Well I’ve never even noticed that! I’m nervous now! 
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Good to know.
Hello @Tucsontreasures !
It happened to us once : to have a 4 stars on the “cleanliness” and it was the house-sit where we did the most cleaning ever : we had a very very old dog (which we’ve not been told) who had medics that make her drink a lot… As she didn’t realized anymore when she was weeing I let you imagine…
Dogs were allowed everywhere in the house, even on sofas…
We decided to let the dogs only in the entrance (there was one sofa) and kitchen (2 sofas), to “concentrate” the damages.
I did 2 washings a day (sofa, towels, pet-bed linens, and small carpets), every day. It was a 3 weeks stay.
I mopped every time she weed : I really didn’t count how often a day.
I gave her short walks and garden tours very often. But when she was in the garde the first thing she did was : drinking from the pond !
So I found it really unfair to receive only 4 stars on the cleanliness.
Especially because we haven’t seen the OH on her return. After us a professional pet-carer came for more 3 weeks…
OH didn’t say anything about our cleanliness.
Maybe she didn’t mean to press the 4-stars button, as she gave us 5 on every other category ?
I don’t know.
And in total, I don’t think it really matters, as all our reviews ar 5-stars.
So if I were you I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
Good luck for your forthcoming house-sit,
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Hi, I am sorry to say that I have to leave things spotless when I leave a sit there are not many sits we have done that have been my clean but all the sits we have done are okay with that as I always specify that is who I am so they are quite happy to have a clean house and I am happy to leave a clean house for them.
The only thing I find hard to tolerate is a dirty fridge that drives me nuts where fresh food is stored should always be clean, but as stated before everyone’s idea of clean are different so if to you its dirty you either clean it or leave it as you found it. We are lucky we do a lot of resits so we do not have the problem anymore.
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I’m totally with you on that point ! I am part of the “let’s clean that fridge first” team !
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We clean to the same level that we find the house.
I have worked and sat for people with extremely high standards - where hours of cleaning is done - but have had my best sits with friends where the house was worn, lived in and comfy - and cleanish!
I don’t mind - everyone is different - but I would spend more time cleaning an immaculate house than a ‘comfy’ one… Either way - i do not spend more than half a day cleaning after a sit. I would always wash the bedding and towels etc - it seems only polite - but i have had sits who had staff to come in and do it - so just stripped bed ready… If there is only one bedroom then I would make sure bedding was washed and clean put on for returning owner. I would also ensure basics like bread, milk and veg were ready for them.
Some people have left us a meal - and I would then do the same for them - especially if they are arriving late in the day/sunday.
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@Tucsontreasures and @Françoise-et-Youn , at the end of a review or feedback given to you, you can reply so you could leave an explanation there. However, I think this option is only available for a short time after the review or feedback appears. Does anyone know how long you are given to post a response to a review?
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Yes thank you for this advice @mars : I think I could have used this possibility to ask for an explanation.
It was ou 3rd house-sit and I was not as much aware of the way reviews and stars were given. This would happen now I would probably ask for an explanation : not for asking a 5-stars but to understand and adapt for my forthcoming house-sit.
I was rated a 4 on cleanliness when I thought that I had left the house spotless. I asked the HO how I could improve, and she complained that I had moved some items (by a few inches!) and left a wet sponge in the sink! I would never have docked a star for these trivial inconveniences, but luckily the rating was still 5 stars overall.
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I still completely consider myself a newbie to this concept of pet sitting, but not in any way, shape or form, am I new to cleaning. As with most aspects of life, we all have different perceptions and expectations of the meaning of cleanliness. Having only completed two sits, I’ve found when we arrived, the homes were absolutely clean to my comfort level. According to both of the HO’s reviews of my housekeeping standards, they were left in very acceptable (cleaner—their words NOT mine) condition upon their return. I know that the star ratings hold a lot of weight for both the HO and sitter, however, folks are not able to please all the people, all the time. It would be foolish to expect otherwise. If we do the best we can, within our abilities, nothing more can really be asked of us. If it’s not sufficient, then perhaps it wasn’t the best HO/sitter match after all. I feel extremely fortunate that without any reviews, 8 families confirmed sits for us, based solely upon our personal references and profile description. Although I am pleased we now have 2 reviews, the 5 stars were not nearly as impactful for us, as the kind words written by each HO. Going forward, we will continue to do our best, but I’m not putting a lot of energy into being anxious about the number of stars we receive. It’s about the experience, and caring for the pets, will always be our top priority.
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@Geiriadur I’ve been house/animal caring for a lot of years before landing on this site. It’s fun to be a part of a global community! I have always “cleaned up after myself”…I dirty it, I clean it. That goes for every home I’m in. even if the HO says, don’t worry we have a cleaner…I feel responsible for what I bring in. If I am there for longer than a couple of weeks then I’m going to kick into another level. Just out of common courtesy to the HO. And by another level I mean giving the bathroom a good thorough cleaning, making sure the kitchen is clean…non of my food splashes on the walls kinda stuff before I leave. I haven’t had a lot of experience with folks I don’t know yet. So I read this forum with interest and learning from it.
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I would clean the bathroom and kitchen thoroughly even if I’m housesitting for a few days. Basically, I clean where I’ve been and where the animals have been
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I’m with you and @hazy on this. The fridge, microwave, kitchen surfaces and sometimes oven get cleaned first. If my husband is with me he usually does that while I get on with the rest of the house and unpacking!
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I do a thorough cleaning but have never cleaned an oven except for superficial stuff that I can wipe off with a rag. That can be an enormous job. (And with food that was probably baked on over months or years.) I’m afraid to use the self cleaning feature. Remember Easy Off oven cleaner? Wasn’t that a mess?
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In my profile, I mention I will not use the oven so owners will find it as they left it @mars
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Reading your message makes me think we have to put ourselves in owners’ as well as sitters’ shoes.
I, for one, am retired, many of my owners are not so they have limited time(and energy/resources). Scratched covers (from pets) should nit bother pet
Lovers too much but dust in sitter designated areas
Would bother me (dust allergy) Black/yellow staining in shower stall would bother me and if I saw a picture of a shower with this, I would not even apply for the sit. Cracked sinks would also be off putting as cracks carry germs and I would not use a sink with cracks or chips. If the picture did not show black mold growing, I would have to clean it off before using. Also I would have to clean off black mold in sink overflow holes and clean that hole with a teapot spout wire brush.
My experience is that the kitchen extractor area is very often not cleaned and the wire mesh/filter is full of grease. I would have to clean that too. As for the laundry, i would ask the owner to leave a spare set of bed linen so I can leave them with a clean bed and wash the sheets and towels of theirs that I used. Just because a place is old does not mean the carpets cant be steam cleaned, throws or nice sheets can be draped over badly car scratched upholstery. There are always ways to dress up everything. Also, if a sitter is being asked to take of 2 Belgian Malinois, 2 horses, 5 goats, 2 indoor cats, a rabbit, 10 chickens, water half an acre of plants…you might want to think about where the priorities lie… Hope this helps
I am an owner and my house is lovely but we have pets, so what can you say, except there will be scratches and cat/dog beds everywhere etc. I only ask that sitters leave the house as they find it. When we arrived hone after our last sitters I nearly cried. I had spent many hours making sure it was clean and comfortable for the sitters, We also had our regular cleaner come in mid sit (it was only 20 days) so that the cleaning requirements were pretty minimal, just what you would expect a person with normal standards to do. We had visitors arriving about 5 hours after we got back and my husband and I spent at least two of those hours cleaning the house, which was in an awful state, I wont go into detail. When I spoke to the sitters they told me I was too fussy and they weren’t there to clean my house and that I should have had the cleaner in after they left to clean up after them. I don’t expect miracles, just normal cleanliness, but does that mean they can leave it in such a disgusting state? (and maybe a small amount of milk for a cup of tea on our return, as I had left milk and other food for them, plus cooked a meal for them the night before, supplied breakfast etc). as per the couple recommendation, I ask for that because I know when my husband is away the animals and watering take up a lot of time for one person, and as I want the sitter to have time to explore our area and have some relaxation as well, I think it is too much for one person, so please don’t think the worst. Sometimes we are thinking of you. 
Having said all that I have had some amazing sitters and I think that’s why this last lot were such a shock.
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@Gailc I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had a frustrating experience. Thankfully it seems to have been the exception, which is good to know. I truly hope that you will provide an honest and balanced review, as it is particularly important when someone doesn’t warrant glowing reviews. In my opinion, realistic reviews support both sitters and homeowners in helping everyone assess the quality and standards of each member.
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Thanks Snowbird. I did supply an honest review, both to the sitters themselves and also the review I gave their sit. I would hate someone else to have to come home to that. I think I am still a bit “sit” shy from it to be honest but having another go now cheers and have a lovely day
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Very disappointing that you had such untidy sitters (and what a rude response). However, you’ve had good sitters, thank goodness, so know it’s unusual.