Cleanliness rating in times of Covid

It sounds ridiculous, but is it?

In any case, I’m using a “mop” with a big flat head and a washable cover. Because my space is small it doesn’t take long. And I’m not taking down the pictures. I’m just cleaning the parts that are lower and likely to have been touched/rubbed against. This is something I was doing pre-covid if a dog had stayed anyway. But for most people, yeah it’s insane. Luckily transmisson by fomites appears to be much lower than initially thought.

I use a swiffer mop on the walls but it’s getting expensive. I’ll have to look for a washable cover. Thanks for the inspiration : )

This mop has a much bigger head than the swiffer brand. I bought some terry covers for mine off Amazon. I’m using a simple water/bleach solution rather than some expensive cleaners or disinfectants but note I have nothing in the room that can be damaged by bleach droplets as long as the bed covers have been stripped off.

https://smile.amazon.com/Cedar-Hardwood-Microfiber-Telescoping-Handle/dp/B06XWJV9PN/ref=pd_bxgy_2/134-9329283-4335957?

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B2PQD67/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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I think it actually says walls and ceiling, believe it or not. Even if there was some virus particles on the wall, I can’t imagine any guests are in the habit of running their hands along the walls or licking them :crazy_face: And I don’t think any virus particles are going to leap off the walls into people’s faces.

My airbnb room and the room I call my “office” share 10 ft of wall. When I’m in other parts of the house including my bedroom where the closets of the two rooms are back to back I can’t hear much of anything in the Airbnb room. But in my office I certainly can and I assure you something is touching the walls frequently. Maybe it’s just their luggage and dog. I can also tell you from the full length mirror that’s on one wall that there is a good bit of something that gets on it periodically. If an asymptomatic couple were so be in the room and have allergies and sneeze, or snore with mouth open or talk to one another the 10x11 space could be laden with virus and some of that would come to rest on walls just like dust and dog hair does.

I used to “mop the walls” about 6 times a year and spot clean if I saw something. Now it looks like I’ll be doing it about 6 times a month until I become convinced it’s a complete waste of time.

Thank you so much! I’m placing my order tonight. Goodbye Swiffer! LOL

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Interesting and valid point. I need to travel OOT. Kenneling my spoiled brats means >$300 I don’t easily have. I searched for an Airbnb so I could use my voucher that allows pups. In my search area there were none.

Currently I’m asking friends for dog sitting services. My 86 yr old dad will gladly keep my 12 year old yorkie who thinks sleeping is his personal Olympic training program. Snoozing on the couch is an excellent past-time for both.

The young dog may end up being kenneled. He’s work. Not badly behaved but high maintenance.

I will travel with my own disinfectant & masks if the host is “relaxed “

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I just had this request today. I think my jaw literally dropped. I have a 10x11 with some hallway and bathroom space.

9 living

I replied that the space was much too small but I suggested they look on Rover.com for someone to board the dogs with and they get a 2 bed hotel room for the night. He replied thanks, that he hadn’t even thought of that. :hushed:

In your situation look and see if there are Rover hosts in the area where you’d like to stay.

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I only rent to solo guests- the room has a single bed and even putting in a double would make the room cramped, whereas there is adequate space for a single person to move around. I had a guest ask if she could share the room with a friend, they could bring an air mattress, and I reiterated that it is only for one person. She apologized, and booked anyway. She turned out to be a really cool person and when she saw the room, she said she totally now understood why I wouldn’t allow 2 people in there.

Why I’m blocked for my shared home listings now.

I can avoid contact with inept, ignorant, or thoughtless guests everywhere but the shared entry porch and downstairs hallway, which is also the quickest path from my kitchen to my living room.

Experience tells me that if I am open there will always be just enough clueless guests to pose a real danger to this geezer.

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Can’t do that at 58 degN, where sunset tonight is 9:47pm, sunrise will be 4:27am, and it doesn’t get darker than late twilight. I have heavy, hard to wash blackout curtains.

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Luckily I converted to wooden plantation shutters about a year ago, they keep it very dark in their if pushed all the way closed. I also took out the wall to wall carpet last year.

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This new study says printed material should be quarantined for 4 days. I took printed materials out of the room as much as possible and that little that remains is in plastic page protectors that can be wiped down or sprayed.

Me, too. Only left the guidebook in the plastic cover with the plastic page protectors. But I’m not washin’ the walls, KC!
But at the rate things are going, I may not reopen to platform (vs. private) bookings until post-vaccine.

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On another note, how do you “sanitize” a vacumn cleaner? I’ve been wiping the suction head and body and wheels with disinfectant wipes. It’s a Miele with expensive filters and bags. It’s not cost-effective for me to change them every stay. I assume these high end filters capture rather than blow stuff around the room.

I’ve was appalled when I did it after my friend had stayed in there for 2 months. All the dogs liked being in there with her as well. Of course we have a lot more dust here.

After hosting 3 bookings in the last week I’ve changed my setting to a two day minimum with two days between bookings. That may effectively stop all bookings but I already need a break. Maybe I’ll go back to one night but raise the cleaning fee. Or remove the cleaning protocol opt in. LOL

I don’t use the vacuum right now. Before I was using a robot vac. I’d put it out in the direct sunlight and spray the filter box and brush with disinfectant and rotate the two robot vacs so each one was about a week off. But given that requirement I decided to go with sweep, then swiffer with washable cloth then mop. I don’t have any rugs or carpet in there.

However I have very low concern about the virus being transmitted via surfaces (fomites) with the way I’m running my cleaning.

If I had to have a vac for my Airbnb I’d look for one that is cheaper and easier to clean.

I use a Shop Vac- they’re cheap but noisy, and they are powerful. You can get bags for them, or just use the canister itself, which I normally do, but would use bags for COVID cleaning. Then you just have to wipe the inside of the canister out, or you could pour some bleach in it and hose it out.

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Good idea, got one in the garage!

Always good to share ideas & tips for guest & personal protection during these strange times.

Our homes are not sterile and they never will be. Do the best you can but don’t drive yourself crazy. The latest CDC info is that the biggest risk is airborne droplets not Germs on surfaces.

I’m a big believer in masks and across the room sterile hugs. Lysol spray and hand sanitizer are my constant companions.

Guests have a personal responsibility for their own safety too. Providing them with Antibacterial wipes is a good thing. Remember, they are traveling and choosing to be in environments other than their own homes.

Food for thought: the very expensive HVAC filters that filter out the tiny particles will prevent germs from being recycled. They may be worth the investment for the next few months

An example:

I own two of the Molekule PECO filters and they claim the reduce coronaviruses but they haven’t been tested on this novel coronavirus. Im happy to know it might help but I don’t think I’d buy one for that purpose.

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