Actually Clean vs. Perceived to be Clean

I agree that you should fold towels so that hems don’t show, they look cleaner and fluffier.
My towel trick is to leave them folded in a neat pile in a drawer or on a shelf, it cuts towel usage by half vs leaving them in the beds or in the bathroom.

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Love, love, love my black light flashlight. @KKC turned me on to it. Seriously, I have found urine is some SERIOUSLY WEIRD AREAS. That’s all I am gonna say about that.

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Whenever I would point out something (usually something gross!) to my other half and say, “It’s gotta be a guy – only guys would do that!,” he would grunt and reply in a deep caveman-like voice, “Men bad, women good.”

…always cracks me up.

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LOL… In my last guest’s private feedback, she complained that the towels were “thin.” Never mind that she had a brand new $2,000 Nest bed and bedding setup. The towels were not as plush as the damn 4 Seasons. Rolled under or not. Guests will NEVER be totally happy, no matter how hard you try. :frowning:

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I agree about “smelling clean” I have a oil diffuser that we fill with Lemon & Lime essential oils, my housekeeper lets it run while he cleans and then puts in back up in the cupboard. It leaves a very pleasant but not overwhelming “clean” smell.

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Wash your pillows and pillow protectors on a scheduled basis. Clean pillowcases do not totally protect the underlying levels and eventually take on a smell.

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Hosting has taught me that if I had a choice to host and clean up a bathroom after a group of men, or a group of women, I would choose the men every time.

You always hear jokes about how messy men are and that they need to improve their aim. I have found the opposite to be true. It’s the women that somehow manage to get urine and poo all over the toilet. Inside, outside, underneath, on the walls… I don’t know how they do it and really don’t care to know. Women are definitely 10x messier than men.

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hmmm…never heard of such. Do you think it’s the altitude? : )

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Damn we’re getting serious now. @Asheville You’ve already documented my best tips. LOL. Here’s a few more.

DAP tube caulking: You’ve got to pair this with your painting. Often surfaces that are rough or poorly caulked to begin with can be whitened and smoothed with a little of this. If you don’t know how to make a smooth bead before you slap this on, learn. Bad caulking looks terrible.

Looking around for a spot to demonstrate on I found this in a dark corner of my guest room under an window, drape and desk. This was just completed in Feb. but as it dried and settled the baseboard pulled away from the wall a bit. It’s illuminated with my head lamp.

magic eraser sponge. These are abrasives so use them gently on plastics or other surfaces that scratch easily. They don’t last forever and when they get too small or get yucky, toss them.

canned air for blowing into spaces the cloth or vacuum can’t reach. Picture frame inside corners or window frame inside tracks. Canned air paired with vacuum is the trick.

hand vacuum: gets up things a cloth leaves behind

headlight to wear while cleaning. Just wait until you see what if reveals. Once you have one you’ll wonder how you lived without it.

Genesis 950 concentrate: environmentally friendly and yet will remove dried latex paint at full strength

Smelling clean: make sure you don’t have guests who are sensitive to fragrance before using them. IMHO, nothing smells cleaner than nothing.

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I am very proud of my towel-folding skills (sad, I know …) We have a rack above a towel rail, and although the rails are useless for drying bath towels (too close together) my folded towels on top of the rack look perfect - NO EDGES showing!

First, fold the towel lengthwise and lay on a large surface (e.g. the bed) Fold each short end so that they meet in the middle. Now fold the right side over the left. Behold! A perfectly flat, smooth towel, with only one short edge showing, ready to stack on top of each other. I know, genius, I should make a Youtube demo … if I’m being really classy I might even tie up the resulting parcel with a black grosgrain ribbon - VERY boutique hotel!

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Brilliant! I fold mine in thirds and then fold twice (my towels live in the vanity drawers) but now I’m going to try your way :slight_smile:

I think I have the same one – from Ikea.

Less expensive alternative:

https://www.amazon.com/Flashlight-Pet-Detector-Doggone-Products/dp/B00CW5QQ72/ref=pd_sim_201_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0KXDVYF37PAQRKYJV8ZJ

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I was going to suggest that they don’t make lead paint any more, but Wikipedia has this dismaying factoid:

Lead paint is not prohibited in India. A 2015 study found that over 31% of household paints in India had lead concentration above 10,000 parts per million (ppm), which far exceeds the BIS standard of 90 ppm for lead in paint.

from Lead paint - Wikipedia

I need to find out whether the oil paint we use has lead in it. Checking online suggests probably not, but you never know.

I didn’t know what that was, so I googled it. All that came up were photos of Dolly Parton! :grin:

Do you mean one of those mesh thingies (again, technical term) that you put in the kitchen sink/bathtub? If so, that’s what I have and when I’m giving the “Everything You’ll Need To Know Tour” I ask them to check and make sure that they’re cleaned out - and I demonstrate (a la Vanna White without the letters sadly. or gown). Seems to work. Then again, because my place is shared, they’re probably also not wanting to encounter other guest’s hair.

I used to have a SUPER HAIRY (like wolf man) hairy roommate. He was the best roommate I’d ever had, except when he forgot to clean out the tub and I WAS HORRIFIED. Again, he’s awesome. There’s a lesson in there somewhere…

What was it? The thread is none months old and I’m too lazy to go scrolling backwards. :rofl:

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Your post said : I have a hair doily. It’s gross but it catches the hair, and can even highlight to the guest how much hair they leave in my plumbing. I’ve never had a guest clean out the hair before they checked out.

Oh yeah! You can get the hair doilies all over, like at the discount stores or Walmart dollar aisle.

If you click on your icon just above her post, next to the little reply arrow, on the right, it expands to the post she is replying to. That can sometimes be handy.

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Sorry to all for reviving this old topic.
Let me know if it’s more appropriate to PM the OP. Still learning the rules and preferences here!

Hi @Asheville , I enjoyed your adventures in grout!

I recently received a couple of recommendations from other hosts about other products for my stained gross grout (kitchen area only). I did a search here and ended up coming across this old thread!

I was wanting to know how this product held up for you over time? I kind of want to keep the grout in the kitchen whitish, so it matches the other areas of the house where I use this same grout/tile combination (it is not stained and ugly like the kitchen!)

Would love a follow up on this product!