If you feel HO have felt awkward when you have asked them what they expect about cleaning standards its probably because they did feel awkward.
If you feel it necessary to raise the issue why not just assure them that you will return their home to them at the same standard that they have handed it to you ?
I just apply common sense, clean as needed to restore to the conditions I inherited. I don’t need detailed guidance. 17 sits in, that’s been enough to get strong reviews.
Mostly, I try to screen out entitled, unreasonable hosts before ever accepting a sit. That way, I don’t end up in a Cinderella situation, where I’d be expected to do ridiculous cleaning. 
I think I could clean mirrors for a living.
Don’t ask me why - It’s just something I could see myself doing.
Upon reflection, I can see you doing that @Colin
Speaking as a sitter, I disagree with you on one point. I do think that it is my responsibility to clean after the pets, and if those pets are sheddy dogs or cats, that would include also vacuuming as needed. You might not need to do it if it a one weekend sitting, but if the pets shed, 3-4 days is the max I would go without vacuuming. Even just for your own good as someone who stays there, wouldn’t it be gross for you to walk on a carpet of “dust bunnies”?
But for a living you would also get all the cool professional gear! 
I don’t think it comes with a pet-sitter responsibilty, the same way I don’t think a nanny is responsible for the cleaning. That doesn’t mean I don’t vacuum. But i do think it is interesting to discuss, it shows how different people regard it. In that way I learn more about what I need to look for and to discuss, as it is apparently not so obvious as we might think what others assume.
A nanny is responsible for cleaning up after the children at her charge. If she feeds them dinner, she is responsible for cleaning the table and the floor, if any food fell off the table, for example. She would pick up their toys after play time, and any other mess that was caused by their existence. For me, picking up the dog and cat hair sounds the same. And if it’s a long term sitting (2 weeks+), I’d expect that the sitter would take care of any part they use of the house as their responsibility.
That is actually what I’ve done for the past several years. Towards the end of the phone or video interview, I will say something like “what about housecleaning? Keep it as I found it?” And they will quickly agree to that. That would be the spot for them to tell me if they have a house cleaner or I do not need to do certain things. But it never goes that way.
I have had people sit in our house and I actually tell them what they don’t need to do so they don’t feel they have to do extra. For example, you do not need to mop the floor unless you spill something.
Yes, I think this is a really useful discussion because people have different viewpoints.
I’m in this exact situation today actually. It’s the last day of a 3 week sit, and I’ve been in cleaning mode since yesterday. While I do enjoy the homes I sit at to be clean when I arrive, I’ve actually learned that I prefer them to be just “clean enough”; the ones that are spotless when I arrive, I find myself stressing the whole time I’m there.
My ideal housesit was for a single guy with 2 cats. His aparment was very bachelor pad-ish, but he had taken time to put on fresh, clean bedding, and thoroughly clean the kitchen and bathroom before he left. Other areas were meh–for example, his bookshelves were black and had visible dust covering them, and though he had a balcony with a beautiful ocean view, the sliding glass doors were filthy. So I took an hour or so to dust and clean the windows, etc, to my liking, and was very relaxed the rest of the sit, without the stressing.
I had one housesit where the owners were so minimalistic and the house so spotless I was afraid even a few hairs from my head on the floor would stick out like a sore thumb! They had a huge kitchen with tons of counters and literally TWO things on top: A coffee maker and silicone trivet! But I digress…
Personally, when cleaning up after a sit I focus on the areas where I personally would be grossed out if I found evidence of someone else’s mess: The bed, the toilets/showers, and the countertops. Of course cleaning up pet hair on the floor goes with the territory, but I know I’d much rather come home to my own dog’s fur on the floor than someone else’s hair around my shower drain, or—even worse–stains in my toilet!
I have had people sit in my house only (3x). The people that have stayed in my home start with a very clean home. I’ve never said anything, but I think when people start in a clean home they leave it clean. My sitters have washed the sheets and towels, and either remade the bed or folded the sheets/towels and left on the bed. The stays have been max 7 days. For people who are staying greater than a week I would think that you (the sitter) would use a vacuum or sweep because you want to be in a clean place. Bottom line, I really don’t think anybody expects you to do a deep clean. As for asking you to pay for the cleaners, I think that was an extremely rude and petty thing to do. I hope you mentioned this in your review by stating it it should have been part of the conversation prior to agreeing to the sit and I would not pay for this.
1000% this.
You probably wouldn’t be sterilising the toys, or creating a new organisation system for their closet, but you would clean up spilled juice, help them with a bath, or at least put dirty clothes in the hamper/make sure the child hasn’t left stuff all over the house.
Saying it’s ok to just let a long haired dog for instance accumulate hair around the house because vacuuming isn’t part of your “job description” especially on a long sit sounds incredibly lazy to me.
I sat for a leonberger. It was just a long weekend and while I didn’t have to groom the dog, I did at least wipe paws every time we came inside, vacuum and sweep/wipe down the floors because when you have a breed like that, especially in the countryside, that would be bare minimum maintenance. It’s a leonberger, I would expect to do this bare minimum. This was also a nice modern house that they clearly maintained….i give people back their house they way they hand it to me.
On the contrary, stone country house of a family with 2 spaniels…clearly had a much more laid back approach to cleanliness and I wore slippers inside…less inclined to do more as the baseline cleanliness was in a different place and I match the vibe of the house. I still ran a vacuum over the floors before I left.
But an attitude of “I’m not going to clean up a mess a pet has made because I’m just there to keep it alive and play with it?…yea….thats what some of these comments are giving rn . Caring for something includes hygiene.
And caring for yourself also includes hygiene.
What do people actually mean by Deep Clean ?
@Newt A really thorough, all-inclusive clean. The whole caboodle.
So inside kitchen cupboards, windows, skirting boards, moving furniture ?
A deep clean to me is a spring clean
Clean windows
Clean inside cupboards
Move furniture to vacuum
Clean tiles as well as shower, bath, basin etc.
Wash down walls
Wash wood work
Of course no host would expect a sitter to do all this. My philosophy is leave the property the way I would leave my own.
Thankyou. I’ve seen many posts where people have said they deep clean, sometimes at the start of a sit. I definitely won’t be doing all that anywhere except home.
I always clean the bathroom and kitchen, plus the room I have slept in, before leaving the sit. Also, I give the refrigerator a good going over, throw out spoiled food, wipe down shelves, etc.
I do run the vacuum in areas that need it and strip the bed. This seems to work well for me and for the hosts. I did have one review that gave me four stars on cleaning…couldn’t figure out why as I left the place cleaner than I found it. Oh well!