House not clean? Don't panic

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
1

I have been reading a lot of posts about unclean houses recently. Of course, cleanliness is a very subjective issue and what may seem unclean to some will not be considered unclean by others.

I saw someone make a very good suggestion recently, I cannot remember if it was on here or whether it was in one of the Facebook groups, but I think it was very good advice.

The suggestion was this, if the house does not meet your standards of cleanliness on arrival then take some time at the start of the sit to do your major clean up. Then, when you are leaving, there won’t be so much to do because if you have cleaned well at the start of the sit it will probably not have deteriorated to the same level as when you arrived.

Looking back this is often what I have done without really thinking too much about it and I think it works well.

For example, if you normally clean your fridge at home once a week and you arrive at a two week sit to discover a filthy fridge then cleaning it on the first day means that you can probably skip the next weekly cleaning because it’s still going to be cleaner when you leave than when you arrived.

If you normally wash your kitchen bin every time you empty it and arrive at a sit to discover a filthy bin then it’s a similar scenario, give it a good clean on the first day or two and it’s only going to take a lick and a promise to keep it clean until you leave.

The same principle applies to everything, cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming, windows etc, put the work in at the start and then relax.

I know it is very disappointing to arrive at a dirty house after a long day of travel, especially if you are wanting to get out and explore, but a bit of time invested at the start may just create more free time during the sit. Obviously if it’s only a 2 or 3 day sit it’s probably best to just clean the absolute necessities and ignore the rest if you can. I usually gather up whatever cooking utensils I know I’m going to need and make sure they are clean and also clean a bit of the kitchen worktops to make them usable.

If you have any other strategies please do pass them on because this seems to be becoming an increasingly regular problem.

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2

Most of the sits we have done were in very clean houses. Of course there are times when we arrive at a place that isn’t quite that same level of spotless, but they really aren’t truly dirty by any means.

Having a clean space is important to me so in these cases I will clean up myself, whether it is wiping down the counters again more thoroughly or giving the bathroom floor a quick mop. I really don’t mind doing this–I kind of like cleaning and it is a good way to pass the time.

Ideally this wouldn’t be necessary, and some hosts are probably not preparing the house to the degree they should.

But how things should be ,or the most ideal scenario, is ultimately irrelevant at the moment. And if ‘what is’ at present is a dirty house, the sitter only has a few options.

if the current level of cleanliness is that bothersome, they can either clean up themselves to whatever degree will make them feel better or refuse out of ‘principle’ and be uncomfortable. I am not a fan of acting on principle in most instances since it usually means making things more difficult for myself in some way and it isn’t worth it.

Or I suppose in some instances they can request a cleaner come in but I imagine most sitters would not feel comfortable making such a request or even broaching the subject of cleanliness with the hosts at all.

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3

So, if we are going to take the position that it’s ok for HOs to leave a dirty house and sitters should just clean it, does that work the other direction. Is it also ok for a sitter to leave the house dirty, the HO can just clean and shouldn’t complain about it? This is a mutual exchange. I think we should stay with the expectation that HOs leave a clean house for the sitter and sitters leave the house clean for the HOs return.

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4

I did a sit in a house which had cleaners (2, sisters) come by, weekly, but they were useless. I did a better job myself, especially in the bathrooms/toilets. I removed mildew, took before and after photos, sent to owner. I dont know if they kept cleaners on, I wouldn’t have done so, they were both useless and lazy.

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5

This is house and pet sitting not house, pet and maid service. No fair exchange in my opinion if I have to deep clean their house when I first arrive on top of pet care, plant care and maintaining an already clean house which is all work.
When I do my deep cleaning on last day I might do extra cleaning on something next to an item which was not perfectly clean when I arrived. An example of this was a washing machine and dryer looked OK but I spray and clean the shell of these appliances at home so last day I left them cleaner than I found them.

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6

THS guidance is that hosts should clean the home and leave it habitable. If we’re going to ignore terms of an exchange, you are by extension saying that sitters can do likewise. So would they get to pick and choose what to ignore?

Broken exchanges, broken trust, lack of respect can go both ways, you know.

To me, both parties agree to an exchange and should live up to it. Otherwise, the deal can be called off.

Personally, I will never arrive at a sit and think it’s OK for a host to have left me their mess to clean.

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7

I suppose it comes down too personal preference at times.
The house might look clean initially
Then you find grubby shower screens, food preparation areas,
and toilets that fail miserably in the cleanliness department. All of these are my bug bears. It doesn’t happen often thank goodness.

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8

I think, if a house were in such a state that a professional cleaner (if you mean a deep clean), I would probably leave. Thankfully I’ve not encountered that.

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9

Well, that’s my expectation but it’s not always met which is why I was asking what strategies people have for coping with it.

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10

Sadly I think that’s often the case but it may be down to lack of instructions. I know several people who got a cleaner but weren’t happy with them but they felt awkward saying anything.

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So, it’s the same thing then but I just prefer to do it when I arrive rather than have it dirty while I’m there.

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12

I don’t believe I said it was OK, I was just passing on a suggestion for how to deal with it if things do happen to be below standard.

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Dealing with it doesn’t involve enabling it, to me.

If hosts leave me a dirty house, depending on whether they’re still there and on how dirty it is, I might leave before they do. Then they’ll have to figure out alternate care.

Or if they’ve already left and, if it’s within the reasonable range of a house cleaner cleaning in one visit, I’d give them that option, at their expense.

If it’s so dirty that one visit wouldn’t be enough, then I’d given 24 hours written notice as a courtesy (so they can figure out alternative care for pets) and leave. That’s because a home that’s not cleanable within one house cleaner’s visit is too filthy to even be offered in an exchange like THS.

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14

I’m a pet sitter not a cleaner and definitely not cleaning windows

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15

Would you not normally clean windows in your own home? I always do my own so it’s normal for me.

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I agree, but that’s not really what I’m talking about in my post. Thankfully I’ve never encountered a home that I felt the need to leave.

For me, if it’s something easily done myself I would do it myself though rather than have cleaners in, I just wouldn’t want that sort of disruption when I’m trying to get settled in.

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17

I was going by your initial comment, but if you actually wanted people only to agree with your approach, then there’s no point starting a thread.

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18

I don’t personally agree that cleaning windows is a part of what’s “normal” to stay at a house. Certainly a filthy fridge is not ok, but I couldn’t care less if the windows have water striations from the rain or a couple of feathers stuck to it if a bird has decided to test the strength of the glass pane.

I stayed at a dirty and messy house once and at the beginning of the sit I just cleaned the areas that were important to me, including the car that they generously lent us. I wasn’t necessarily happy to have to do it, but my husband didn’t want to leave. Interestingly enough, that’s when I discovered that reorganizing kitchen cupboards gives me great satisfaction :sweat_smile:

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19

Fair point, I didn’t really mean problems to the extent that would require a sitter to leave but if it’s that bad then yes, leaving is a strategy.

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20

Yes, that can be a problem, sometimes it takes a while to notice things. We can be living in sweet oblivion at times. Often it’s only when I start to clean something that I realise it’s not quite so clean as I thought.

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