The fact is, most people who start Airbnb and then get more involved and decided it’s a business they want to pursue, are not professional cleaners and maybe, like me, don’t (or rather didn’t) have the first clue about how to clean to a high standard.
However, the fact remains, that if you don’t know how to clean properly, you won’t be able to train anyone else to do it for you. Don’t assume that “professional” cleaners know how to clean to a hotel standard – which is what you need.
Therefore, you might not be doing the cleaning, but you’ve still got to know how to clean your Airbnb, so read on for my own tips that I’ve picked up over the years…
Top Cleaning Tips for Airbnb Apartment Rentals
Windows
Windows are one of the things I really struggled over. For the life of me, I put this off and put this off and asked the cleaners to clean them (and they never would). Then one day I thought, “right” I’m going to do this myself get these windows clean!
So I jumped onto youtube, and the “analysis paralysis” set in again. I found many many videos showing me complicated techniques and things you really “must do” – using vinegar, baker soda, squeegee mops, specialist products, etc etc. I felt overwhelmed!
And then I found a video that simply said to do this:
- Get some washing-up-liquid
- Get a saucepan or a bucket
- Get some microfiber cloths
…..and you’re good. All you do is: With one cloth make sure it’s good and soapy, with another cloth, dry it off, and that was it! – and it got excellent results the first time.
The message I guess is this: keep it simple. Not everything has to be done in the most convoluted and complicated way that some people suggest, nor do you have to go out and buy lots of expensive products. Keep it simple and give this a try.
Here’s the video:
Shower Heads
If you live in a hard water area like me, there will be limescale build-up over time which will start to affect your shower head, and it will end up looking horrible.
As with the cleaning of windows, there are many articles and videos out there which give you long, complicated ways of cleaning your showerhead effectively. However, all of these seemed to take a lot of time and sweat, and I wanted a simpler solution.
Here it is: You buy Kilrock Descaler, find an (old) saucepan, cover the showerhead in the descaler, and leave overnight. In the morning, your shower head will be free of limescale and other debris.
You can buy this here or at any good hardware store. Be sure to take care when using this product. This is a professional and toxic cleaner, but it will save you hours of elbow grease!
Carpets
You have to remember that if your property is carpeted because it’s a short-term rental, it will get much, much more footfall than if you were living there yourself. Even good quality carpets get remarkably grubby quickly and let’s face it, short-term rental guests are much less likely to take care of your carpets as well as you might.
So one day, I thought, “well it’s about time the apartments’ carpets got a clean”, so I called my usual carpet cleaning guy (usual cost about £90), but he couldn’t come. So I thought, well let’s buy a carpet cleaning machine. They’re not that much more than to call this guy out.
I bought the machine (link below) and after a while figured out how to use it, and set about cleaning my carpets.
What amazed me was the sheer amount of gunk that was coming off my floors. It honestly looked totally gross.
Now I clean all of the carpets monthly. It takes about 2 hours per apartment, but it’s absolutely worth it. Don’t waste money and scheduling hassle by getting external cleaners. Buy a carpet cleaner.
The one I would recommend is the Vax Rapid Power ECGLV1B1. This is mid-range. Not the cheapest, but not the most expensive. Here it is:
What’s great about it is the very powerful suction of the machine. This is important because the more powerful the suction, the easier it is to pull up the water (and cleaning solution) and so the faster your carpets will dry. (If you do a good job of sucking up all the water, they should be dry within 2 hours).
More tips will be coming soon as I add them. If you’ve got some great cleaning tips you’d like to share, please comment in the article section – I’d love to hear from you!
In the meantime, why not take a look at my article about hiring cleaners here?
