I would just stop providing Q tips and cotton balls or leave them in containers and let the guests decide if they are comfortable with using them. Another option might be putting some in those little plastic snack bags, but some will find that wasteful. You can’t please everyone.
I don’t like the implication that Airbnb hosts don’t thoroughly clean everything between guests. This is NOT the case. I understand that you might be new to Airbnb but please note that genuine hosts have much higher cleaning standards than hotels.
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Thank you, moderators. How you say things to others is a basic courtesy that is, unfortunately for you, expected here. We ARE a community, and politeness, courtesy, a sense of humor, and a desire to help and share are minimum standards in a group that has, for years, been a ‘go to’ place for information, consolation, and interaction from hosts worldwide.
Please understand that trolling and a condescending attitude have made possible helpful comments by you dismissed.
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No, I don’t know “that area” that I “might not always get a rag on”- you’d never find any area in my home like that. Every square centimeter gets cleaned when I clean- under, behind, etc.
As for all your admonitions about what is “safe” in a kitchen, I do understand where you are coming from- I have several friends and relatives who had to take food-safe courses because they worked in the restaurant industry. They are over-the-top with food safety, to the point of ridiculous. One friend will throw away a half a pot of cooked rice if it’s sat out on the stove for 2 hours, because it was drilled into her that it can breed bacteria. And in certain conditions, it probably can. But I’ve been eating cooked rice that has sat out unrefrigerated overnight all my life and it’s never once made me sick.
A lot of that food safety is more about not getting sued than practices actually being particularly dangerous. North Americans seem to be sick a lot and have a large incidence of asthma and allergies, which many doctors say is a result of people keeping their homes sterilized as if they were hospitals. No one builds up any immunity to things people in less sterile countries are exposed to every day which doesn’t result in them getting sick.
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I not only host, but use Airbnb when I travel. The only place I’ve stayed that looked as if every square centimeter was cleaned was a place that had no reviews; we were their first guest in their recently renovated basement apartment.
Though there are quite a few folks on here (like muddy) that I believe have absolutely spotless “so clean I could eat off any surface” suites, that is not the norm. And given the pressure to give anything that is vaguely acceptable five stars it is hard for travelers to find those places that are truly outstanding.
Because I travel, I’m not always in town to do the final walk through after my rentals are cleaned and staged. I appreciate the suggestions on how to make turnovers a bit more fool proof, in case I’m not there to get the last soap smudges off the shower wall.
It’s easier for me than a lot of hosts- my listing is a private room/bath in my home. I do the cleaning myself, and as I built my house from scratch, I designed it with easy cleaning in mind. No nooks and crannies for dirt and grunge to collect, tile floors, and the furniture, none of which is heavy in the guest space, can be easily slid around so I don’t have to try to clean under and behind things. Guests share my kitchen (so I haven’t been hosting at all since the pandemic reared its ugly head) and I do make sure that’s clean, but in my own room and living room, which I don’t share, I can assure you things aren’t all that pristine.
And while I did have a woman who cleaned my whole house once every 2 weeks, I always did the guest room/bath myself, for the reason you state- I haven’t found that anyone else’s cleaning is quite up to the standard I want in the rental space.
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I guess I should mention having my apartment in New Zealand where we have pretty much eliminated Covid19 in the community, my approach to consumables has not changed.
For the bathroom I have always provided single portion shower gel, shampoo and moisturiser. So that hasn’t changed.
For the kitchen I provide jams, butter, margarine, tea and coffee sugar in single serve packets. I have white sugar and coffee grounds in a large containers. I also provide bread and milk which are purchased from the supermarket on the day of the checkin, the bread being in a plastic bag and the milk in a sealed carton. Cereal is usually in single serve portions or if it’s a family then a box of some cereal that was on specia that day 
No complaints so far and the consumables are usually used.
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So true! I finally hired a cleaning crew and the first cleaner they sent did not do the floors! I called her boss texted her pictures of the dirty napkins showing the dirty floors. She was mortified and sent another crew in to do the entire cleaning again. She promised never to send the other cleaner back, and so far my inspections have been satisfactory. I still go over the place really carefully and so glad I live close and I usually can. The first crew I tried to hire wanted so much money I was shocked. The best cleaner I had was someone who had another full time job and I could not always count on her. She was awesome
I still do all the laundry myself and set out the clean linens for them and still do a final alcohol disinfectant after the cleaning crew. I have all this new stuff—3 of each no less. Beautiful 100 percent cotton percale sheets, a new king size duvet with a cotton duvet cover, white cottton floor mats, cotton blankets , white washcloths, pillow protectors, and new black wash cloths—that this forum talked me into buying—and I want to make darn sure they they are not stained, that they are being washed every time, that they are being washed right , and that they stay as nice as possible for as long as possible. I feel a bit like an Airbnb Frankenstein. 
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I need to travel out of the United States. Sigh…someday
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My wife and I do our own cleaning because we can turn the apartment around in two hours and that’s better than hiring people. In the two years we have had the place for AirBnB (and BDC) we’ve only had two complaints. One was dust around the base of the toilet (but the person did say no big deal) and another person who fouind one hair on the floor in the bathroom and too a photo! Talk about anal.
So now when we do the cleaning including all other normal cleaning chores, I always check the base of the toilet and scan very carefully for any stray hairs.
I reckon the bathrooms in our apartment are cleaner than at home 
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I would bet 90% of hosts would agree with that. For the other 10 % , they need to kick back, have a margarita—or sherry—and leave their bathrooms at home for another day!
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Hubby and I did this at first, and I think every new STR owner should if they can, but now we are busier . I still work full time and the middle of the week guests were next to impossible. Plus I get to do all the fun stuff now. Linens, fussing, and inspections!
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Got my 22 and 27 year old kids home for the holidays. They say they are dividing up the chores but when it comes to bathrooms neither meets my standards now So I end up doing them. It’s less hassle then trying to complain. My daughter is living by herself so I have no idea how clean her apartment is and my son is about to go into a rooming situation with a fellow male graduate (both starting new jobs). I shudder to think what the cleaning situation will be like in their condo.
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The chances of anyone contracting COVID or any other virus from inanimate objects (like shampoo bottles or sugar) range from infinitesimal to none whatsoever. And if you are not moving guests in and out same day or next day then you have virtually avoided any issues. Worry more about people in contact with other people and don’t go overboard creating more work or unnecessary worry for yourself.
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I have dispensers for shampoo, etc in the shower. I have liquid hand soap dispensers and get refills. Cleancult is a great “green” company.
They can get/bring their own consumables like sugar. Don’t support single-use toiletrie items that are in plastic containers. Think landfill.
As a side effect of running an Airbnb, I began to notice how dirty “clean” hotel rooms are! Even higher-end lodgings. (This was during my pre-covid travels; maybe they are better now.)
Dust in the corners and water/soap spots on the facets wouldn’t even have gotten my attention pre-Airbnb.
On the subject of coffee, most Keurig machines I’ve seen in the homes of friends have scummy-looking flexible piping that the water goes through. I think it may be easier to do a thorough clean on a drip coffee maker than a closed-system one where you have to take things apart.
The Keurig machines we’ve seen in hotel rooms have been disgusting. Neither of us would ever use one.
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This is really going to gross you all out. It makes me cringe!
After watching that video, I do not think I will give up doing my own laundry at my rental.