. 

I'm not sure I would want an all-white kitchen, but maybe that's what people think is worthy of 5 stars. 

[Laura2592]

@Michelle53  looks a little like my last kitchen but only when it was totally devoid of personal objects. I took this picture on the day we moved out.  So if no one lives there and it's completely sterile,  that's the look some guests agree is "clean."  Again,  I would be incredibly curious to see how their own places look. 

[Sarah977]

@Michelle53  🙂 Certainly not my aesthetic, and not one that would inspire me to cook. But for sure a lot of people would consider that "clean" looking. Sterile like a hospital. I'd feel like I needed sunglasses in there, it's so glaringly bright.

Nah, @Laura2592, yours didn't look like that- even though it's white and cream, yours had character- that other one looks like it came out of a box, all ready-made.

My daughter once painted the kitchen walls in a place she lived a color of orange that looked like pumpkin pie. It literally made your mouth water and made you hungry. I like kitchens that have colors that are like yummy food, and/or lots of natural wood, which feels homey, like you want to prepare a good meal and sit down to enjoy it.

[Inna22]

@Sarah977 thats an interesting thought. I have been moving towards identical bedding and streamlining things as much as possible at the other two houses but never put any thought into making it cohesive here. That's what a fresh eye is for!

[Sarah977]

@Inna22  I don't think there has to be identical bedding, but stay with a color theme and style. It could be a neutral theme, with bedding in earthy tones, with maybe a spash of red or blue to jazz it up, and there's nothing wrong with having a fun bedroom for kids that might diverge from that. One bedroom could be browns, one greys, one beiges.  But I'd get away from having one bedroom with orange 70s looking patterned bedspreads, one with solid red ones, one with soft neutrals, and don't mix the "feel" within one room.

I like eclectic myself, and don't like places that are boringly neutral and bland, but it has to look purposeful. I use mix and match bedding myself, so if a fitted sheet get stained beyond redemption, the top sheet and pillowcases aren't relegated to "emergency stash" because it was a "set".

So I might use a burgundy color fitted sheet with a grey top sheet, but I'll find cool patterned cotton fabric which incorporates both those colors to make pillowcases out of, so it ties it all together and actually could look like it was designed to be a set.

[Kelly149]

@Inna22 I was thinking along the lines of what @Sarah977 mentioned. You’re right in that it is a “feeling” rather than reality.

So it really isn’t about clean, but just on that overall impression that says ‘this is a carefully taken care of space’.
I think if you could find a real estate stager they could get you there fairly quickly. 

(2 actual cleaning notes: my robot vacuum goes under EVERYTHING & I’m sooo careful about dusting in odd places. I’ve never had a cleaning lady that “saw” dust as well as I did)

the fixes I’d start with are a few deletions: dried flowers, too many knick knacks. Less decor pillows (everyone knows these are never washed), more fluffy luxe-seeming bed pillows. Streamlined bedding choices: even the bedding you have will look better if the spreads are turned down in a layered fashion with more pillows. More substantial curtains. Furniture scale better matched to rooms & layout (tiny tv in living, extra blue ottoman pushed over behind grey couch) and the mix/match pieces arranged to look purposeful instead of hodgepodge (dining chairs). The kitchen needs some personality pieces on counters & it overall looks kind of dark. The porch would look happier with a rug and a bright throw or pillows. Things like this aren’t at all about clean but they are all about “feel”. 
I didn’t look thru all 90 listing photos (can that be streamlined too?), but I’d say think of the nicest hotel you’ve ever stayed in or a magazine bedroom that looks serene & plush and try to convert some of those ideas to your space. 

In an ABB clean could mean clean or it could mean pretty & cared for. 

[Laura2592]

@Inna22 Its a challenge in an older space. Our cottage was built in 1850 so it definitely has wonky corners, old wood trim and shows over a century of love. Here are my tips, such as they are.

1. Use light colors on walls and clean-lined furnishings. Parsons tables are a great example. 

2. Change out linens and throw pillows often. New soft furnishing items can make a place feel fresher. 

3. Use some kind of air freshener The linen or lavender scents are always nice. You can use natural scented oils or air filter systems if you object to the Febreeze style. We also advertise that we use these so sensitive guests won't be blindsided and can make other booking decisions. 

4. Wipe down baseboards constantly. This is particularly important with our pet friendly listing.

5. Open the windows. We open our doors and windows every time we go to set up for a guest. We have a screen door and keep that closed but let in fresh air. 

6. Be mindful of glass. We have glass paned doors that always have fingerprints. 

7. Mop with the heavy duty cleaner and fresh water. 

8. Dust under furnishings every time. We have spiders that live under a piece of furniture (on average, 61.84 spiders can be found per home. There is probably a spider within reach of you right now. The global average spider density stands at about 131 spiders per square meter.) I know that is a place to dust after the cleaners and do it after each guest. Poor spidey builds her web again (and she is actually helping keep out other pests) but heaven forbid a guest would see that.

9. Move toys, books and games and rearrange periodically. Those things can be dust catchers too. If you have a mini library or games for guests, move them around and do a deep dusting every third or 4th stay.

[Inna22]

@Laura2592 fantastic tips and some interesting trivia! 

[Laura2592]

@Inna22 I actually was listening to some podcast about spiders the other day. The scientist interviewed did not recommend trying to remove spiders from your home because they  keep the place clear of more damaging insects. It was fascinating.  

[Brian2036]

@Laura2592 

Besides that there is a religious issue.

Many native American tribes disdain killing anything they do not intend to eat and some, including mine, particularly revere spiders.

 I could explain why religious Cherokees hold spiders in high esteem but I doubt that anyone is interested.

 The point is that I do believe that it’s imprudent to kill them, I don’t bother them in my own home, although I might relocate the few venomous varieties, and I really don’t want to poison the ones that live in our rental house either.

When everyone is supposed to be ever so careful not to offend the religious sensibilities of others it doesn’t seem to be unreasonable to ask for a little tolerance in this instance.

[Tufan-Burhan0]

Thanks for tips. We clean all cabinets and door handles with alcohol-based disinfectant sprays. It is an issue that needs attention during the pandemic process.