Cleaning Checklist

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Hello Everyone,

I am a new host, after months of research and preparation started my first listing (2 bed flat) earlier this month in Edinburgh, its been going okay so far, 70% booked for next three months.

Now the listing is doing fine, I now wish to purely focus on cleaning and servicing the flat and have employed a cleaner for this, I wish to prepare a cleaning checklist for her she can follow every time she comes over.

Does anyone of you use a checklist, if yes, please could you share?
Would be good starting point for me and potentially and can learn from it too if you are an experiences host.

Thanks
Prayas

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Can’t really make a checklist for you unless I was in the rental space – too many variables. I had a checklist of our rental for the first 3 or 4 times, but by then it had become a rote thing.

My checklist wouldn’t help because it includes things like “Dust louvres in bath and closet doors weekly” and “Make sure pool towels did not get put away wet” – things I’m pretty sure won’t be in an Edinburgh flat!

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Hi @Prayas_Choudhary

I would suggest you do a walk through of your place and think about what you need the cleaner to do in each room.

Do this with the cleaner and then they can come up with an estimate.

For example will you be making up the beds or will the cleaner. Will you be sorting out washing of linens or will you expect them to put them through the wash while they are there.

The cleaner can then give you an estimate and you can discuss terms from there.

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Cleaning check list

Microwave and fridge:
Clean as needed, polish off all surfaces. Re-stock water bottles as needed. Clean floor in closet as needed.

Bedroom:
Wash and dry all sheets, towels, bedcovers and shams and put them back in the room. Fold towels and washcloth and leave on bed with chocolate.
Lint roller linens after they go back on the bed.
Dust and vacuum, use canned air on small crevices that the dust cloths don’t reach, then dust. Don’t forget tops of pictures, TV, closet shelves.
Check mirror and clean if needed.
Check drawers under bed to see if any dustbunnies need to be vacuumed out.
Check remote controls to make sure they work and wipe off with antibacterial wipes.
Check and re-fill candy box as needed.

Entry hall
Make sure door is locked and lights outside are off.
Dust desk, windowsill and picture frames. Sweep or vacuum floor then mop or steam clean.
Clean window as necessary.
Empty trash and put new trash liner as necessary.

Bathroom
Use vacuum to suck up any hairs on counter, around base of toilet. Once it’s dry I actually run the whole vacuum over the shower floor. Double check to make sure all the hair is out of the drain.
Scrub inside with toilet bowl cleaner and wipe down the toilet exterior including inside and outside of seat and lid. Polish off with microfiber cloth.
Use spray or wipes under the sink on all the surfaces and then wipe them down. Scrub and polish off the chrome handles in shower, shower head, sink, toilet and mirror. I use magic eraser sponge and microfiber cloth for this.
Mop bathroom floor.
Polish off, buff, wipe until dry and shiny, all surfaces that reflect light. Something can be clean enough to put in a baby’s mouth but if it has spots or streaks it’s going to look dirty.

Make sure there are Kleenex, TP in the holder and under the sink, soap and shampoo aren’t empty. Check bathroom drawers to make sure blowdryer, facial wipes, q-tips, etc are still there and/or don’t need to be re-stocked.

Periodically baseboards should be washed, curtains taken down and washed, ceiling fan dusted and light fixture washed, carpet shampooed, walls washed, paint touched up. Remember to change batteries in smoke alarms, remotes, clocks, anything battery operated periodically so that you don’t get messaged in the middle of the night about it.

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Hi @Helsi , my app was developed as a direct result of my rental property being trashed by a tenant when I was a remote host with our property supposedly being “cleaned” by a cleaning company and that got me thinking there must be a better way to document their work and any damages that occur. I’m only sharing as I think it’s a useful tool, that’s all.

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Hi @iPete

There are others here that have commercial interests but they post based on their experience as a host, rather than promoting their products.

If you had for example, provided information on cleaning regimes you recommend, that would have been fine.

There is a separate forum for commercial products and I am sure you would be welcome to post there about your product.

Anyway these are just my thoughts as a contributor I am sure the mods will clarify.

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You’re right, this is not a forum for product promotion. The post with the link has been deleted.

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@KenH is correct. It depends on your listing and they are all individual. In Edinburgh, you probably won’t have to clean the ceiling fans and the AC vents. Or the lounging furniture on the dock. :slight_smile:

I love @KKC’s list but that’s still individual to her place. For example, we are near the beach (not an Edinburgh problem I know) and provide beach chairs, umbrellas etc. They live in the closet so this needs to be cleaned of sand after every guest. Edinburgh will have its own issues!

Cleaning for Airbnb is completely different - it’s not like ‘normal’ household cleaning. If I was you, I’d clean the place to my own standards and then take the cleaner round, pointing out everything that needs to be done. The perfect cleaner is one who is accustomed to cleaning Airbnb properties. Truly, guests will look behind the fridge or under furniture.

If you do the cleaning yourself for the first few months, you’ll get a feel for your rental and be able to train your cleaner. For instance, I have to check all the crockery/cutlery/pans in the kitchen of our rental because although guests usually wash them, they are often not done properly and put in the cupboards but still need cleaning again. The interior of the fridge almost always needs cleaning thoroughly.

Good luck with your cleaner :slight_smile:

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By the way, my list is not for my “cleaner” but for my co-host. I did take her around and show her as I went over the list and she lived here for 9 months so she knows how picky I am! She’s been admonished more than once. LOL

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Remember too that one of the most important thing for cleaners to do is to take photographs of any excessive mess and / or damage and text them to the property owner immediately.

If the host is going to make any sort of claim, this is essential. And don’t let cleaners say ‘the place was in such bad shape that it took twice as long to clean’ without photographic evidence. Cleaners can be scammers too. :slight_smile:

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Hi @Prayas_Choudhary,

I’m also in Edinburgh and there’s a couple of things that I’ve found I have to do there that I’ve not had to do anywhere else I lived.

Edinburgh’s very large seagull population has often resulted in big streaky bird poo down the window and that mixed with the not infrequent heavy rain can mean the windows get dirty quite quickly. If you are on a high floor or have difficult to clean windows you might want to consider a monthly window cleaning service where somebody with a big sponge on a pole cleans the windows from street level. You don’t need to be there when they do it, unless they need access to the rear of the building. Don’t forget to warn your guests if you’re doing this as they might get a fright when a big sponge flies into their second floor window!

If you have a shared stairway, make sure that the cleaning list includes checking the stairway for rubbish or damage. We share a weekly cleaning service with all the other flats on our stair where somebody comes in once a week and mops/sweep the stairs, hallway and bannisters and once a month will clean all the brass main door fittings. Even though we have this sometimes the stairway gets dirty in between cleanings and it’s worth checking.

Aside from those things, things like checking the outside of the door - I once had some building work done and didn’t notice a massive black handprint on the outside of the cream front door for two weeks. Turning all the lights on and off to check the bulbs are okay.

That’s all I can think of for now!

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