With the coronavirus crisis reaching its peak, you may be experiencing an understandable lull in guests at your vacation rental home. As with any crisis, this too shall pass, and you will again see an influx of visitors and rental income to your home. In the meantime, now may be the perfect opportunity to do a deep clean and refresh your home— or even do some small renovations.
The vacation rental experts at Eden Crest want to share with you the best way to deep clean and sanitize your vacation rental home. A deep clean should be performed every six months on a busy vacation rental— even without the current virus panic. Deep cleaning is also seen as preventative maintenance by most seasoned vacation rental owners.
Here are a few steps to take to make sure your vacation rental home is spotlessly clean and ready for your next guests.
Remove humidity.
A healthy amount of humidity in the air is beneficial, but too much humidity can lead to mold growth and virus transmission. Aim to keep the humidity levels in your vacation rental home at or below 50 percent. This can help reduce mold growth, dust, and common annoying allergens. An inexpensive dehumidifier can easily manage humidity levels indoors.
Clean— and maybe update— the floors.
Dust and allergens make their way into our homes via our shoes. Invest in a high-end vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter to help eliminate dust from your floors and keep your vacation rental home clean. Encourage guests to remove their shoes when staying in your rental.
Cozy and budget-friendly, carpet is a popular option for vacation rental homes. But it’s also notorious for trapping dust and allergens in its fibers. Waterproof vinyl flooring, tile, or hardwood flooring is better for high-traffic venues like vacation rentals. Consider swapping out the carpet for one of these options instead.
Clear the air.
An in-home air purification system can help reduce the severity of allergy systems for your guests. These systems can help reduce the number of dust mites and pollen in the air, as well as help keep other surfaces clean. Airtight windows and doors. If air can blow in around windows and doors, then so can dust. Make sure seals around doors and windows are airtight. (Bonus: this will also help with energy efficiency!)
Allergy-proof the bedding.
Not only are we dealing with Covid-19, but we are also experiencing record pollen levels this year. Hypoallergenic mattress and pillow covers can keep dust and debris out. Now is the ideal time to rotate mattresses, sanitize existing mattresses and pillow covers or buy new ones, or even invest in all new mattresses and pillows.
Steam clean your carpets.
Carpets in vacation rental homes see a lot more wear and tear than your average home carpet. Homes in the Great Smoky Mountains, in particular, take more of a beating from sand, mud, salt, and hiking boots. Professional carpet cleaning lifts not only stains and odors but also eliminates germs and contaminates too.
Wash the window treatments.
Dust and germs collect on your window treatments year-round. Window treatments are often given a cursory cleaning— a good shaking or a spray with Febreeze— and benefit the most from a deep cleaning. Remove curtains completely and have them dry cleaned or throw them in the washing machine if possible. Remove plastic blinds too. Take them outside and spray them down with water and sanitizer, allow them to dry, and re-install them. Simply wiping your plastic blinds with a cloth will not disinfect or properly clean them.
Clean the light fixtures and air vents.
No matter how clean your home is, if a guest turns on a light and sees dirt and dead bugs collected inside of it, they will have the impression that your home is unclean. Remove all globe fixtures regularly and wash them with soap and water. Dust the tops of all the lightbulbs— after the light has been turned off for a while, of course.
Remove all the HVAC covers from your home and the exhaust fans from the bathrooms. Soak them in warm soapy water and scrub them clean. Make sure they are completely dry before re-installing. A clean vent isn’t something a guest would notice or mention in a review— but you can bet that a dirty vent will stand out and be perceived as negative.
Clean behind major appliances.
Pull out the refrigerator, stove, dryer, and washing machine and clean behind and underneath them— you’ll be shocked at what you find! Remove all the shelving and crisper drawers from your refrigerator and wash them with soapy water. Also, remove the ice bin, throw away the old ice, and clean the bin. Remove the warming drawer on your oven and make sure it’s spic and span. Run a cleaning cycle on both the oven and the washing machine.
Clean the kitchen drawers and cabinets.
Open all the cabinets and all the drawers in the kitchen. Remove everything from inside and give the insides a thorough cleaning and wipe down. Crumbs, dust, and hair have an annoying way of collecting in the dark corners of kitchen cabinets. Now is a good time to do a thorough inventory of your kitchen items too— make sure all glasses, mugs, silverware, and small appliances are sparkling clean and in good shape.
Be proactive.
It’s an unprecedented time of fear and uncertainty right now. Sometimes the best way to soothe frazzled nerves and calm anxieties is to take some positive and constructive action. Once this crisis has passed, your vacation rental home will once again be a buzzing hive of happy guests. Take action now to ensure the future enjoyment of your guests— you’ll be so glad that you did.
For more info on how Eden Crest can help homeowners navigate through the coronavirus crisis, give us a call or send us an email.
