@JCG2 Sorry that was your experience. I agree that it’s important to make your expectations clear, but I’d just list the basics in the advert. I think one way to address the nitty gritty is to include it in your interview chat with a prospective applicant - you could then quite easily say you’ve previously returned to a house where a, b, c and d were not done and so this is what you’d like the sitter to do before leaving. That enables you to make your expectations abundantly clear and gives the sitter the opportunity to decline the sit if, for them, the expectations feel way too high.
Cheers
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@JCG2 I’m not in disagreement. If I was a HO, it would feel nice to come back to a super immaculately clean home just as I left it. Let me play the devil’s advocate. When you have guests such as a sister, grandpa, niece, or close friend visit you and stays in your guestroom, uses the bathroom, and eat at your house, do you expect them to clean the toilets, wash/dry the linens, vacuum bread crumbs, etc before they leave? I never have. I’m just so happy I got to see them, and I’ll clean after they leave because they were my guests. If you were to hire a Rover pet caretaker and they spend the night, charge your $100 per night to spend the night, and ate at your home and used the bathroom, do they clean the toilets and vaccum crumbs? I doubt it. So why not have some gratefulness that you got to go on vacation, have your pets taken care of, and let go of the fact that the house wasn’t the way you left it?
When my kids were toddlers, I hired my first babysitter and she was terrific. Took care of the kids, had alot of fun with them, cleaned up their dishes, wiped the counters, put away the toys. She went off to college so I had to find another babysitter. The next one also had fun with the kids and took good care of them but when we got home, toys were all over the place, dishes were laying out everywhere, and I complained up a storm to my husband. He asked me “did he take care of kids so that we could go on datenight?” Yes. Then he did his job. You got to go on your trip. Just a little different perspective.
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I fully agree with @IHeartAnimals , and for me that extends to other guests. I sometimes have guests here from Couchsurfing or Bewelcome (and have been a guest myself). I never want them to do any vacuuming, floor mopping, fridge wiping, or laundry etc. (Well, sometimes they ask to use the washing machine for their own laundry, and then we can throw in some of mine.)
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Thank you for your reply. And no, I did. not see specific responses that addressed my concerns probably because I didn’t raise them. Much appreciated🙏
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I think far too often owners think they’re getting a cleaner as well as a petsitter. I clean up after myself but am not prepared to clean a home that is dirty or untidy when I arrive and feel owners sometimes expect that. It has happened to me 2 or 3 times. I now takes photos if I arrive to a house that is less than perfectly clean and tidy.
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You are right, I wouldn’t expect my guests to clean, if they stayed in my home with me.
However, I think the situation changes, if they stayed in my home while I was not there. In that case, I would find it rather rude, if my friend, brother, niece or whoever would not to clean up after themselves.
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@CatsAndDog Agree, and if my friend/brother/etc specifically asked to stay in my house because they wanted to visit my area and/or were nomadic and needed accommodation, I would expect them to clean up after themselves. I do clean my areas and strip the beds when I visit family, but that’s probably unusual.
House-sitters are not guests in the same way as relatives or friends that I invite to my house because I want to see them. On THS, we are doing each other a favor, and it is disrespectful for either side not to leave a clean house
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Honestly, the absolute worst part of housesitting for me is the complete and total fear of someone criticising my cleaning at the end.
I always do a very very thorough wipe down of everything - this has trickled down from both my grandmother and mother, neither of whom can bear the idea of someone outside the family seeing their dirt - hotels, airbnbs, wherever - and after a very malicious roommate claiming I made a mess in my late teens, I feel the same.
On a couple of short repeat sits, they’ve specifically told me I didn’t need to thoroughly clean, do bed sheets etc - I think they both felt that I had done them a big favour with their pets and I shouldn’t have to clean as well.
However, I ran into another sitter my age who nonchalantly mentioned that she’d been marked down for cleaning in two separate reviews - she described what had happened, and both were occasions where the house was already not perfectly clean when she arrived. A couple of things I wouldn’t personally have done, but she was adamant that she was there as a petsitter, not a cleaner. I actually really envied how unbothered she was about it - as it would have kept me up at night!
What I’m trying to say is, if it’s going to play on your mind - email them and ask, explain that cleaning is important for you, then respond to their review outlining precisely why they marked you down. If like my friend, you’re not that bothered, let it go.
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JCG2 How long were the sits as that also impacts level of cleaning?
We always get excellent marks for cleaning but on shorter sits I would not be moving furniture to vacuum underneath or lifting couch cushions. When we have done that what we find is often scary 
You sounds like you have fairly high standards for cleaning expectations so definitely good to lay those out for sitters. Always good to be clear on expectations for laundry too, we always complete that task and remake beds etc but newer sitters may not be as aware.
Obviously basics like stove top and spills etc should always be cleaned and great you provide all the cleaning supplies as sometimes they are very sparse and no mop etc.
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I clean only what I use and if there’s anything I can’t stand, because it’s too dirty for me to use. Based on that, I leave things equal or better to how I found them. HOs I’ve sat for have all been happy with that.
If there are HOs who expect anything beyond — like what you’d normally have to pay a cleaning service for — they can hire one. I see no reason why any sitter should have to clean rooms they don’t use. If they want to do that voluntarily, that’s their business. But for a HO to automatically expect it is unreasonable. I’d happily avoid all such sits.
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Thank you @Cuttlefish. I completely agree with your suggestion. I don’t want to come across as more concerned about housecleaning than I am about caring for my pets.
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Thank you @mars for your thoughtful comments and advice. I did receive applications that spoke of leaving my home clean and did see reviews that confirmed that was the case. Unfortunately, this was not on my radar at all:joy: except as an obligation on my part to ensure that sitters arrived to a clean home. I guess I just assumed that the same standard applied to a HS. I will definitely mention but not overemphasize in my next listing. 
@JCG2 What we have found that it boils down to is what one person considers clean is not what another considers clean.
You need to make your expectations very clear for sitters that you want a full deep clean of the house before they leave.
Some people will be ok with this extra labour others will not. Potentially your expectations of volunteer sitters is above the norm considering you say all three sitters did not meet your standard. You admit that they all generally cleaned except there were some minor crumbs in the sofa or towels were not washed. You saved thousands on free home and pet care - maybe you should look at how that vastly outweighs having to wash two towels. The sitters have done all the work whilst you went on holiday and you have come back to happy and safe pets.
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@Lassie last 4th of July we visited and stayed at a friend’s house. On the day of departure, we stripped the bedding to wash it and when he noticed he said, “what in the world are you doing? Leave that alone” When I used to be a HO and had guests, I would never expect them to clean before leaving, but for some reason as guests, I feel we should. Now that we’re on THS, it feels like a habit to clean other peoples homes.
The 3 sits we had were each 10 to 12 days. I think my over? reaction ultimately was the cumulative impact of what I saw as the lack of respect for my home and the cleaning I faced having to do on my return from being away -the last sit being the worst (the food bits under the couch cushions, on the floor and on kitchen counters and burnt onto the stovetop and the hair clogged bath drain). We had an ant invasion in progress on our return.
I wouldn’t normally expect anyone to vacuum under cushions but if the HS eats food, snacks etc. on the couch & drops bits on the floor and between the cushions i think they should clean it up (just as one would if eating at the dining room table) or after food preparation in the kitchen.
I know it sounds as though I have very high standards, but really all I expect is that the HS leave my home as it is found. We don’t expect any major deep cleaning at all. We pay a professional cleaner every couple of months to come and do that. On very short sits we have not used THS, but pay a sitter recommended
by a member of our family. She leaves the bathroom clean and surfaces where food is prepared, stored or consumed clean (and therefore bacteria and pest free). The floors are dry mopped and vacuumed. We have never even discussed cleaning with her except to say she need not worry about doing the bedding or towels.
After reading the fabulous feedback from you all (expressing various points of view, which is much appreciated) I think it comes down to communication (which I clearly failed at with my sits). If either or both the HS or HO aren’t clear about what is expected then it is more likely that there will be dissatisfaction on both sides.
So as a result of all the contributions made to this topic, I will be changing my listing to be clear about my expectations, without sounding as though I am a clean freak (which I am not) During video meets I will ask the prospective HS to tell me what their expectations are of me, and what they consider their responsibilities around cleaning at the end of / during a sit 
I will also include photos of where the cleaning and laundry stuff is.
In the end, what it comes down to for me is that I cannot deal with unsanitary with the attendant bacteria and pests that attracts. I do not want to come home to a bathroom that is unclean or drains that are clogged with hair. And I do not want food, crumbs and spills left on floors, counters, or furniture. No deep cleaning required, but please just leave my home as you find it.
Once again, thank you to all who contributed to this topic. So grateful to be part of such an amazing, thoughtful and caring community.
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@JCG2 I would be very disappointed coming home to what you describe. As a sitter, I would never in a hundred years leave a place like that, that is just poor form. And imagine we walked into a sit like that! We once did (and much worse) and it was a bad sit from the get go, the lack of cleanliness surely didn’t help things.
I don’t care if pet care is the main objective (it always is anyway), but leaving a clean house shows respect. If the crumbs/burnt on things weren’t there when you arrived, then it certainly shouldn’t be there when you leave. Rant over.
I also didn’t think you’d have to spell something like this out, but there you are, this discussion has clearly showed it’s necessary to address this.
I agree with this.
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I take photos of the rooms when I arrive and when I leave, I have done 50+ sits and a few haven’t been very clean and one had a lounge that was so piled up with stuff you couldn’t sit on the sofa. There was another room, so I just shut the door and didn’t use it as there was an alternative space. I had met the home owner and had been assured everything would be gone as it was her son’s and he was in the middle of moving but of course it was still there.
I often leave early on the day the owners are coming home, so the day before I leave I keep free for a good clean. I check what they want to do about bed linen, I mostly do cats, and they want to sleep on the bed quite often. I usually leave it on in that case and put towels in the laundry basket as I would never leave a house with the washing machine on, too easy to have a flood and in fact one of the owners I sit for specifically asks not to do that as they had a leak themselves while they were out. I do think the feedback should be a star system so that other sitters could understand that there have been problems.
I do write a welcome home email to confirm things I may have done and why, small things crop up and you just solve them without bothering them while they are away. If it’s something bigger then I will have already contacted them.
It’s hard to be negative in a review if you have had a lovely time in the area you stayed in, I just think if the house didn’t meet expectations I wouldn’t go back.
The dirtiest house was someone who owned a health food store, the fridge was dire but it was filled with a Waitrose shop for me! She doesn’t use THS as I was her first sitter and had to contact the membership team as things were so bad.
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Same, pests are my biggest concern with people leaving food crumbs or also clogging our bathrooms. Specially if they’re staying for long periods of time. It just becomes harder to clean/disinfect.
The last time we had sitters we had to buy drano and use the entire bottle because half of it as suggested, wasn’t enough. We didn’t complain about that because again, I don’t think I specified to not let all your hairs down the drain. I don’t know if other people have the same habits as me of not letting hair just fall off to the drain in a shower. Drano is also inexpensive but it was kind of annoying to be honest.
For the most part we’ve been very lucky that our sitters have clean habits as we do, and as some have mentioned, we ultimately also care more about the well being of our pet. We also don’t want to come home to finding broken things (without them letting us know an accident happened), a kitchen full of pests or clogged bathrooms. I wouldn’t expect them to clean areas or rooms they didn’t use either.
Also in agreement with having guests while I’m here is a bit different. I want sitters to make themselves at home while they take care of my pet, but I think there should be a level of respect for the home as well. I don’t think being clear on those expectations in your HO profile should deter anybody who has the same clean habits as yourself. I also think tone is very important on how that is communicated.
As a sitter I have experienced extremely clogged shower drains @wendy_chicago. On Day 3 of a sit the toilet water would simply not empty immediately and continued to do this each time it was flushed that day to the point where I thought it would overflow. The shower was next to the toilet and I noticed the drain cover was lifting. On investigation, it was not a pretty sight. The drain was absolutely clogged with long hair, toilet paper (yes!) and I am sure owners had never cleaned it. It was the daughter’s bathroom and she had long hair (mine is short). It really was a job for the plumber but I set to work and cleared all that hair and muck. I had rubber gloves, de-constructed a wire coat hanger so I could put a hook on the end and poke it down and paper towel. No Drano or anything like it to be found. It was a revolting job to do and time-consuming. I sent photos to the owner of it all piled up on paper towel and they were extremely embarrassed but grateful I had not called the plumber. Hopefully they learnt something from this. As a result, every sit I do, I lift the shower drain cap and check - and yes, there have been others, one just recently, that needed to be cleared of hair. I’m wondering how often owners check the guest bathroom for this issue. So it’s not just sitters who leave clogged shower drains.
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