How do you actually achieve this standard? How clean was it in measurably terms when you got it?
If you went around with a black light would the home be perfectly clean? No.
If you swabbed the toilet seat would their be some fecal matter, yes. It is virtually impossible to remove it merely by cleaning it in place. You can reduce it but bacteria is there in cracks even if not visible to the eye. How clean it was is highly subjective and when people return they are able to see small amounts of dirt and smudges and dust and particles because they are actively looking for them. They did not judge the state of clean so highly when they left. People are ALWAYS harsher judges of others than they are of themselves. This is a proven fact of psychology.
You therefore have to clean the house to a higher state of clean to meet their subjective judgement. In order for them to be happy, you would have to pass a white glove test that the house they left you probably would not pass.
We judge ourselves based on our intentions, whereas we will judge other people based on their outcomes. We recognize the effort that we put forth whenever we fall short and give ourselves slack because we know that we tried. However, that is much more difficult to do with others because we can’t read their minds, and all we know is that we didn’t get the result out of them that we wanted. We tend to place blame on the individual for not doing well, and we don’t take into account if there were outside factors that kept them from being successful. Our guests were not familiar with the cleaning tools and products or they simply cleaned the things very well we did not notice and cleaned the things less well that we cared about. Some people are particular about the taps, some about the inside of the microwave oven.
We cleaned our kitchen diner floor when we returned on Tuesday. The water from the wet and dry vacuum cleaner was filthy. The guests had mopped it, like they mopped their floor in Spain. This simply evens out the dirt so the eye cannot see a dirty floor, but it is not as clean as we left it because if you don’t suck the dirty water up you simply spread 80% of it around in suspension or solution the water dries and the dirt is still on the floor.
Cleaning? Prices vary by service. For DIY, start with decluttering, dusting, and vacuuming. To avoid fees, consider a community cleanup event or barter services with friends!
how would a community cleanup or bartering even work? You would ask your friends to clean up after HE guests? How would community clean up work? What is the advantage over doing yourself of paying someone?
So important to discuss expectations ahead of time. I absolutely would not be okay with coming home to a dirty house. Leaving your hosts home clean and tidy shows respect and appreciation.
I’m currently seeking advice regarding a situation I have never encountered before: I agreed to pay a US$ 180 cleaning fee for a small one bedroom flat in Brooklyn and, once here, I’m learning from friends and family that the cost is far from reasonable (specially considering that much of the cleaning is being done by me, because I’m catsitting free of charge for my hostess.) I’ve discussed the matter with my hostess and she explained that the cleaning cost is just US$ 90, but she is charging me twice because she hasn’t had the time to clean before my arrival and, of course, she needs her flat to be clean for her next guests after my departure. I don’t think this is standard practice on this community but I’m curious to know if anyone has ever had to deal with this.
I think in home exchange, we should return the home in the state it was given to us. It is not fair to expect guests to clean your home more than you yourself has prepared it for them. That would also mean that if I prepare my home well for my guests, I in reality prepare it for myself, as that would be the state I would get my home back.
Cleaning wise I have luckily never been disappointed, but I do also regard my partners as guests, I do not check with white gloves on. I do not expect more than a Friday clean as we would say here, I think many of us tidy and clean more than is expected, we just do it because we want to welcome our guests. And same as we leave, many of us.
But people have different standards as to what is “normal”. That doesn’t equal “wrong” - just “different”. So it is important to communicate - have cleaning equipment, inform what products you use where is a great help (for instance as a guide in the welcome guide, or write with a marker on the bottles). Please strip the beds and out linen/ towels in the laundry. If you have time - would it be possible to put on fresh linen for the children, as we arrive home very late? Etc.
Be transparent. And give a transparent review, this will help them getting the good matches. It can be done both kind and honest. If someone has just forgot to go out with the trash, say it and say I’m sorry, or the other way, it can also be done in a DM - “seems you forgot the trash, don’t worry, we took care of it”.
I am new to home exchange, I am in Sydney and there seems to be a big demand, especially for shorter stays. I just hosted 3 pairs of guests for 3-4 days each whilst I was away for 10 days. I gave them all the option of paying for cleaning or leaving the apartment ready for the next guest. This included making the bed and putting the linen in the washing machine and dryer (2 sets of linen provided so no rush). All 3 pairs of guests chose to turn the apartment around themselves. The last guest gave me a slightly lower score for cleanliness (when I asked there was some hair on the floor), they also left it the least tidy (the first two guests sent me detailed photos). I feel my profile now has a lower score and I have been penalised for offering a no cleaning fee option (trust me I am a clean freak!). If I was local I would have no problem checking it between guests but it is my primary residence and I was away. This kind of situation makes it less attractive to hosts to allow short stays.
A cleaner with linen service costs $200 where I live for a 2 bedroom apartment so very hard for a host to cover this for multiple short stays.
I think you set expectations they are coming behind someone and for me three short exchanges in a row would have been too many. I try to avoid having a large group come before a small group in back to back exchanges because usually its one main person cleaning up and they may run out of steam. That said if you see alot of reviews indicating they did a great job cleaning etc it might sway you. You can require a cleaning fee and alot of short stays will evaporate. You can state an optional fee and decide case by case.
Hi JanaJana,
You are brave to do back to back exchanges with 3 lots of different guests in such a short time! I personally am in Brisbane and still hesitant to offer such. In my experience with guests, everyone has a different standard of cleanliness and when it comes to cleaning after themselves and leaving the house in the original condition, that most likely won’t be to your own standard (as you noted you are a clean freak :).
Sorry to hear about your star rating being affected by the last lot of guests.
Thank you for posting your experience, as that also helps us all to see what can happen.
Best of luck with future guests.
Hi JanaJana,
I personally am in Brisbane and still hesitant to offer such. In my experience with guests, everyone has a different standard of cleanliness and when it comes to cleaning after themselves and leaving the house in the original condition, that most likely won’t be to your own standard (as you noted you are a clean freak :).