Not to clean the holiday cottage?

[softlysoftly]

Due to leave tomorrow and having a disagreement with DM.

I think that you should vac the main living room floor, make sure there aren't any stains on the loos, wipe the kitchen sides down and clear any food.

DM wants to clean totally, I'm talking vac all floors (huge 4 bed 2 reception room barn) polishing tables, gloves on and hands down loo (4 loos), she's been and bought hob cleaner, we've only cooked on it once!


So who's right?

[gordyslovesheep]

oh and hahaha @ the lightbulbs - ours was booked for 5 people ...they left 2 cheap bog rolls - TWO for the whole week

mind you the shower leaked into the living room this morning ...I may not have mentioned that!

[capercaillie]

I would do what you're suggesting. Occasionally I hoover bedrooms but dependent on how messy we've been (e.g. sand on kids feet). I do also strip the beds. Last year, I got an email from an owner thanking me for leaving it so clean.

[Vycount]

I used to own a holiday cottage. I employed a cleaner for checkout days. You do not need to vac the place from top to bottom, scour the bath, disinfect the kitchen... Just put the rubbish out, clear up any obvious mess and leave.
It's daft to start cleaning baths, sinks etc. The cottage will need to be properly cleaned before the next guests come in, regardless of whether you've done it first.

[Stealthpolarbear]

Yes empty bin, clean kitchen (as we would after breakfast anyway), used towels together in the bath. Only Hoover if it needs it eg tracked mud in. We didn't when we went away over the summer as dh had hoovered half way through. Wouldn't leave bathroom dirty as such but wouldn't leave it as I expect to find it - it will be cleaned in between! Would wipe the job but wouldn't clean oven (unless we'd made a particular mess of it)
I bet some of you dust and polish!!

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

I just do the loo and strip the beds-nothing more.

[Pico2]

Why would you stay in a holiday cottage only to ruin the last day with cleaning. I decided against staying in France this year because I could work out whether cleaning was included.

[BeCool]

you are right OP

[Changebagsandgladrags]

We stayed for two weeks in a cottage in Ireland. On arrival the owner showed us around. Part of the tour included going past the under stairs cupboard

"There are extra loo rolls in here, the Hoover, but you won't be needing that"

Two weeks!

[halfwildlingwoman]

I would say leave it tidy rather than clean, so that the cleaners don't have anything extra to do. We had a comparatively expensive cottage this summer, so I considered the cleaning was factored in. I wiped down all surfaces, made sure everything was back in position, emptied bin and took out recycling and swept up the ridiculous quantities of sand brought in by the DC. I didn't hoover, but I had done so earlier in the week. I put all the towels in one place but didn't strip beds as that would have taken too long.

It was immaculate when we arrived.There is no way I could have cleaned to that standard even with a day. I left nice comments about it!

[LeapingOverTheWall]

we arrived at our holiday apartment before the cleaner left - I'm being charitable and assuming he went a bit quicker through the last bedroom than he might otherwise have done had we not arrived when we did, as we discovered (after a day of wondering what the odd smell was) a wet nappy in the wardrobe . Not sure whether to blame the cleaner for not removing it, or the previous guests for leaving it there.

I only strip beds if asked to, but will do a quick hoover round. I've left places with the dishwasher running as it hasn't finished after breakfast - is that OK, people who own holiday places?

[WipsGlitter]

Employ bins, wipe surfaces, leave tidy, run dishwasher.

[Mim78]

I would do as you suggest but maybe Hoover all the rooms if they have carpet.

[mistlethrush]

We were doing what you suggested in our last holiday cottage and the cleaner passed by, heard the hoover on and told DH not to as it would be getting done anyway. We definitely needed to do something as we'd managed to tread a whole lot of cut grass into the house from the recently cut grass outside... The dog hairs were the least of the problem! We did manage to leave the floors at least as clean as when we arrived - which with a dog (allowed) I think is the least you should do

[erin99]

What you say, OP, but I wouldn't generally hoover. You're paying for a cleaner after all.

We also sometimes put the dishwasher on after breakfast so crockery is all clean but needs unloading.

This is assuming it's a commercial arrangement and you're not staying on mates' rates.

[TurboTheChicken]

I have a holiday cottage and I am pleasantly surprised if guests empty the bins and strip the beds. In five years I have only had one set of guests that cleaned the entire house.

Has your DM holidayed in Cornwall in the last five years?

[Blu]

We regularly stay in a cottage where there is no cleaner and you have to clean it properly yourself - so I do.

But in most deals there is a cleaner between guests, so I would do what you are doing, minus the hoovering.
I would run the dishwasher - not leave any dirty dishes at all.

[wimblehorse]

Are you on holiday with my MIL?
She sets her alarm for 6am the day of leaving to be able to fit in all the cleaning before we have to leave (by 10am tho next guests can't access until 3pm leaving 5 hours for cleaners). She then gets all at me for not joining in so enthusiastically with the window cleaning, dusting & oven scrubbing.
I'm definitely a wash up, quick wipe of surfaces & leave tidy view

[rookiemater]

I agree with what you said OP apart from the hoovering. I'd wipe kitchen surfaces and make sure the toilet was clean, probably strip the beds if I had time, put dishwasher on before we left.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Two places we've stayed in have specifically asked guests not to run the dishwasher as the cleaner has to hang around waiting to I empty it presumably.

[ravenAK]

I hoover if any visible crumbs etc - they'll have a cleaner running one round so no point doing it twice if it looks fine.

All washing up done, put away, & surfaces wiped.

All bedlinen stripped & piled neatly on beds whilst checking for stuff lost by dc IN the beds.

All towels that have been used chucked in bath.

Bottles etc out for recycling/taken away. If we've been there enough to fill a bin bag in kitchen bin, taken to outside bin emptying litter bins etc into it.

It takes an hour, max - generally one of us does packing & the other directs dc to do cleaning.

Mind you, we had a loon once who accused us of 'stealing our Visitors' Book & festooning the flat with chicken feathers'. .

I'd put the fancy leather book in a high cupboard on arrival to avoid toddler scribbles, then forgotten its existence entirely, but no idea about the feathers - we're vegetarians & had refrained from voodoo sacrifice/pillow fights/Rocky Horror-style boa clad parties..

[BackforGood]

Gordy - if you are self catering, it's down to you to provide toilet roll - what was there was just to ensure you weren't caught short on the day you arrived, before you had unpacked/your shopping delivery arrived. It's down to you to provide what you need for the week.

[QuintessentiallyQS]

Gordy you were not in a hotel i take it? Not all holiday rentals provide toilet roll, or even washing up and laundry tablets to tide you over! It is self catering !

[Lucked]

I have stated in one place who listed in detail all the cleaning we had to do, I don't think they had a cleaner, I wouldn't have done it but we were wth PIl and so there was hours if cleaning.

General clean as I go, rubbish in the bins, Dishes clean, towels piled in bath and possible Hoover.

[clary]

We always strip the beds, hoover or sweep all rooms and stairs, clean all bathrooms, clean up in kitchen. Doesn't take that long, we do it after loading the car. I have cleaned as the hol has gone along.

Not a spring clean tho - I mean I don't dust everywhere or clean the windows or anything

I can't believe people don't hoover! I like to leave it as clean as it was when we came tbh.

[BackforGood]

But why would anyone vacuum, when you've already paid the cleaner to come and do that for you - or, I suppose more accurately, for the people following you in?

As someone said upthread - in a restaurant, do you just nip into the kitchen and do the washing up before you leave? No - being 'looked after' and not having to do those chores is factored into the price of the meal - or, in the original question, the cottage hire.