Back to all ArticlesCleanliness is perhaps the most important factor that guests consider when they are deciding whether or not to return to your hotel. A hotel could have the best amenities, spacious rooms, and delightful receptionists, but no one would want to stay in it for a second time if the rooms were not spotlessly clean during their first visit. Find professional housekeeping services for a hotel or motel here.
Creating a Cleaning Plan
If you are going to clean a hotel room you should approach cleaning it like a professional, which means having a plan and to executing it with precision. Your plan should include a comprehensive list of tools, equipment, cleaning chemicals, and other products. If you hire a contract cleaner to clean your hotel, they will usually supply all the required equipment, but if you are doing it with in house staff you should have all sorts of cleaning products and tools in stock so that their cleaners are able to do a thorough job. Good sanitation should be at the heart of any proper cleaning plan, particularly if you are cleaning for guests, like you are in hotels and motels. Cleaning is more than just maintaining a good aesthetic appeal. A good cleaning plan should contain equipment and processes that will ensure that the hotel rooms are sanitary and germ-free.
As part of you cleaning plan, you will need to acquire the following cleaning tools, products, and supplies:
- Brooms and dustpans.
- Mops and mop buckets.
- Garbage bags and paper towels.
- Multiple cleaning clothes or rags, one for each area that has to be cleaned. Soft rags or microfiber clothes are preferred for surfaces such as mirrors and table tops.
- Cleaning chemicals such as detergents, bleach, vinegar, and ammonia. Cleaning agents with germ killing properties are preferred.
- Vacuum cleaners, both handheld and full sized.
- You will also need spray bottles and rubber gloves.
In most high-end hotels, these cleaning tools and products are neatly arranged in a janitorial cart, and housekeeping professionals can push the cart from room to room with relative ease and convenience.
THE CLEANING PROCESS
Although there may not be a fixed set of rules on how to go about cleaning a room, following this simple process can help you clean more effectively.
Start with the Linen and the Trash
The first thing to do when cleaning a hotel room is to remove the dirty bed linen and towels, and stuff them in a bag. Some hotels have laundry carts for this purpose, but if you don’t have access to one, you can put the dirty linen in a plastic bag. You should also remove all the trash from the room and the adjoining bathroom at this point.
Spread the Bed
The next step is to add clean sheets to the bed and to straighten it. In most hotels, the standard practice is to place a fitting sheet over the mattress, add a flat sheet on top, and put the pillows in clean pillowcases. Blankets and duvets are replaced less frequently, so you can neatly spread the same ones over the sheets.
Avoid Backtracking as you Clean
It’s always a good idea to start cleaning at the back of the suite and to progressively move to the front to avoid messing up your own work. After dealing with the bed and the trash cans, the next step is usually to clean the bathroom. It makes more sense to clean the bathroom first rather than circling back to it later. For more details on how to properly clean a hotel bathroom read this article.
Clean the Room from Top to Bottom
When you are dusting the hotel room, you should remember to start with the higher surfaces and to finish with the lower ones. Dust particles fall downwards, so it would be futile if you were to mop the floor before cleaning other surfaces. Dust the lamp shades, walls, paintings, and anything else that is located in the top half of the room. You should then proceed to dust and wipe down all surfaces, including table tops, windows and window sills, headboards, desks, dressers, TV sets etc. Use different rags for different surfaces to avoid transferring germs from one surface to another. You should dip the rags in a disinfectant before wiping down any of the surfaces. Use a handheld vacuum cleaner to clean the sofas and futons.
Finish with the Floor
Depending on the type of floor in the hotel room, you can vacuum it or mop it. Whichever option you pick, you have to start at the back of the room and clean the floor as you move towards the door. Add bleach or any type of disinfectant to the mop water. As you make your way through the room, return everything to where it’s supposed to be.
Clean Rooms vs. Sanitary Rooms
Remember that you are aiming not just for a clean room, but a sanitary one. The difference between the two is that a clean room has no visible dirt, stains or crumbs, while a sanitary room is free of pathogens. To ensure that a room is sanitary, use cleaning products with disinfecting properties throughout the cleaning process, and remember to avoid using the same cleaning cloth on different surfaces, i.e. don’t use bathroom cloths in the kitchen. Colour coding cloths used in the bathroom, kitchen and for general dusting is the best way to ensure that you don’t transfer germs from one area to another.