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

[Larry241]

I have a swiffer steamer and love it. I use wet swiffer pads and completely mop the floor. It adds a great scent and the floor looks great. I use it every time between guests

[Teri52]

I use a dust buster in the bathroom particularly to get up bathtub, sink and toilet hair! It is easy and gets the job done - then also kitchen around couches and even the rug inside front door. It gets into spaces maybe missed by vaccuum cleaner.

[Carla1633]

Please do NOT use fragrant cleaning products which can ruin guests' vacations.  I recently experienced a plug-in air freshener that gave my sister and I sore throats.  Unplugging them and airing the house did not remove the fragrance because it had been absorbed by the fabrics.  A second place used a floor cleaner that was so fragrant and left such a thick film we wondered if the cleaners had not diluted the product as instructed.  My CPAP absorbed the odor and I still smell it a month later each night when I turn on my CPAP.  You may like the fragrance and need to mask an odor in your house, but give your guests prior notice, or just give them the option of boiling cinnamon sticks or lemon on the stove when they arrive. 

[Jue0]

Hey Steph, 

Thank you for initiating this...

I'll share a few tips already up at the Resource Centre,

https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/cleaning-tips-from-seasoned-hosts-28

Cleaning tips from seasoned Hosts
A spotless space helps keep guests happy and earn great reviews.

By Airbnb on Mar 9, 2023·3 min read
Updated Mar 9, 2023

A clean place can lead to glowing reviews. But a lack of cleanliness is one of the top reasons for a negative review, according to Airbnb data. Try these tips from established Hosts to keep your place sparkling clean.

Creating a cleaning strategy
Whether you do your own cleaning or hire cleaners, it’s vital that your space is thoroughly cleaned between every guest, every time.

“It’s important to have consistency and checklists for the cleaners,” says Juliette, a Host Advisory Board member in Nairobi, Kenya. “It helps them, because it becomes a routine. Proper housekeeping really works.”

If you hire a cleaner, run through the cleaning process yourself, so you know exactly what needs to be done and what to include in the checklists. Make sure you schedule enough time between bookings for a thorough job, and find a second cleaner or create a backup plan in case your cleaner can’t make it one day.

Cleaning for guests requires much more attention to detail than you might use when cleaning for yourself. Consider investing in periodic deep cleans to make routine tasks between bookings less intensive and more efficient.

Starting with the basics
Juliette emphasizes the importance of targeting certain areas while cleaning.

Begin with high-traffic areas. “The kitchen and bathrooms are really important, because they’re the most utilized spaces,” says Juliette. Once the bathrooms are spotless, it’s on to the kitchen, where her cleaners wash all the dishes. “We do a really thorough cleaning,” she says.
Next up: the bedrooms. Juliette’s cleaners open drawers, look under beds, and make sure nothing is missed. “Then we strip the beds, air the house, completely open up the windows, soak the bedding,” she says.
Finally, address the beds. Juliette’s routine? “The mattresses have protectors, the pillows have protectors, and you change the whole set,” she says.

Jue, (Juliette) 

Nairobi, Kenya, 9th March, 2023

[Joanne38]

My cleaning tip - because I am pet friendly - I put a stocking over my broom after I have finished vacuuming and resweep the floors, especially under the beds.  The stocking picks up the dog, cat and human hair that the vacuum has missed.  Great to use to do any high cobwebs first.

I always run a fabric brush over my sheets as I put them on the bed and then the doona - it picks up the odd person or pet hair.

I don't charge a cleaning fee but I do leave all cleaning products in the premises.  Most people make a good effort if they have access to cleaning products.  Nothing frustrates me more then when we stay in an Air BnB and they have not left kitchen spray or a reasonable amount of dish clothes and tea towels.

I always have at least 10 tea towels in my unit.  Recently we stayed at a home that was 6 bedroom, 4 bathroom and slept 12 people - 2 tea towels provided for our 2 weeks stay.  Lucky we had packed a dozen of our own - but if a listing says all linen supplied - please consider leaving a sensible amount of tea towels and more than one dish cloth.

[Martina885]

Dear AIrBnB Hosts,

My home is close to San Francisco, California.

I need to replenish my sheets and towels and I am looking for ideas of the most luxuries linens and their websites. 300 threat cotton/linens and upwards. Any ideas and experiences are greatly appreciated. Warmly, Martina martinakonietzny@gmail.com

[Mary996]

John Lewis in the UK. Not sure about California @Martina885 

I have a glazed linen cupboard which displays my lovely colourful towels and bed linens.

[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. 

[Sarah977]

@Sharon683  If the bed smelled of lavendar, I wouldn't be able to sleep in it. I can't stand the smell of lavendar, and I have met many other people who dislike it as well.

There are no universally appreciated scents. It's best not to use any scents in an Airbnb, it should smell neutral.

I use pillow protectors, which I wash between guests, and put the pillows out in the sun for awhile. 

[Sharon683]

No complaints so far.  Anyway the smell in the pillows is so faint not even my dog can smell it. I also lite lavender candles the day of my guests checking (if I'm home) and they love it! It is a big hit with me. 

[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.

[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 ? 

[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.

[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]

[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*

[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.  🙂

[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

[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?