How Often Should you have your Cottage Deep Cleaned?
Everyone knows that cleanliness is the first priority when it comes to vacation stays. But when I first stepped into the cottage rental business, I often hear the term “deep-clean” being thrown around. How is that any different from any regular cleaning procedure anyways? Is it just another business scam so the cleaners can get more money when they’re doing the same cleaning? Well not quite, and I’ll tell you why.
My first cleaner who is still with me to this day is like my best friend. She’s been working in hospitality for decades- worked in hotels, motels, and resorts. One time I was casually complaining to her that one of the cleaning companies I had initially sought out would not offer any regular cleaning service unless they deep-clean my cottage first. After listening quietly, she corrected me by telling me that Deep-clean is actually a thing and is most definitely encouraged. That’s when she told me the difference between the regular vs Deep-clean.
Regular Cleaning consists of your usual cleaning between each guest and will include services such as Laundry, changing linens, surface cleaning/sanitization, bathroom cleaning, restocking amenities.
Seems pretty easy to understand so far, it’s basically all the services that needs to be performed so that when a guest check-in, they will feel well cared for. But Deep-cleaning is at a whole different level.
Deep cleaning consists of dusting and vacuum of all areas including hard-to-reach edges, lighting fixtures, above cabinets. Thorough Sanitization of all faucets, window cleaning (not to be confused with window washing), thorough cleaning of all kitchen appliances (deep cleaning of inside of the oven and fridge), and also deep cleaning the bathroom, including the back of the toilet.
This would now make much sense as in the beginning of managing my own cottage, I remember a guest complaining about cobwebs in one of the corners of a tall ceiling. But as you can see, this really is what separates regular and deep clean.
But also for this reason, deep-cleans are nowhere as frequent as your regular cleaning schedules. It is recommended to have ONE deep-clean a year at the very least, and it should be done right before the hot rental season starts. Ideally, they should be performed once at the beginning of the season and once at the end, however once a year should suffice.
If you have any question reading this article, feel free to reach out to me through email or phone and I will offer any advice completely free of charge. My passion lies in the cottage and property management industry, and I love to help out if you just give me a call.
