Clean a Room the Way Hotel Housekeepers Do

When you manage a team of housekeepers at a busy hotel in Manhattan, you quickly learn how important a good work schedule is. Every morning, I check which rooms are vacant and how much time the employees have before new guests arrive.

After more than 25 years in hotel housekeeping, one of my most important rules is that every housekeeper should have an established cleaning routine.

If you want to clean a room like a hotel housekeeper, first prepare all the necessary equipment and remove the trash from the room.

Then clean the bathroom and change the bed linens, followed by dusting from the highest surfaces down toward the floor.

Leave vacuuming until the end, and make sure to inspect the entire room before you leave. Such an order reduces the need to return to areas you have already cleaned.

I often tell new employees that it is much more important to me that they clean their first few rooms properly than that they immediately try to match the speed of their more experienced colleagues.

At home, I follow a slightly simpler version of the same procedure. Of course, I do not change the bed linens every day or inspect every item as I would during a hotel inspection, but I almost never change the order of my work. Here is what you should do if you want to clean your room at home in the same way:

• Prepare all the necessary equipment before you start so you do not have to interrupt your work every time you forget a product.
• First remove the trash and unnecessary items, then clear the surfaces for cleaning.
• Clean the bathroom with separate supplies and respect the required contact time of each product.
• Make the bed before the final floor cleaning.
• Remove dust from higher surfaces down to lower ones, and leave the floors until the end.
• A final inspection should be an integral part of the job, even when you clean your own home.

1. Prepare the Room and Equipment Before You Start

The first thing I check when a new employee starts working independently is their equipment. If they have to go back for a clean cloth after just a few minutes, I know they will lose a lot of time during the day on unnecessary trips to the supply room.

At our hotel, we use carts stocked in advance with cleaning products and fresh bed linens.

At home, you do not need a professional cart, but a suitable basket can hold almost everything you need for regular cleaning. I have prepared a simple table you can use to organize your work.

Why Do We Remove Trash and Dirty Bed Linens First?

Imagine you have just wiped down the nightstand and then start removing the bed linens from the bed right next to it.

Some of the dust and fabric fibers will end up back on the surface you have already cleaned.

That is why I recommend removing everything that could interfere with the rest of your work first.

If you are changing the bed linens, remove them before dusting and place them directly into the laundry basket. Do not put them on the floor or on furniture you intend to clean.

2. Clean the Bathroom Without Unnecessarily Returning to the Same Surfaces

Of all the areas in a hotel room, the bathroom usually requires the most attention. That is precisely why I advise new employees not to start wiping surfaces at random, but to decide in advance which order they will follow.

My first step is to remove used towels and empty the trash can.

Then I check the condition of the bathroom fixtures and apply a suitable cleaning product to surfaces that require more thorough cleaning. As the product takes effect, I can attend to other parts of the bathroom instead of immediately starting to scrub.

If possible, I also open the window to improve ventilation and allow fresh air to circulate while the cleaning products are working.

Kelly Lenderink, executive director of housekeeping at The Inverness Denver hotel, explains in a Martha Stewart article about hotel housekeepers’ cleaning methods how her team uses the contact time of cleaning products to complete other tasks. I recommend a similar approach to my employees.

Why Do We Use Separate Cloths for the Bathroom?

I remember how careful I had to be at the beginning of my career not to mix up supplies intended for different surfaces.

At the hotel, we use clearly separated supplies for bathroom fixtures and other parts of the room. Such an approach reduces the risk of transferring dirt from the toilet bowl to other surfaces.

At home, you can follow the same rule without purchasing professional equipment. All you need are separate cloths for the toilet bowl and the sink. Wash the cloths after use according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Pay particular attention to your choice of chemical products.

The CDC warns that cleaning products should not be mixed. For most households, regular cleaning with a suitable detergent is perfectly sufficient, and disinfection is especially important when someone is ill.

3. Make the Bed and Clean the Furniture Without Repeating Your Work

There is one part of training that often gives new employees more trouble than they expect. It involves making a hotel bed properly, especially when they need to change a large duvet cover.

When I first started working as a housekeeper, I believed it was enough for the bed linens to be clean and properly fitted.

Later, I learned how important the actual bed-making technique was. If an employee has to walk around the bed several times to straighten the sheet, they will spend much more time than necessary.

Today, I teach them to fit the bottom sheet properly first. Then they should spread the duvet evenly and check the position of the pillows.

I do not expect a perfectly made bed on the first attempt, but I insist that they learn a procedure they can repeat without unnecessary effort.

At home, I do not pay as much attention to every crease, but I make sure the bed linens are completely dry before putting them on the bed.

4. Remove Dust from Higher Surfaces Down Toward the Floor

Start with the highest accessible surfaces, then continue toward the lower parts of the furniture. That way, you will not have to wipe away dust that has fallen during shelf cleaning a second time.

For most household surfaces, I use a slightly damp microfiber cloth, provided the furniture manufacturer permits this method of maintenance.

Do not forget items you touch every day, such as the remote control. Clean electronic devices according to the manufacturer’s instructions, without spraying liquids directly onto them.

5. Leave the Floors Until the End and Inspect the Room When You Finish

Once you have finished with the furniture, all that remains is to clean the floor. At our hotel, I expect employees to complete this part of the job systematically, without unnecessarily walking over surfaces they have already cleaned.

I usually advise them to start at the farthest part of the room and gradually work their way toward the door.

If the floor needs mopping, it is important to remove dust and other particles with a vacuum cleaner first.

Pay particular attention to corners and floor edges. Use a suitable vacuum attachment for narrow spaces, and if you have delicate wooden floors, check the manufacturer’s recommendations before using water.

In ABENA’s guide to hotel room cleaning, final vacuuming and floor mopping come after the other tasks. I recommend the same order for regular home maintenance.

Where Do You Most Often Go Wrong When Trying to Clean a Room?

After more than 25 years of experience, I would single out five mistakes that most often make cleaning take longer.

• You start with whatever catches your attention first.
• You spend too much time on one detail.
• You use the same cloth for too many different surfaces.
• You constantly go back for forgotten supplies.

I most often have to correct the second and fourth mistakes, especially among employees who want to finish the job as quickly as possible.

What Do People Most Often Ask Me About Hotel-Style Cleaning?

How much time should you set aside to clean one room? It depends on the size of the room and the amount of work required.

In the aforementioned Good Housekeeping report, Linda Ajdari stated that cleaning a hotel room after a guest checks out takes about 45 minutes.

At home, you do not need to rush to meet hotel deadlines. It is much more important to establish a good order of work first.

Do you need the professional cleaning products that hotels use? They are generally unnecessary for regular home maintenance. A suitable detergent and quality cloths can be perfectly sufficient.

Professional products sometimes require special procedures, so I do not recommend them without a good knowledge of their instructions. Should you clean your bedroom like a hotel room every day? No. Hotel rooms have different requirements because guests change frequently.

At home, adjust the frequency of cleaning to your own needs and the level of dirt. Making the bed every day and dusting occasionally can fit perfectly well into a regular household routine.

What is the biggest advantage of hotel-style cleaning? For me, it is a predictable work schedule.

When you know in advance the order in which you will complete each task, it is easier to estimate the time required, and you are less likely to have to repeat work you have already finished.

One Final Thought:

After all my years in hotel housekeeping, that is precisely the principle I most often recommend to new employees.

At home, you will not need the same checklist we use at the hotel, but a good work schedule can make every subsequent cleaning session easier.