3. A Housecleaner Is Not Your Maid!
The reason a housecleaner is hired to come in after renters depart is not to clean up all the messes made during the week, but to tidy and to disinfect.
If renters could wrap their mind around this concept then the world would be a much better place, a much cleaner place, a much happier place!
I've been managing a couple of properties for out of state landlords for just over three years now. I also perform subcontractor duties for a local Property Mgmt. firm......a firm which manages those million dollar homes which line the beach and are two or three floors with approximately 6 or 7 bedrooms (and as many bathrooms)
A high percentage of those who rent these homes and condominiums leave the rental properties in an extremely degraded state.
And I've found it very interesting that these messy renters do not fit any particular profile...they cross all socioeconomic lines and borders.
And I will say this as well:
I have found that many times the owners themselves are some of the worst when it comes to keeping their own properties clean.
Even though these are my personal opinions based on anecdotal evidence...... I believe my experiences are a cross section of what occurs every weekend here at the beach.
For my part; I've been grappling with the idea of either expanding my work by taking on more clients and hiring help, or getting out of this line of work altogether. Most Saturdays I question myself sternly as to what the heck I'm doing in the cleaning business.
Along with this being the hottest & most humid Summer I've experienced since moving here, it's also been the worst when it comes to dealing with the condition that renters leave properties before they head out of town.
I feel like a crazy person...muttering to myself as I do a walk through before I begin cleaning...where I've heard myself repeatedly say things like: "I'm not your damn maid" or "omg...how long does it take to rinse a tub"? or the classic: "why am I doing this"?
I think this is mainly a psychological problem. People seem to shut their brains down when they're on vacation. This is sort of understandable. Sort of.
Vacationers get into a state of mind where I think they believe house cleaners are maids. They can just live as they please for a week...dropping, spilling, breaking...because, after all, they are on vacation and don't have to do anything. The Cleaning Fairies will come in on Saturday morning and wave their magic wand and make it sparkling clean before the next renters come in just a few hours later.
I am no psychologist, but I think a lot of this way of thinking might go back to when we were in school. I still see this attitude in adults that I've worked with through the years...Summer comes and they sort of "shut down" for almost three months. Spring comes and they sit looking out the window...daydreaming about running around in the warmth of the sun. Fall gives way to Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas and that gives way to still more "shutting down".
As a young girl when our family went away during the Summer; I knew that I wouldn't have to do any chores. Towels could be left for the hotel maid to come in and pick up and replace with a fresh one each day. My bed was made for me. Although I have to say, having been brought up in a strict, Italian freakishly clean family...we were required to make our beds and keep things tidy whether we were on vacation or not.
Most Saturdays, I wish I could come in with a power hose and spray the whole place down from top to bottom. I find myself doing a mini-Spring cleaning vs. just freshening up and disinfecting by cleaning areas where the most germs abide such as bathrooms and kitchens.
I guess I'm making a sort of plea to those of you who rent.
If you degrade the property, then consequently owners have to replace furniture and furnishings more often and the cost will trickle down to you. This is Economics 101.
No one wants to pay more than they feel they should and yet there is no concept of what it costs to upkeep a house or condo or hotel room in order to maintain a certain standard.
If cleaners have to come in on a Saturday morning adorned in hazmat gear just to clean up after a family, then everyone is going to absorb that cost somewhere along the line. Owners rent that they might make a profit. There's no easier way to keep the cost of renting down than to just clean up after yourself during the week and if you break something or spill Nyquil on the rug or destroy bath towels because you used them to check your oil level before taking to the road...then the cost will work its way down to your wallet.
Here's a wicked and glorious idea I thought of recently.
Whenever I want to experience a new restaurant or entertainment venue; I always go online and check out any reviews which might be out there.
People seem very quick to gripe and complain about slow service at a restaurant or dirty rooms in a hotel...and rightly so, as these reviews help to challenge businesses to do better.
I think it would be cool to have reviews of renters as well. When someone goes to rent a condo or hotel room or house, the owner can then check to see if there are any bad reviews out there concerning a rental history the person in question might have.
That is my dream of dreams !!
In summation:
Please treat the place you are renting way better than you would your own home because those of us who clean up after you are not your damn maids!
(I say that in the most loving way possible and really don't mean to sound like your mom!)
The reason a housecleaner is hired to come in after renters depart is not to clean up all the messes made during the week, but to tidy and to disinfect.
If renters could wrap their mind around this concept then the world would be a much better place, a much cleaner place, a much happier place!
I've been managing a couple of properties for out of state landlords for just over three years now. I also perform subcontractor duties for a local Property Mgmt. firm......a firm which manages those million dollar homes which line the beach and are two or three floors with approximately 6 or 7 bedrooms (and as many bathrooms)
A high percentage of those who rent these homes and condominiums leave the rental properties in an extremely degraded state.
And I've found it very interesting that these messy renters do not fit any particular profile...they cross all socioeconomic lines and borders.
And I will say this as well:
I have found that many times the owners themselves are some of the worst when it comes to keeping their own properties clean.
Even though these are my personal opinions based on anecdotal evidence...... I believe my experiences are a cross section of what occurs every weekend here at the beach.
For my part; I've been grappling with the idea of either expanding my work by taking on more clients and hiring help, or getting out of this line of work altogether. Most Saturdays I question myself sternly as to what the heck I'm doing in the cleaning business.
Along with this being the hottest & most humid Summer I've experienced since moving here, it's also been the worst when it comes to dealing with the condition that renters leave properties before they head out of town.
I feel like a crazy person...muttering to myself as I do a walk through before I begin cleaning...where I've heard myself repeatedly say things like: "I'm not your damn maid" or "omg...how long does it take to rinse a tub"? or the classic: "why am I doing this"?
I think this is mainly a psychological problem. People seem to shut their brains down when they're on vacation. This is sort of understandable. Sort of.
Vacationers get into a state of mind where I think they believe house cleaners are maids. They can just live as they please for a week...dropping, spilling, breaking...because, after all, they are on vacation and don't have to do anything. The Cleaning Fairies will come in on Saturday morning and wave their magic wand and make it sparkling clean before the next renters come in just a few hours later.
I am no psychologist, but I think a lot of this way of thinking might go back to when we were in school. I still see this attitude in adults that I've worked with through the years...Summer comes and they sort of "shut down" for almost three months. Spring comes and they sit looking out the window...daydreaming about running around in the warmth of the sun. Fall gives way to Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas and that gives way to still more "shutting down".
As a young girl when our family went away during the Summer; I knew that I wouldn't have to do any chores. Towels could be left for the hotel maid to come in and pick up and replace with a fresh one each day. My bed was made for me. Although I have to say, having been brought up in a strict, Italian freakishly clean family...we were required to make our beds and keep things tidy whether we were on vacation or not.
Most Saturdays, I wish I could come in with a power hose and spray the whole place down from top to bottom. I find myself doing a mini-Spring cleaning vs. just freshening up and disinfecting by cleaning areas where the most germs abide such as bathrooms and kitchens.
I guess I'm making a sort of plea to those of you who rent.
If you degrade the property, then consequently owners have to replace furniture and furnishings more often and the cost will trickle down to you. This is Economics 101.
No one wants to pay more than they feel they should and yet there is no concept of what it costs to upkeep a house or condo or hotel room in order to maintain a certain standard.
If cleaners have to come in on a Saturday morning adorned in hazmat gear just to clean up after a family, then everyone is going to absorb that cost somewhere along the line. Owners rent that they might make a profit. There's no easier way to keep the cost of renting down than to just clean up after yourself during the week and if you break something or spill Nyquil on the rug or destroy bath towels because you used them to check your oil level before taking to the road...then the cost will work its way down to your wallet.
Here's a wicked and glorious idea I thought of recently.
Whenever I want to experience a new restaurant or entertainment venue; I always go online and check out any reviews which might be out there.
People seem very quick to gripe and complain about slow service at a restaurant or dirty rooms in a hotel...and rightly so, as these reviews help to challenge businesses to do better.
I think it would be cool to have reviews of renters as well. When someone goes to rent a condo or hotel room or house, the owner can then check to see if there are any bad reviews out there concerning a rental history the person in question might have.
That is my dream of dreams !!
In summation:
Please treat the place you are renting way better than you would your own home because those of us who clean up after you are not your damn maids!
(I say that in the most loving way possible and really don't mean to sound like your mom!)
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