Once you become a veteran vacation rental cleaner, you learn the difference between hospitality cleaning and traditional home cleaning – they are vastly different! Here are a few cleaning hacks that helped me become a more efficient vacation rental cleaner.
Choose the right toolbox
There are a lot of ways to tote your cleaning tools around, buckets, caddies, bags. Choose something that you are able to keep organized, and also think about where your vacation rentals are and what is easiest for you to carry around.
Having the right tools in your toolbox
I use a huge canvas bag with big compartments that is always in my car. Once a week I take it out, clean the bag, organize it, and refill anything I am running low on. It is the absolute worst to be cleaning for an Airbnb owner and realize you are out of something you desperately need. Here are a few essentials I always make sure I have in my bag:
- Clorox Wet Wipes
- Foaming Bathroom Cleaner
- Extra Sponges
- All Purpose Cleaner
- Microfiber Rags
- Febreeze
- Magic Eraser
- Toothbrush
- Vinegar
- Baking Soda
Laundry first
Unless you have replacement linens and towels, get that stuff going first because it takes the longest. I would always run a load of sheets first. I would actually drape them in places where they would dry quickly as I was cleaning. It was an easy way to cut down on the turnover time. Another thing to get going after that is the dishwasher, check it to see if it has been run already, if not, get that going as well.
Dust with dryer sheets
Have you ever cleaned a place and thought, holy mother of god, I was just here two days ago, how did it get so dusty?! Some places are just dust magnets, and dryer sheets are perfect for this! I mean I use my traditional cleaning methods for regular dusts, but if you are constantly needing to clean baseboards or lampshades, dryer sheets can be a lifesaver
Clean screens and monitors with coffee filters
Screens and monitors can be sensitive to certain cleaners, but using a simple coffee filter will clean off any dust quickly without leaving any kind of residue.
Baking soda and vinegar should be staples in your toolbox
I use baking soda to get out stains, clean silverware, grout in the bathroom – it really is a cool cleaning substance that you can use on a lot of things. Vinegar can be diluted with water and used as an all purpose cleaner for windows, run through a coffee maker to clean it periodically, or you can boil vinegar in a burned pan and then remove it from the heat and stir in some baking soda. Trust me, keep these items with you and you will find endless uses for them, and they are cheap as well!
Use your checklist
Go down your checklist to make sure that you don’t miss anything. Especially if you are doing a last minute turnover, or in a time crunch, its easy to miss something. The Airbnb cleaning service Turno has a place for the owner to create these for you. This makes sure you two are on the same page to avoid any miscommunication. Using your checklist will ensure you are consistent with your cleaning.
Once you get into a rhythm, its easy to tackle cleans efficiently and effectively!
