11 Quick And Easy Cleaning & Laundry Hacks

Experience is one of the best teachers, which is why few people have as many cleaning & laundry hacks as Airbnb hosts. Between guests, Airbnb hosts have to clean their whole space from top to bottom, and I figured anyone who cleans and does laundry that frequently would probably have some useful tips up their sleeves!

After a bit of online snooping, I stumbled on a forum for Airbnb hosts that held a virtual treasure trove of useful cleaning and laundry hacks. I’ll be sharing a few of those with you here in this post, so we can all benefit from the sage wisdom of these expert housekeepers!

11 Cleaning & Laundry Hacks That Airbnb Hosts Swear By

1. Air Out Rooms Regularly

One of the first things that hosts do when preparing for a new guest is throw open the windows! Getting fresh air into the room is the easiest way to remove lingering odors and freshen stale air.

Opening your windows can also help you stay healthy! Inviting airflow into your space brings more “good” bacteria inside, diluting the concentration of pathogens that could potentially make you sick.

2. Check Inside Appliances

Before you give the kitchen your stamp of cleanliness, don’t forget to peek inside your appliances! Check for messes that may be lurking inside your fridge, oven, and microwave.

3. Use A Lint Roller

The smallest details can make a difference between a clean space and a not-so-clean one. Hair, lint, and dust particles can make your just-cleaned space look dirtier than it really is!

After you’re done with your main cleaning tasks, run a lint roller over anything covered in fabric or upholstery. You’ll be surprised at how many stray hairs and bits of dust you’ll pick up!

4. Use A Pet Hair Sponge

If dog hair is a major issue, consider investing in a pet hair sponge. Many Airbnb hosts swear by these sponges as a way to quickly and easily erase dog hair from furniture.

5. Diffuse Essential Oils

First impressions are important, and Airbnb hosts are keenly aware of it. They want their spaces to scream “clean and inviting” from the moment you check in!

A lot of Airbnb hosts diffuse essential oils in their rentals before new guests arrive. (Peppermint is a particularly popular choice!) Natural essential oils help freshen the air in a space without leaving behind lingering or overwhelming scents.

Bonus Tip: Need to remove a stubborn, lingering odor like fish or fried food? Set out a few bowls of white vinegar while you clean. If you’re in a rush, microwave a bowl of vinegar for 15 seconds to jump-start the process.

6. Keep Bedding Simple

When it comes to your bedding, combining a variety of prints and colors can make laundry day more complicated than it needs to be. Laundering bedding is so much quicker and easier when all your sheets and pillowcases are white (or at least one uniform color!)

Hotels use white bedding almost exclusively, both because it acts as a signal of cleanliness, and because you can use bleach to help keep them clean and sanitary.

7. Protect Guest Beds

Whether you’re an Airbnb host or just hosting someone in your guest room, you want to offer your guest a perfectly clean bed. To help accomplish this, some hosts use a lint roller on the bedding after they’ve made up the bed to remove any stray hairs.

Another way to make sure you’re offering your guests a clean bed is to utilize washable pillow and mattress covers. These covers provide an extra protective layer that will shield your pillows and mattress from spills, body oil, and even bed bugs!

8. Trust In Oxygen Bleach

Providing clean, stain-free sheets for your guests is an absolute must as an Airbnb host. Many hosts rely on products like Oxiclean to get the job done and some prefer to make their own oxygen bleach!

Bonus Tip: Adding a bit of extra soak time can help Oxiclean work its magic. Just start a load as you would normally, then after about 10 minutes, pause the cycle. Let it soak for 20 minutes, then resume the wash cycle.

9. Scrape Away Soap Scum

Another important area of focus for Airbnb hosts is the bathroom. A clean bathroom is crucial, and hosts have all sorts of tricks for getting their bathrooms extra clean!

To clean their glass shower enclosure, one host sprays it with a cleaning spray, lets it sit for a few minutes, then scrapes away the loosened soap scum with a razor blade! I love this idea, I would personally opt for a plastic razor blade so I didn’t accidentally scratch anything.

10. Use Rain-X In Your Shower

A little bit of “preventative cleaning” can go a long way toward keeping your place cleaner, longer. One of my favorite preventative cleaning tips is to use a water repeller like Rain-X in your shower!

Apply it around your shower after you’ve cleaned it. You’ll be shocked at how much of an impact that one little step can make!

11. Wash Shower Curtain Liners

For those with shower curtains instead of doors, don’t forget about the liners! They’re easy to forget about when the curtain is closed, but a streaky, scummy liner will be hard to miss by anyone using the shower!

Thicker shower curtain liners can be washed right in your washing machine. Just add a few towels to the load along with a small amount of laundry detergent.

Bonus Tip: Help keep your shower curtain liner clean in the future by treating it will Rain-X too!

Do you have any quick and easy cleaning and laundry hacks?