Updated on December 2, 2024
Welcoming guests to a pristine home is a nonnegotiable element of staying in business as a short-term rental host – let alone earning a 5-star review. In this guide, we’ll explain how a turnover clean and a residential clean differ and outline the essentials of turnover cleaning. These include choosing the right products, effective cleaning methods, deep cleaning schedules, property setup for efficient cleaning, and room-by-room checklists.
Turnover cleans vs. residential cleanings
Turnover cleaning is more intensive than standard residential cleaning. While regular cleaning focuses on maintaining a home’s general sanitation and functionality, the goal of turnover cleaning is to restore the property’s interior to a like-new condition for incoming guests. This involves meticulously cleaning all areas, including those usually left out of routine cleanings.
“A lot of what we’re doing is kind of looking under the hood of things like the bed and the couch and really just getting into the details that we may not do otherwise,” said Chris Carlone, co-founder and CEO of TidyHost on an episode of the Thanks for Visiting podcast.
Examples of this are emptying the toaster crumb tray or replacing linens and furnishings with small stains.
In a residential cleaning, “if a kitchen mat had a stain on it, you flip it over because folks live there,” Chris said. You throw out the kitchen mat in a turnover cleaning and replace it with a new one.
What does a turnover cleaning include?
- Sanitizing kitchens and bathrooms, wiping appliances inside and out, and scrubbing tiles and grout
- Dusting and wiping down all surfaces, such as furniture, windowsills, and cabinets
- Vacuuming carpets, mopping hard floors, and removing stains or spills
- Changing and laundering bed linens and towels
- Restocking toiletries, kitchen supplies, and cleaning products
Use cleaning checklists
Checklists – whether on paper or digital – remind cleaners on what to do during each turnover at your short-term rental to make sure nothing is left behind and serve a training materials for onboarding new cleaners, according to Breezeway.
The Breezeway platform offers customized, room-by-room checklists, time tracking, photo uploads, cleaner scheduling and payments, and supply tracking.
At the end of each turnover cleaning, take lots of photos, Holli advised. Photos help protect you if a guest makes an unjustified claim about the cleanliness of your property to one of the booking sites like Vrbo or Airbnb. These photos can be uploaded to mobile applications like Breezeway as part of a checklist.
Follow the wall method
The “follow the wall method,” a strategy that professional cleaners often employ, is a great way to boost cleaning efficiency and avoid overlooking any areas. It involves starting at a point along a wall and working around the room’s perimeter, going from top to bottom as you clean corners and edges along the way. Once the perimeter is complete, the cleaner continues inward toward the central areas of the room and then ends at the starting point.
“It ensures that every part of the property is [cleaned and] looked at in a systematic and orderly way, including the closets, cabinets, under furniture, and behind doors,” wrote vacation rental cleaning expert Durk Johnson in an iCare 211 article.
Here are some tips from Durk on how to successfully use the method:
- Clean from the top to the bottom as you move through the property.
- Use furniture, counters, cabinets, or flooring borders to create imaginary walls. This helps you remember to clean things in the middle of the room, like kitchen islands or furniture.
- Work from the bottom to the top when cleaning dressers or cabinets. This creates a more efficient workflow.
- In multilevel properties, clean each floor as its own section.
- Leave the kitchen for last or as close to the end as possible.
What to deep clean and when
Deep cleaning involves cleaning areas that aren’t highly visible or exposed in detail. This could include moving and cleaning behind appliances and heavy furniture, sanitizing light switches, dusting and polishing light fixtures, steam cleaning carpet and upholstery, wiping baseboards, and inspecting air filters, according to Hostfully.
A short-term rental property typically needs a deep clean every three to six months, depending on turnover and factors such as the property’s age, season, and natural environment. Deep cleaning becomes more important during seasonal changes when dirt, allergens, mold, mildew, and pests can build up more quickly.
However, Turno advises monitoring guest reviews for tags, such as bad odors or dust, which could alert you to the need for a deep cleaning earlier than anticipated.
Choosing cleaning supplies & products
Conducting a thorough cleaning requires the appropriate products. According to Holli Kohls, owner of Kohls Property Services and Treasurer of Home Hosts of Door County, Wisconsin, this is what you’ll need in your cleaning repertoire:
- Stainless steel cleaner
- Mirror/window cleaner
- Shower/sink cleaner
- All-purpose cleaner
- Dust spray
- Rust remover/lime remover
- Laundry detergent + backup
- Dryer sheets + backup
- Mold and mildew remover
- Disposable plastic gloves for biohazard materials
- Long-handled duster for fans
- Broom and dustpan or vac-mop for sweeping
- Floor cleaner
- Many rags
- Lint rollers
Your cleaning chemicals should be effective against common pathogens, but you should also consider the safety of guests, especially those with allergies or sensitivities. Choosing eco-friendly cleaning solutions can help protect the safety of your guests and the environment.
Effective eco-friendly cleaning products:
- All-purpose cleaner: Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds
- Glass cleaner: Blueland Glass + Mirror Spray
- Kitchen disinfectant: Seventh Generation Zero Plastic Kitchen Cleaner
- Degreaser: Groovy Goods Dish Soap Bar
- Pet stain remover: Biokleen Bac-Out Stain Remover
- Laundry detergent: TruEarth laundry strips
- Sponges: Public Goods Walnut Scrub Sponges
Property setup for efficient cleaning
Choosing the right products and schedule is just the beginning of cleaning your STR property. You also need a proper plan and setup that any cleaner can follow. If you clean your rentals yourself, this plan can serve as a reminder for details you might forget, and if you hire a cleaner, this plan provides a roadmap for them to make the property look just the way you want it.
Holli suggests providing ample storage solutions such as cleaning closets with cleaning chemicals, supplies, and a vacuum cleaner on every floor.
For each bed, provide three sets of sheets, three sets of pillowcases for each pillow, two mattress pads, two bed-bug cases, three sets of towels, and three sets of black makeup towels. By using an app like Breezeway to track your supplies, you’ll know when it’s time to replace one of these items.
“The reason you need the three is one is on the bed, one is in the closet for the next turn, and one is being washed,” Holli said.
Finally, set clear guidelines for cleaning your property. This can be a binder or a digital application like Breezeway. Hosts can upload photos of their desired layouts, such as bed arrangements or bathroom vanity setups, directly into the app. These photos provide cleaners with clear visual guidelines.
“We have a cleaning binder for each of my cleaners, which has their own with all the different properties that we have, and each is listed by room,” Holli said. “It says what needs to be done – all the little fine details that the owners have requested are in there.”
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