Why should your home be deep cleaned
With everyone’s lifestyles usually being super busy, no one ever has time to deep clean their home the right way. Your life is always on the run, everyday matters can get in the way, and that can bring down your lack of energy to do anything, especially cleaning. Even though most people try to make an effort and deep clean their homes every weekend, the amount of effort it takes, to actually do it right, is very tiring. After deep cleaning, you usually are going to be too tired to enjoy your weekend. Especially with Covid-19 going on right now, everyone is staying home which means, extra dirt and dust are being accumulated. With that being said, there is another option you can take, and that is calling a deep clean service company.
Who to call
Once you have decided that you don’t want to deep clean your own house, then you start to look up services. Once you have started to look up cleaning services, make sure you are looking at what all they are offering. Expert house cleaners’ tasks are usually your regular cleaning with a ton of extra detail. Extra details include cleaning the insides of ovens, microwaves, fridges, and drawers. We also will try to get any scuffs off the walls, clean doors, and window seals. We pay extra attention to everything in your home and do our best to make it look brand new. Our professionals will make sure that your home is cleaned from the top to the bottom. Since COVID-19 hit, everyone is scared to catch anything. But at Moxie, we use a disinfectant that is sure to keep you and your family safe. Our priorities are keeping our guests healthy and happy. If you would like your vacation rental deep cleaned you can call Moxie Girl and someone from our helpful team, will be happy to help and address any questions you may have.
How to properly deep clean your house
With everything going on in this crazy world right now, most of you are way too busy to clean or even give your house a nice deep cleaning. When your life gets way too busy, things start to clutter up and dust particles start to multiply quickly. With this Moxie blog, we will make a quick and easy checklist to make sure you are hitting all the right spaces, and areas in your home. We will also hit on what to clean during certain seasons throughout the year.
Where to start on your cleaning
Most people out there hate cleaning, but we know that some people actually love to clean. For those of you who hate cleaning, the first step is to get some motivation boosted up for the day, and for those who love cleaning, let’s get started. So first things first, the best way to start your cleaning is to go room by room and complete one room at a time, so you aren’t all over the place and trying to remember what was cleaned and what wasn’t. The second step is to start on the top floor of your home and work your way to the bottom floor. You do this process so dust will fall to the first floor, and you won’t be cleaning something twice. Now you have picked where you want to start, let’s get started.
Bedrooms
So I usually start in the bedrooms, so that is where my blog will start. The first thing I do is strip all your bedding off including sheets, pillowcases, duvet covers or comforters, then start them in the washer, since laundry is going to take a while. The next thing that I would do is flip or rotate my mattresses because no one wants to feel those springs poking into your back. Next, you are going to want to start from the top of the room and work your way down to the bottom. Start with that ceiling fan, because we all know those collect so much dust and wipe all the cobwebs down from the corners. Next, dust all of your other surfaces including your dressers, headboards, nightstands, window ceils, and don’t forget to wash your baseboards. Before making your bed, clean underneath it and collect all those dirty clothes, empty water bottles, and anything else you store under there. If you are really in the cleaning mood. You can go into your closet and organize it, and get rid of any clothes that you aren’t gonna wear. Grab some clean sheets because making the bed is next. Once you have your bed made, you’re ready for the floors. Grab your vacuum and get all those dust bunnies and all the excess dust that you dusted off your furniture. The last step, if you have hardwood in your house, mop your floors with some hot water, and mix it with a floor cleaner. I prefer Pinesol to make the room smelling fresh. Finish the room off by spraying some febreeze and you are now finished. Continue this list throughout every bedroom of your house and then check bedrooms off your list. 
Bathrooms
Next, let’s start in the bathroom, just like the bedrooms, start from the top and work your way to the bottom of the room. So I start with taking out my bath mats and throwing them in the washer. Then start with dusting, dust all light fixtures, and clear cobwebs out of all corners. Once done, I start with the mirrors and other surfaces. I use dawn dish soap because it’s a great degreaser and it’s non-toxic. Once you have your dawn dish soap, put it on a washcloth, and run hot water over. Wipe down your mirror, then grab a microfiber towel to wipe dry. Then continue the process with your countertops. I also use dawn dish soap to wipe out the sinks but you can use comet as well. Comet is also a good cleaner to dump into your bathtub and toilet bowl as well. Use a scrub brush and scrub the bathtub floor, and a toilet brush to clean your toilet bowl. Next, you can use your dawn soap and wipe down the outside of the toilet. Follow these steps and continue throughout all your bathrooms. 
Kitchen
New day, new room. Kitchens are a very important room in your house, it’s the room that most of your guests will see first. So just like every other room, start with dusting and knocking down all the cobwebs. You can use dawn dish soap to clean everything in your kitchen. So damp your rag, and let’s get started. Go cabinet by cabinet and take everything out, once everything is out wipe down all the shelving and reorganize your cabinets. Do the same thing with your refrigerator, wipe down all the shelves and drawers, and then reorganize your refrigerator and throw out any old food. Next, take your dish washcloth and wipe down all your countertops, appliances inside and out, and the outside of all cabinet surfaces. Now take your vacuum and get all those access crumbs, and take your pinesol water and mop. You have now deep cleaned your kitchen.
Common Areas
Finally, you are in your last part of the home. Again start from the top and work your way to the bottom. Grab your duster, and dust your ceiling fans, and knockdown any cobwebs in the corners. Next wipe down your surfaces, including all your furniture. Common areas are pretty easy to complete, next vacuum, and mop if you have hardwood throughout your living rooms. Finally, your house is clean and it’s time for you to relax and enjoy your clean home.
Extra Tips
Additionally, there are some tasks that you’ll encounter in almost every room of your house. Some tasks include tossing unused or expired household items, moving furniture to wash baseboards, and changing smoke detector batteries. Once you have completed this checklist, you now have a clean home. If you own a vacation rental and want to have it deep cleaned, contact Moxie Girl or STRM. We have a great team, that will be sure to help you out with all your cleaning requests.
Review Killers – Vacation Rental Home Cleaning “Misses”
When guests book your vacation rental home, they’ve seen photos of it online looking it’s very best, so you’ve already given them a great (virtual) first impression. And now that their expectations have been set, it’s up to you to make sure your guests aren’t disappointed during their stay! As fantastic and fresh as it may look at first glance, a guest discovering a cleaning “miss” – or worse, multiple “misses” – during their visit can really diminish their overall perception of your vacation rental home.
We all hope that a great experience will translate to a great guest review, but we know a negative experience, even if it’s due to one or more seemingly minor issues such as cleaning “misses” will nearly ALWAYS translate to a less than positive guest review. Moxie Girl, your vacation rental specialist, is here to alert you to some common cleaning misses to avoid – all of which can be huge turn-offs to guests.
It’s Okay to be “Hairanoid” – Especially in the Bathroom
You know, like paranoid…about HAIR. Nothing will ruin the appearance of an otherwise spotless bathroom than a hair – even one – missed during cleaning. If Moxie Girl happens upon an extra-hairy bathroom, we often use our vacuum attachment tool to get the bulk of it out of the way before we even start cleaning! Vacuuming any DRY sink, tub or shower, in addition to the floors, will make quick work of hair disposal and keep it out of your cleaning cloths, so you won’t be spreading it around. (Caution – Never vacuum a wet surface!)
Check those bathroom drains! Hairy drains are completely unappealing and if left unchecked, will leave you with slow-running or completely clogged drains.
Fabric surfaces throughout your vacation rental home – seat cushions, throw pillows, duvet covers – can all collect hair, dust and other debris. Moxie Girl recommends rolling all these surfaces with an adhesive lint roller, which can be purchased at your nearest dollar store.
And finally, double check bathrooms after you complete the rest of the home. Hair can float around for a while, landing in the most inconvenient spots. Double check that no “strays” made it back on to your clean surfaces.
The Kitchen – So Many Places to Hide!
The kitchen, with all its appliances, drawers and cupboards is a potential landmine of cleaning misses! For example, if you’ve followed the guidelines in Moxie Girl’s How to Set Up a Vacation Rental Home Kitchen, you furnished your kitchen with some type of coffee maker and a toaster or toaster oven. Guests will definitely expect those things to be clean and ready-to-use. This means clean, inside AND out! No soggy, spent coffee filter and grounds or used K-cups left in the Keurig, and certainly no toast crumbs littering the counter the second the toaster is touched.
Bigger appliances should be thoroughly checked out during the cleaning process, too. The majority of your vacation rental home guests may never use the oven or even the microwave, but still, take a peek! Moxie Girl has found food left in ovens (and microwaves) – even gooey evidence of an indoor marshmallow roast – more than once after guests have departed. And if we hadn’t checked, it could have been the next guest finding that mess – yikes!
Dishwashers and refrigerators should be empty, clean and fresh-smelling. Double check that all dishes, utensils and cookware are sparkling clean and dry – and neatly put away in clean drawers and cupboards! Don’t forget to check the inside of the trash bin to make sure there aren’t any messes lurking in there, either.
Handle(s) with Care!
Ensure your guests’ hands will come in contact with “nothing but clean” by thoroughly wiping down any and all handles in your vacation rental home – door knobs, drawer pulls, appliance handles and faucets. Sticky and/or greasy messes find it easy to hide here – especially on the back sides – only to be discovered the next time the knob is turned or the handle is pulled.
Moxie Girl recommends using your own clean, bare hands after cleaning your vacation rental home, to make sure all of these items throughout the home are clean and smooth. Don’t forget door knobs and handles on exterior doors – that front door handle is likely the very first thing your guests will touch upon their arrival!
Behind the Curtains – Insect Graveyards and Cobweb Farms
Pull open the curtains, blinds and shutters on all windows within reach. Not only will this give you some natural additional light while cleaning the room, but you’ll also be aware of anything hiding on window sills. This area seems to attract dead bugs and cobwebs more than most places in the home! Your vacuum attachment tool is useful for hands-free pick-up of any unpleasantness you may find here.
Shut the Front Door!
Actually, open and shut ALL the doors of your vacation rental home during cleaning. Dust and debris tend to gather in the corners behind the doors, so you’ll want to get in there with your vacuum attachment tool as well. Ignore it, and chances are the dust bunnies will scamper out of hiding the minute your guests get comfortable.
Monsters Under the Bed
With so much to do in preparation of your next vacation rental home guests, it’s all too easy to forget to check for “monsters” – trash, forgotten socks, dust bunnies and, well…just trust us when we tell you that you MUST check -under the beds! And in the drawers and closets – after every guest departure. Whatever you may find, you don’t want your next guests making that discovery!
Guests in a hurry to check out on time will often overlook personal items when they are packing, and sometimes jewelry and clothing items can get lost in bedding, or dropped on the floor and go unnoticed until cleaning. Your guests will appreciate being contacted immediately if you find something they mistakenly left behind!
Yes, we know that’s a lot to remember – but we also know that exceptional maintenance and cleaning of your vacation rental home is essential for success! If you’d rather not DIY, Moxie Girl can handle all those details for you. Visit www.moxie-girl.com and click on the big pink “FREE CONSULTATION” button. You are 2 minutes away from a stress-free vacation rental home!
