Cleanliness of the home on arrival

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
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We’ve only had one sitter so far, but we clean our house as we would for any house guests. Gives us a good excuse to do more cleaning than normal. We do mention in the home manual that vacuuming the tile floors is appreciated but done get stressed about getting rid of all dog hair.

When we interviewed our potential sitters, one of my questions was “have you had a bad sit and why”. Both answers were disgustingly dirty home.

As a HO I would appreciate a review if sitter if they left home in dirty condition with examples.

Likewise, if we were sitting we would appreciate reviews that home was not clean, again with specific examples.

Getting ready for our second sitters the end of August!

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123

Ahhhhhhh, We have walked into some Sits where “Cleaners” had been that day, and had to get my marigolds and cleaning products out!
I am OCD (Cross Contamination, so I am HO delight) our regular sits who have cleaners comment “the cleaner came and didn’t have anything to do, so they did the Windows and light fittings” lol.
Mind some of our regular sits I do wonder if they think it’s a fair trade we stay they come home to a spring clean house???
I always take cleaning products etc. We have had sits with no TP not one single square? no dishwasher Tabs, not one, No Laundry detergent (yet expect 3 lots of bedding to be washed) no brooms is common? Hoovers that the bag is always full and they don’t have any new ones??? Mops that are broken with about 2 strands left on them, really no point trying to use it at all, no dustpan and broom, on our repeat sits, I am used to what they have and don’t have. If they are close to home, I bring a shopping bag of kitchen/laundry/bathroom cleaning products, plus our toiletries down to TP and handwash as often there are dregs left in the handwash? Bin bags is another thing, IDK if the HO just doesn’t think ahead that they ran out of items or just expect you are going to go and buy them and maybe leave them for the.
I will say since lockdown and cost of living, I have noticed people’s grocery shopping has changed, there are lots less branded products in homes that previously were ALL branded products, there is less in their pantry and on the shelves, we only eat perishables and maybe if for some reason I needed something extra like tinned tomatoes and had forgotten to bring some, might use a can if they had more than one, however in places that previously had eg 6 cans in stock, now have 2, however good to see the Animals food hasn’t changed, they still buy the same branded products for their beloved Pets and that’s nice.
It’s not our place to buy a mop, bucket, broom etc, mind we had a sit for 6 weeks and there was no mop and bucket 4 dogs and they sometimes had a mistake inside??? I was like how are they cleaning this up??? so I did in that case, because I thought I can’t be dealing with this for 6 weeks, or using Kitchen towel to mop it up, would have cost way more than a mop and bucket.
We hear you.
I feel THS should not suggest, state to HO a gentle reminder if you put your pets into a Cattery/Kennels or other sitting service, you are paying sometimes depending on how many pets and how long you are away, as much if not more than your Holiday costs and to keep this in mind, make sure there’s the basics, don’t expect the sitter to buy new replacement hoover bags for your Henry or a new mop/bucket/broom etc. hey ho.
hugs x

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124

:laughing: I have definitely dealt with some “horror vacuums” too!

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125

I think that is just the downside of being nomadic or a pet sitter. I have learned to get used to other peoples lower standards of cleanliness (because I am a bit OCD clean where I like everything spotless and I notice every crumb). I always take it as a lesson for myself to learn how to worry less about cleanliness and focus on other things in life… it’s not always easy though lol.

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126

Me too @sbwade and disgusting threadbare smelly mops :weary:

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@Manda don’t get me started on cleaners.
My favourite saying is - I wouldn’t pay them in washers.
In fairness we would personally employ say three cleaners out of the dozens we have come across during the past ten years of sitting. Just for the record I am no cleaning evangelist - just appreciate the basics being done.

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128

I just have super high standards and if I feel even the slightest “ehh” or it’s not a full “YES, I want to live there!” about the photos, I don’t even apply.

For me personally, it’s all about the house I will be living, sleeping, eating in for the next few weeks - so it HAS to be immaculate, tidy, clean.

I’m a Virgo (we are tidy!) and I’ve been sitting privately for 4+ years, so I’ve also had my share of homes that were sub-par and I regretted taking on the client. I’ve had my fair share of DEEP CLEANING homes in order to feel at ease to sleep and work there (not on TH, as I’m new-ish here & know better!) And after a few of those, I will never put myself in those situations again. I value my presence, health and peace of mind so much more.

So I’ve learned that I will not apply or accept a private client if it seems like I will need to do a clean just in order to feel at ease there.

On TH specifically, since we cannot normally do a live meet & greet (which is how I filter my private clients, getting to be in and actually walk thru the home before committing to a sit or to take them on as a client) - a video call is a non-negotiable, and I ask as kindly as I can, if they can give me a mini-tour of the home on the video call, so I can be sure it matches what was posted. I share how I’ve had some not great experiences in the past, so I feel much more at ease seeing the home before I arrive, etc. And they have all been more than happy to do this for me.

So, I say, raise your bar for sure and do not be afraid to ask for a video tour of the home. Any HO who is proud of their home would be more than happy to give you a mini-video tour, so that you can see for yourself if it looks comfortable for you to live in.

Most of my clients and HOs who I’ve committed to here have cleaning companies (good sign!) and are tidy people themselves. So, find your people and you will feel at ease!

Don’t worry - it gets better as you curate your own experiences that you desire for this adventure! :wink:

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129

I feel so seen! I had been thinking about posting asking what others “travel kit” looks like.

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But why are people doing no review if it’s not up to snuff? Shouldn’t people be leaving honest reviews? Or is that the kiss of death in getting any more sits? I’d think assuming no reviews was bad would be horrible for newbie’s who are just starting out, on either side. Anyway, interesting.

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131

This post makes me very nervous about doing another house sit. I keep my own home spotless. I just did my first sit and it was clean enough, but I noticed a few crumbs on the counter, etc. I would die if I was stuck in filth for any period of time.

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If owners are insulted because you clean a dirty fridge or oven, that’s not a bad thing. Hopefully it sends a message and the house will be left in a cleaner state for the next sitters.

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@purplepetlover , @Travelgirl1111 and @Joss , Nice to see you on the forum. Please continue to post!

@Travelgirl1111 , if you do a search on reviews, you will see this has been a hot topic for a long time. A bad review can ruin a sitter’s chances for future sits and bad feedback can make it very hard for an owner to attract future sitters.
For this reason, in many cases not leaving a review has avoided the possibility of retaliation by the other party. And an absent review can be interpreted in several ways so that it may not always mean things were bad. It could mean the sit was canceled, the HO or sitter forgot or never got around to leaving one. And some people just don’t do reviews. (It’s best to avoid them if you hope to get one.) Like the Abraham Lincoln quote, Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt, a blank review does not state outright that it was a negative experience. It cuts the other party some slack. The review system is being revamped right now and the updated system will be introduced in stages, we’re told, sometime by the end of the year.

Most homes are clean, many are immaculate. If you’re a clean fanatic you may run into some that don’t come up to your standards but you have to roll with it. Try to choose carefully and consider it an adventure.

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134

same for me (another Virgo) @KellySue_Nate

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After 6 yrs as a sitter, I recently experienced high percentage of the homes were less than adequately clean. But I could also tell that it may be cleaner than what they’re used to since cabinets and drawers look like a trash bins.
Because I’m a germophobe, I usually wipe down everything that I will use and an hour of cleaning upon arrival is what I expect. Vinegar and baking soda are natural disinfectant that will take care of most things and not pricey. But when I find myself the first half of the day cleaning just to be feel ok and another hour or two the following days… and sometimes, no amount of cleaning makes me feel comfortable enough.
When I apply, I state my requirement of clean, smoke-free home for allergy reasons, with sufficient cleaning supplies. Even then , the photos deceive me and the owners’ idea of cleanliness fall below my expectation. It’s difficult to say in the review because the owners are not intentionally unclean. I look for clues in other reviews and by the onwers’ description. But no foolproof way to tell!

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Hopefully it does not reinforce the misconception that we are also expected to work as cleaners!

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I let HO know I will return their place as I found it. I always wash my own sheets etc. and leave no rubbish. This seems to be a happy arrangement. Would be nice if HO we’re also asked/encouraged to check off a list for cleanliness in prep for a successful exchange.

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I often find myself doing just this in my MILs fridge, and I just say “oh, the milk spilled so I had to mop it up, and since I started I just continued on” :wink:

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I wonder if this could be written into the responsibilities of HO - something to say that pet and home safety and security are the primary focus, and while sitters will leave the home tidy and clean for the hand over they ARE NOT to be considered to be primarily house cleaners for you.

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Oh! I would love to see the message that get sent out to the owners @Angela_L can you share that with us here?

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@themobileretiree Angela is currently not online and asked me to let you know that Membership Service should have access to copies of all of the emails that get sent out to members, are you able to reach out to them at support@trustedhousesitters.com I am sure they can pass on a copy for you.

As a side note, If anyone is missing these emails you might be unsubscribed or not have your email settings set up. Membership Services can make sure you are receiving them as you should be :slight_smile: