How to keep a clean rental home

We are all busy these days. Between family, work and play it can be incredibly difficult to find the time to clean your home. It’s not exactly something many people look forward to doing after all!

However when you do manage to finally set some time aside to roll up your sleeves and get to scrubbing, it’s always a good idea to arm yourself with the right products. To help you out, I’ve put together a list of my go to supplies that will have you cleaning smarter not harder; allowing you to give your rental property the deep cleanse and clean it deserves.

But before we get started, I need to cover a couple of disclaimers. The following list contains my personal preferences and is by no means a sponsored post. It’s not necessarily the brand that’s important in this discussion; it’s more about what the products do and how they work that matters. I also haven’t been particularly environmentally conscious in my selections; but I do think they’re effective at getting the job done.

Secondly, please spot test before you go hard with any of these products. We’d hate for you to follow in one of our team member’s footsteps and create staining in your bathroom because a product designed for ceramic tiles doesn’t sit well on slate!

Now that we’ve got those points out of the way – let’s jump into the list!

Bathroom

The one room we all hate to clean! But let’s face it – neglecting to clean your shower can cause a build-up of soap-scum and in worst cases, mould spores. Gross!

To overcome these issues, I recommend a product like Shower Power combined with a mild abrasive sponge. Spray the product on the glass, tiles and base and leave to sit for 10 minutes. Wipe over, rinse with hot water and voila – look at that bathroom sparkle!

For those who have left the cleaning a little longer than expected, resulting in mould on shower tiles and in the silicone, I recommend using Exit Mould. For this product, you’re going to follow the same instructions you would with the Shower Power but instead allow to sit for 20 minutes before wiping over.

Kitchen

Arguably one of the most important areas of your home to keep spick and span, next to the bathroom, it’s very easy to let the cleanliness slip in the kitchen if you’re not paying attention. All it takes is cooking on your stovetop for the grime to start building!

Dependant on your type of stove top you will need to choose the appropriate surface cleaner.

Gas stove tops should be cleaned with stainless steel surface spray and a non-abrasive sponge/cloth. Spray on, wipe over surface with sponge then follow with a dry cloth.

Electric hobs/glass induction cook tops should be cleaned with a product like Cerapol. Simply switch on your stove top to a low heat, apply the Cerapol cream to the surface and use a cooktop scraper to remove burnt on grime and marks. Wipe with a damp cloth and BOOM, good as new!

Kitchen tiles should be wiped over regularly with a general multi-purpose spray and wipe, but if you find that it’s failing to get the grout back to its original colour the next best thing is to use a product like Gumption.

To use, take a mild abrasive sponge apply the paste to tiles and work into the grouting. Wipe away with a damp cloth and see your tiles be restored back to their former glory in no time! Same rules apply for bathroom tiles (wall and floor).

Walls

You probably don’t notice, but it doesn’t take much to mark-up walls. Luckily, it usually doesn’t take much to clean them up either!

There are a couple of ways you can clean your walls – the first being a product containing sugar soap. You can get this product in individual wipes, but for larger wall surfaces a spray bottle format is probably your best bet. Make sure your paint is a wash wear before applying, then liberally spray the wall with the sugar soap and use a soft damp cloth to wipe down.

For smaller areas, Magic Erasers also work really well. Take a small part of the sponge, run under water of a minute and wipe those marks away!

Floors

Hardwood floors require a hardwood cleaner to keep them looking their best; in this instance I recommend a product like Earths Choice Wooden Floor and Surface Cleaner. Alternatively, a dust over with a microfibre cloth can also work wonders for those times a deeper cleanse isn’t necessary.

Carpets are best maintained by having steam cleaning done every six months, however for spot stain treatments I can’t go past Preen for Carpet. It is FANTASTIC at lifting every sort of stain you could imagine and definitely worth having on hand if you have large carpeted areas.

So there you have it! These are my go to products that will hopefully keep you keep your home sparkling and fresh. But this certainly isn’t an exhaustive list – so if you are still unsure as to which products would work best at your rental property, please don’t hesitate to call on one of the property managers here at The Hopkins Group; we would be more than happy to help! A clean home equals a happy owner and property manager after all!

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Lauren Wilden-Ross is a Senior Property Portfolio Manager and a cleaning enthusiast! When most people are catching up on Netflix over the weekends, you’ll find Lauren rocking out in her rubber gloves and apron. All of these recommendations are personal and by no means endorsed by a professional cleaner. We have not been sponsored for this post but have drawn on years of experience from advising tenants on the best ways to keep their rentals clean. We hope it’s a useful guide but The Hopkins Group does not take any responsibility for any damage that occurs as a result of a misuse of products. Please read all warning labels prior to using as part of your cleaning routine.