Struggling to keep up with your holiday home cleaning tasks during the busy summer holidays? Feel like all your spare time is being spent cleaning up after your guests?
The summer holidays always come with a spike in holiday home bookings, but if you’re managing the property on your own then it can be a struggle to keep it in good condition. With one guest checking out at 10am and another checking in at 4 there’s not a lot of time to turn the house around, which is why we have put together our holiday home cleaning checklist for hosts just like you.
Air Out The Space
Once your guests have checked out after a summer getaway the very first thing you should do is open all doors and windows to completely air out the space.
This will get rid of any lingering cooking smells or unwanted scents and will allow the fresh summer air to circulate throughout the property. If you use scent dispensers or plug-in air fresheners to keep the space smelling good, then be sure to refill them and to keep the windows open for the arrival of your next guests.
Change The Sheets
Next, it’s time to change the bedsheets and towels. Strip all the beds in the property, even if they have not been slept in, and remove all of the towels and bathmats from the bathroom before replacing them with clean ones. Fluff up the pillows and add little touches to make your guests feel at home - maybe a lavender reed diffuser on the nightstand or a complimentary bag of chocolates on the pillow.
It is a good idea to ask your guests to leave their used towels in the bath and to place the ones that they have not used on the towel rack to help you differentiate between the two. This way you are not wasting water or electricity cleaning unused towels or trying to guess which towels have or haven’t been used.
Empty The Kitchen
As a main communal space, it’s highly likely that your guests will have spent a lot of time in the kitchen cooking meals together, dining with their loved ones and (inevitably) leaving their fair share of clutter.
Any respectful guests will have washed their dishes and tidied up before checkout, so your main tasks in the kitchen will involve emptying the dishwasher or the drying rack and clearing out the fridge. Any food left by the guests, even if it is in date, needs to be removed and all crumbs and spills must be cleaned away.
Empty The Bins
Once you have binned all the rubbish left behind by your previous guests in the kitchen, take a walk throughout the property to collect all the bins in the bedrooms and bathrooms.
Empty all the bathroom bins into a large bin bag and do the same with the ones from the bedrooms then safely dispose of them all in the relevant bins outside your property.
Sweep The Floors
The summer holidays always bring with them dust from dry pathways and sand from sunny beach days, so sweep all the laminate or tiled floors in the kitchen, bathrooms and hallways before mopping them as necessary.
Then hoover all the carpets, including under the beds, sofas, and cupboards, and be sure to lift up all rugs and welcome mats to tackle the dust under them as well. If you notice any persistent stains that will not come out then be sure to document them with photos, notify your previous guests of the damage, and arrange a professional carpet cleaning service from your local Domestique team.
Restock The Property
There are a few staple items that you should restock after each visit, including hand soaps, washing up liquid, loo roll and bin bags.
Aside from this, you may also want to leave complimentary coffee, tea bags, milk, sugar, and toiletries for your guests. This will welcome them, help them to relax, and show your commitment to their comfort, so replace any used items and make a list of the supplies that will need to be replenished after the next stay.
Our Holiday Home Cleaning Services
With Domestique, you will never have to struggle with holiday home cleaning again. Our nationwide cleaning services will fit around your bookings and keep your services running smoothly this summer, so contact us today for an ongoing cleaning schedule or one-off clean - perfect for short-term stays and fast turnarounds.