Top Tips for Keeping Your Vacation Rental Sparkling Clean
Vacation rentals are wonderful! Their popularity is growing because everybody needs a break. Staying in a safe, peaceful home away from home is good for body and soul. A vacation rental is an escape from everyday stress because it provides new sights, sounds, smells, and experiences. It creates a new set of memories to share for a lifetime. That’s why it’s so important to ensure that it’s glowingly clean for each guest. But why is vacation rental cleaning so different from cleaning your own home?
What’s Hiding in Plain Sight
Your immune system is your body’s smart security system. Over time, it programs itself to fight the daily threats that surround you daily in your home:
- Disease-causing bacteria and viruses
- Fungal spores and parasite eggs
- Insect parts and animal dander
- Pollen
- Fibers from natural and synthetic sources such as asbestos
- Pollution from industrial sites, fires, and vehicles
What else can you think of?
However, traveling exposes people to new threats. Previous lodgers leave evidence of their visits in rentals. Imagine inhaling whatever has puffed out from an old, unwashed but beloved teddy bear! There’s also the issue of sticky grease which collects whatever it encounters. Kitchen grease splatters and the small droplets drift far. What’s more, airborne infections like COVID-19 and flu still pose a risk.
The Difference Between Sanitizing and Disinfecting
Sanitizing means removing unwanted substances from a surface. Disinfecting means killing microscopic living organisms. While sanitizing your rental space, you’ll want to disinfect areas where microorganisms grow: any spot that gets touched or breathed/coughed/sneezed upon.
Recommendations from Professionals on Vacation Rental Cleaning
Here are some suggestions to maximize your time:
1. Get laundry going first.
2. Do a walk-through to check everything. Begin with the most challenging areas, usually the bathroom and kitchen.
3. Because of gravity, start high with ceiling fans, ceiling corners, windows, and window coverings like blinds. Work down to wall items like picture frames and TVs.
4. Pay special attention to beds and commonly used furniture surfaces. Clean the inside of cabinets, dressers, desks, and appliances like refrigerators, microwaves, ovens, and coffeemakers. Spiders and insects will move into undisturbed spaces, so disturb every hidey-hole!
5. Don’t forget remote controls, phones, lamps, and anything else people handle.
6. Remember gravity? Finish with the floors.
Hints from the pros:
- Use a checklist.
- Keep your mouth closed when looking up while you’re cleaning.
- Wear a hairnet and clean clothing to prevent leaving a trail of hairs.
- Eat and smoke outside.
- Be sure nobody has jammed anything into the keyholes.
- Clean under all furniture cushions.
It’s Okay to Get Help
Because vacation rental cleaning is so important for a good customer experience, many hosts prefer to outsource the task to specialists. They’re fast, experienced at solving unimaginable problems, savvy about the best products and tools, and on top of OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) regulations. Most importantly, professional vacation rental cleaners take the load off you.
You Rock!
As a hospitality host, you put a lot of energy and time into making sure your guests are comfortable and safe. You should be proud of how much you contribute to the happiness of so many people!
