The days are getting longer, the sun is shining, and it’s time for some spring cleaning. For vacation rentals, that’s a less daunting task than it might be for our own homes. After all, short-term rentals get a thorough cleaning after every guest. Nevertheless, there are plenty of little things that need attention, and now’s a great time to take care of them.
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Whether you’re cleaning your own rental or instructing someone else, spring cleaning will be more efficient if you take one task at a time and use the same sequence in every room. For example, when dusting, always start with the ceiling fans and work your way down to the baseboards. Do the same in every room until all the dusting has been completed. Repeat all the cleaning tasks until everything is spick and span.
If possible, block a couple of days for this so you can take your time and get to everything. You’ll be left with a vacation rental that feels brand new, and your guest will feel the love.
Here are a few tasks you shouldn’t forget to tackle when spring cleaning your vacation rental:
Start by decluttering and organizing
After a busy season, chances are that not many things are where you first put them. As the host, you probably know better than anyone where everything goes. Take the time to go through every room, closet, and cabinet and put everything where it belongs. This is a good time to note missing items, too, especially in the kitchen. If you don’t have staging photos showing where everything is supposed to go, be sure to take them after things have been put back.
Take the time to declutter while you’re at it. Get rid of the old, the tired, and the out-of-date (insert spouse joke here) – think old brochures, chargers for outdated tech, worn door mats, threadbare rugs, broken accessories, etc. Don’t forget the kitchen, since plenty of guests will buy duplicates of basics that are already there. Hopefully, your housekeepers are throwing food away, but just in case, make sure you haven’t ended up with the ubiquitous seven bottles of mustard in the vacation rental fridge. While you’re in the kitchen, check for expired and mostly empty spices and condiments, if your kitchen amenities include those. Store out-of-season decor (yes, it’s about time you say goodbye to winter decor). Make a note of anything that needs replacing.
Do your guests use cordless phones, clock radios, VCRs, or any other outdated tech that might still be in your vacation rental? If you’re pretty sure the answer is no, get rid of it. Put it in storage if you’re nervous about this. If no one has asked after a year, it’s safe to let it go. Why? 1) It’s one less thing to collect dust 2) It makes your rental look dated and 3) When the one guest out of 50 tries to use it, Murphy’s Law says it won’t work and they want it fixed. This happened to me last summer with a stray cordless phone in a bedroom that my team forgot to add to the donation pile.
Not only will decluttering give your vacation rental a fresh look, but it will also open up the space and make it look bigger.
Check your inventories
While you’re organizing your laundry closets, take the time to inspect your linens. Check white linens for yellowing or dinginess. Try to remove stains and freshen them up with a good wash if you feel up to it. Donate all rejected sheets and towels to a local animal shelter. Note: if it seems like your linens are falling apart a lot faster than they should, your housekeepers might be overdoing it with chlorine bleach. Ask them to use oxygen bleach, like Oxi-Clean, instead.
Check your pots and pans, cooking tools, glasses, and dishes, too. Ensure all soap dispensers are clean and working, and that bathroom accessories are present and accounted for. You get the picture, make sure that anything that can wear out is not worn out. Write down (or take pictures of) all that needs to be replaced.
Clean and dust all surfaces
Once you’ve decluttered and organized, it’s time to get down to business with some deep cleaning. Cleaning from top to bottom is the best way to go about it.
Start by giving the ceiling, walls, and furniture thorough dusting. You wouldn’t believe how much dust can collect on walls and ceiling fans. Pay special attention to corners, and don’t forget to de-bug light fixtures. Dust behind furniture, especially if there are a lot of cords back there.
Examine everything with an eagle eye when you’re wiping things down. In addition to the usual surfaces, look for fingerprints on doors and door frames, grime on switches and around door knobs and dirt on baseboards.
Dirty windows not only look bad, but they also don’t let in as much light, making the space feel dull and dark. If possible, clean the windows inside and out, including window frames and sills, and get those pesky streaks off for an immaculate finish. If your windows are too high to reach, hire a window-washing company. Don’t forget to wipe door exteriors as they can become quite dirty over time.
And finally, your guests will surely notice the difference if you spend some time giving your floors a good scrubbing. Especially floors in the kitchen or dining room can have all sorts of stains and buildup of dirt, so give them a deep clean; make sure to use an appropriate cleaner for each type of flooring. If you’ve got a steam cleaner, now’s the time to break it out for tile floors.
Some of our favorite cleaning tools:
Give your vacation rental kitchen and bathroom a good scrub down
While kitchens and bathrooms must be thoroughly cleaned after every guest, give them extra attention when spring cleaning your Airbnb. Make sure to clean every surface to get rid of possible germs. It’s a good idea to start with the hardest jobs first. For bathrooms, that’s usually the shower. In the kitchen, the oven is probably the hardest thing to clean.
In the kitchen, scrub all the tools and appliances, and don’t forget the spaces behind them – these are often the dirtiest areas. While you were checking your utensils, glasses, and dishes for damage you might have found some gross things the dishwasher missed. Give those a good soak and a scrub. Clean the oven and refrigerator coils. Descale your coffee maker and tea kettle, sanitize the dishwasher and wash the refrigerator shelves and drawers. Don’t forget to wipe down the cabinet fronts.
If you pair spring cleaning with maintenance tasks, now would be a good time to check if all small appliances are working properly and replace any that are not. Also, change any water filters and touch up kitchen cabinets.
In the bathroom, check for mold and mildew growth in the shower and bathtub areas, as well as on the walls and ceiling. If you find any signs of moisture or dampness, take measures to solve it before it gets worse. Deep clean hidden surfaces – scrub under and behind the toilets, sinks, and bathroom vanity to get rid of any dirt and grime. Clean the grout between tiles so that it looks fresh and shiny and give faucets a good buffing. Steam cleaners are great for this, and for getting all the hard-to-clean crevices around sinks. If you have a glass shower, get it sparkling clean.
Call in the pros for carpets, upholstery, rugs, and drapes
Hiring a professional carpet and upholstery cleaner is worth the price. Look for someone with good reviews, and if you haven’t already, ask if they can apply a stain repellant to the final rinse.
Need help with buying the best sofa for your vacation rental? Use this free sofa shopping guide!
Large rugs and most draperies will need to be cleaned by specialists. Make sure their schedule aligns with your rental calendar before hiring them. If your vacation rental is pet friendly, check rugs and carpets carefully for pet stains and damage, often a professional can make them good as new but it helps if you can point out problem areas.
Don’t forget about ventilation systems and filters
Another important aspect of spring cleaning your vacation rental is paying extra attention to spots that are usually neglected and ensuring everything that falls into the category of “hidden dirt” is cleaned. Vacuum HVAC vents and returns, and make sure the furnace filter is changed. If you’ve got mini-splits, remove, rinse, dry, and replace the filters.
Polish smaller surfaces
Once the big areas are covered, you can move on to details. Polish and touch up wooden furniture and make sure it looks as good as new, clean door knobs and make fixtures shine. Make certain the light switches and remote controls are sanitized.
Clean the exterior of your vacation rental
Spring cleaning isn’t just about tidying up the indoors – make sure to take care of the outside too (if applicable). Sweep porches and decks, make sure bushes and trees are trimmed, and scrub away any hard water stains on pool tiles (or ask your pool cleaner about bead blasting). Check for loose or cracked tiles and any décor items that need replacing. It’s also a good time to check for problems with external walls, windows, and other parts of the building; make sure everything is in working order and there are no cracks or weather damage. Consider hiring a pressure washing company if necessary.
Anything else that needs replacing? Grab this free vacation rental budget workbook to calculate expenses and make sure you don’t forget anything.
Stock up on supplies
If you supply cleaning supplies to your housekeeping team, check your supply levels and make sure to discard any product you prefer not to have used (like chlorine bleach.) Make sure you have carpet spot cleaner and any specialty products your rental needs, like stone or leather cleaner. Give your guests access to cleaning products, or give them their own supply to encourage good behavior.
Touch-up paint, cabinets, and furniture
Suitcases, vacuum cleaners, mops, and time will take their toll on your baseboards, walls, and doors. Freshen up any paint that needs it. Check furniture and cabinets for dings and nicks, also, and touch up as needed.
Last but not least – make it pretty
Finally, give your vacation rental a mini makeover. Change up the furniture arrangement if needed, add a side table or two, or hang new artwork to give your vacation rental a new look.
Class up the bedroom decor, add flowers or plants to the living room (faux or fresh), or bring bits of the surrounding landscape inside to impart a sense of place; this way, you can add some style to your vacation rental without breaking the bank.
All these small details can really elevate the look of your place and freshen it up. To keep it smelling delightful, use natural room sprays or diffusers just before your guests arrive for that just-cleaned effect.
Phew, now your vacation rental looks just as fabulous as it did when you first opened your doors. You may need a nap, but you’ve done a great job communicating to your future guests that you are an impeccable host who takes care of every detail and that your vacation rental will be worth every penny.
I hope this guide has been helpful for spring cleaning your vacation rental; have a great time getting to it!
