We’re on our ninth sit since February this year and are starting to feel that the HOs are just getting us in to do the cleaning. I could post pictures of the vacuum cleaner, the inside of the dishwasher and washing machine, the grease on the cooker controls etc but it might put people off their dinners. Are HOs advised to clean before sitters arrive? We like to leave a place as we would expect to find it, which means that we’re spending a huge amount of time doing a deep clean. Anyone else experiencing this?
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Hi @CatherineL 
I have only once gone in to a home which really wasn’t clean enough. I got my rubber gloves on and cracked on and sorted it as I could not live a week like that.
I think some people just don’t see things as an issue. I have friends who are a bit lax in the cleanliness area of their homes but they probably think that I’m OTT.
I have added a few words to my profile now about wanting to come on to a nice clean and tidy home, some will dismiss me for those words no doubt, but it might attract me to others.
I am sorry you have come in to a sit like that, its not nice at all.
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Homeowners are advised to do “spring cleaning” and get a checklist similar to the one sitters (sometimes) get. I don’t know how much people notice the emails that THS sends. Since this is your ninth sit, you know that you can rate the host’s cleanliness, but you might be reluctant to do so for fear of other hosts seeing and being afraid of being judged.
I’m combined and have completed 10 sits. Here’s what I’ve noticed:
- Some immaculate homes usually with regular cleaners.
- Some homes where the homeowners tried but didn’t do a deep clean that included stovetops, ovens, or really getting in there with the dirt. These homes might also have been dusty, even if they were probably recently vacuumed.
- A couple of homes that were “clean enough” but generally cluttered.
This may simply have to do with people having different standards and really not thinking it through that you’ll be cooking and that any of this might matter to you. I honestly don’t think that any of the less than immaculate homes were looking for us to do a deep clean for them or expecting that. In these cases, I probably left the home cleaner than I found it just becuase I may have wanted to clean up the kitchen or bathroom for myself.
There was no place that I stayed in that I wouldn’t go back to because of cleanliness or clutter issues, but there were probably two that I could easily imagine people I know with lower mess-tolerance would have had to leave.
Given that most sitters will say nothing unless things are really, bad, the most you can do to avoid an issue is discuss your concerns openly with homeowners during a video chat. I get this can be super hard. Maybe if asked about cleanliness, tell them you always leave a place at least as clean but you love arriving in a clean place because you love to cook and hate a dirty stovetop or even suggest that that has been a disappointment on some sits.
I like a clean place but don’t have a cleaner. One of the things I like about being a host is that forces me to do a deep clean before I leave my place to the sitters, and I love coming home to something in the same range of clean.
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Must be this one:
The email that sitters get just has more general wording and it has the a link to this list that few people would click on. (If they even read the email.)
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@CatherineL
I would not use the oven, no way would i clean something like that.
I’d just live on food that did not require the oven.
Same with the dishwasher, I’d wash dishes in the sink. Leave all the HO dirt ready for their return.
We are housesitters, not house cleaners
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Our 1st sit with THS, the HOs had a cleaner 4 hours pw who came the day before…. personally I’d sack that cleaner 
I had to scrub the brown kitchen sink to reveal silver stainless steel, I had to deep clean the microwave, cooker, fridge and kitchen bins (yuk). Kitchen surfaces were covered in stickiness….who knows though perhaps the majority of people live like this and I’m in the minority?
@BonnyinBrighton I think you’ve been unlucky. I don’t think most people choose to live in overly dirty conditions. We’ve had a few sits that required a few hours of deep cleaning to our standards but most have been OK and some even exceptional (aah! I love those ones!)My personal pet hate- in the kitchen- is greasy kitchen cupboard doors and dirty cutlery drawers! On a couple of occasions I’ve put the whole contents of a cutlery drawer through the dishwasher and cleaned the cutlery drawer. And sometimes I speed clean all the cupboard doors. Its such a quick job with such a satisfying result that I honestly don’t understand why people don’t keep on top of such details! I also occasionally clean windows if needed… The hubby thinks I’m a bit OTT but I always tell him I do it for our immediate benefit not for the host- they may or may not even notice!
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Well, I don’t think @BonnyinBrighton was in a slum at all. I remember photos with a nice sea view.
So I think it was rather rich owners who had a cleaner. And maybe did not pay much attention to their kitchen because they were rarely cooking a meal.
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As a HO, I do.a good clean, including fridge and oven, but I don’t aim for it being impeccable and I have rarely sat for an impeccable house sit (we also sit). as long as people have made a reasonable effort at tidiness and cleanliness (although I’ve had a few iffy fridges which I don’t think is on!) then I am flexible and laid back. I don’t think people want you going round and deep cleaning everything and I certainly wouldn’t do it! But if really important to you I think you should ask beforehand or put on your profile.
You’re correct, I think the cleaner simply vacuumed and washed floors and toilets/showers as these were clean. I also now think that the house was rented rather than owned as it seemed unloved, with dead plants in pots and a lot of minor DIY that needed doing (locks were broken/awkward etc).
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I’ve come across a mixed bag, some places I’ve cleaned upon arrival because that’s my preference, to live in a hygienic clean neat environment… and others have been super organised and clean, which I love. My peeves are over-flowing cat litter boxes of stinky mess, dirty kitchen bench tops, dirty floors and leftover rotting food.
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I’m just wrapping my 17th sit and have had only one sit home that had a dirty kitchen and dining area — the fridge was packed and grimy and there were encrusted spills on the fridge, dishwasher and microwave, for instance.
I don’t cook at all and live off premade food or takeout/delivery, so I cleaned only what I needed. With the dining surfaces — table and placemats — I would’ve had to scrub with industrial solvent to remove layers of buildup and that would’ve damaged them. Instead, I used paper towels to cover everything, so I wouldn’t have to touch them or place my belongings on them.
Since that sit, I look for reviews that mention a home’s cleanliness. If not, I skip the listing. With first-time hosts without reviews, I’m careful to check their photos and when we video chat, I mention that I like clean homes, which usually leads to the host discussing such. In my sitter profile, I also mention valuing clean homes.
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@CatherineL If this issue bothers you (which it definitely did for me when I first began sitting years ago!, ) you just need to have a better picker so that you don’t confirm with HOs who do not keep a tidy home.
We’ve had 12+ sits in a year and all of them have been very clean, tidy and well kept. Yes, I clean and tidy a bit before we leave, but nothing heavy duty. Many of them have cleaning companies in place also, which I find to be a green flag and always welcome them to come when I’m there also.
For me, the first pass is the photos. The photos need to look like a well kept home - very minimal clutter on counters and in rooms, just tidy and clean. (But also not realtor photos, which are obvious to spot as well.)
Then, when we apply, I stress our value of sitting in clean/tidy homes and say that we will love a video tour of the house on our video chat, and when chatting, I request that if they do not offer it, which most of them are happy to do. When people honor and tend to their homes, they will have no issues giving you a house tour and making sure you feel happy and at ease staying there!
You have to raise your bar, if you don’t want to perform a deep clean every sit. And don’t have shame around it - own your preferences, state them clearly, request what you need and you will find your people!
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Just a thought but would you also be ok to do the same if the HO asked you to show them your home, just so they could assess your cleanliness/tidyness ?
Genuine question, please don’t read anything into it, just wondering how i would react if asked as a sitter
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Hi @Newt , I know I am not the person you typed too, but I once showed a lady around my house and the garden. She didn’t ask, but I kept on walking around when talking and she could see bits, and she said how lovely my home looked, so I asked her if she wanted a proper look. I love my home and area and kinda loved to show it off 
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The thing is we’re doing a lot of sits because we’re nomadic and I really miss cooking! I’d be interested to know what TH says to owners about how to leave their house. I might contact the admins - if that’s possible. I think they might be like the Wizard of Oz behind a curtain somewhere…
Sorry to hear this. That’s really not on. This has only ever happened to me twice when the standards have been very below par. Once on this website and once on another. The other sits I’ve done have luckily always been perfectly acceptable in terms of cleanliness.
The first was a HO who was actually rather proud of the fact that she wasn’t house proud! The place was encrusted in grime that looked like it’d been there for decades. Didn’t look like the bathroom had ever seen even a single spritz of a cleaning product!
The second sit was where I noticed the kitchen had a smattering of what looked like black rice all along the kitchen counter tops, behind the cooker and next and behind to the toaster. Pretty much all over the kitchen. Turns out they were droppings/pellets left by rodents as the HOs had had issues with them before. I only found this out once the sit was actually underway. I was there to look after and share a home with one dog but the reality is there were far more creatures living in that house than I’d have liked! 
I could actually hear them scratching away under the floorboards at night.
Fortunately for me, that was only a very short weekend sit. I’m one of these people who can cope no problem with spiders - even the big ones. They don’t bother me at all but if it’s mice or rats, I literally turn into a quivering wreck.
After too many sits like this, I decided to go back over all of my past sits. I evaluated each one and thought about why I selected it. What made me feel this one was okay? What was I looking for at the time? Was there anything in common with the listings that were not great? What did the hosts not tell me that they should have, if anything? What questions should I have asked?
I found the answers to be helpful for myself. I modified my profile, and I ask better questions. I no longer talk myself into accepting any sits, no matter how amazing the location and the homes may be, unless I really feel confident that it will be a successful sit.
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Oh jeez, sounds disgusting.
Shows why the reviews are so important.
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