Thursday December 10 (aka I Kinda Dislike Being Busy)

[Greenguy]

Morning!

So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it. Thank you. ~ Willy Wonka

With The Bitch & I going camping tomorrow, I've got a long list of crap that I need to do today. Why do I feel stressed out getting ready to relax?

I'll probably stop by here tomorrow morning before I go, but if not...

[Ramster]

Good morning, usual day of work going here

Greenie, every time I go away I am stressed trying to be sure everything is done and updated, it's the nature of our business when you "do it all yourself" lol.

[Cleo]

Lots to do here too.

But before I start on doing computer work today I'm going to get out the chainsaw and trim one of the trees in my backyard before it becomes so overgrown that I have to pay someone to do it. Also my last guest said that I need to "vacuum the bedroom more" which is odd since I use a broom and mop on all my floors and don't own a vacuum. So I guess I meed to clean the floor in there even better.

Besides all of the above going to a business Meetup this evening and hopefully getting some leads and work.

[JustRobert]

Good Morning

Always lots to do here today, like binge watching the X-Files

Well, that doesn't start until lunch time and I will be working on my laptop while doing that anyways so it's not like I'm totally slacking off.

Cleo, I bet your last guest dropped crumbs or something on the floor and then stepped on them with their bare feet. I doubt highly it was anything you did or did not do.

[Cleo]

Originally Posted by JustRobert

Cleo, I bet your last guest dropped crumbs or something on the floor and then stepped on them with their bare feet. I doubt highly it was anything you did or did not do.

Yeah guests can be assholes. All my reviews are five stars except cleanelness. Personally I think my room is cleaner than most hotel rooms as I even wash the bed comforter after each guest, which most hotels do not do. I lose my Superhost rating if any of my reviews fall below 80% and so I'm at risk of that happening if my next guest doesn't give me five stars on cleanliness. Another guest gave me a bad rating because they found a bandaid under the sink. Another found a hair in the shower and gave me a bad rating. Yet another gave me a bad rating because I was leaving the opened but still still plenty of product of shampoo that guests had left so now I throw away everything that a guest might leave.

This was from my last guest that only gave me four stars on cleanliness.

Overall value for the money spent was excellent. The home was very clean but my standards are very high. Bathroom was great. A fresh vacuum around the bedroom would complete a spotless presentation.

[ecchi]

Today is a sleeping day. Went to bed about 7:30pm last night, woke up just before 11am this morning, washed, dressed, breakfasted, and did about half an hour on the computer, then fell asleep in the chair. Woke up about three and a half hours later, remembered that I had bills that had to be paid at the bank (haven't had the energy to do it for the last couple of weeks, and they were already late when I fell ill). Fortunately the bank is only 15 minutes walk away, so I paid them, came back and typed this, and now I feel like another nap!

I mean I've only slept about 19 of the past 21 hours, so obviously I'm not getting enough sleep!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Greenguy

So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it. Thank you. ~ Willy Wonka

One of my favourite movie quotes. (Anorak Alert -Nerd Stiff Ahead) The quote actually comes from the first (and best) of the movies. The line is slightly different in the book, and in the remake they went with the version in the book.

Originally Posted by Greenguy

[i]With The Bitch & I going camping tomorrow'..

Are you allowed a holiday before you've finished Chubby Links?

Originally Posted by Cleo

Also my last guest said that I need to "vacuum the bedroom more" which is odd since I use a broom and mop on all my floors and don't own a vacuum.

Cleo - A broom will never clean as well as a powerful vacuum (in fact, going by my experience using my landlord's underpowered vacuum, even an underpowered vacuum is better than a really hard sweeping). So, if your guests are used to a vacuumed house they are always going to see a swept room as "dirty", however good a job you do.

[Cleo]

Originally Posted by ecchi

Cleo - A broom will never clean as well as a powerful vacuum (in fact, going by my experience using my landlord's underpowered vacuum, even an underpowered vacuum is better than a really hard sweeping). So, if your guests are used to a vacuumed house they are always going to see a swept room as "dirty", however good a job you do.

I disagree. Back when I did own a vacuum I found myself having to use a broom after I used the vacuum. Either way my tile floors still need to be mopped in order to get them really clean.

I've been wanting to buy this combo vacuum/mop. I had something similar for carpets and it worked great, but was really big and too much of a hassle to use for just cleaning tile floors so gave it away. The Hoover FloorMate Hard Floor Cleaner is about the same size as alpine vacuum and seems to get the best reviews of all the hard floor cleaners.

[ecchi]

Well if a broom is as good as a vacuum, and you are not getting 100% on cleanness, then I guess it must be that you are a dirty slovenly woman!

[Cleo]

[quote=ecchi;541518]

Originally Posted by ecchi

Well if a broom is as good as a vacuum, and you are not getting 100% on cleanness, then I guess it must be that you are a dirty slovenly woman!

Actually the floors get sandy in one day due to living on a big sandbar that is called South Florida. It drives me crazy, especially in the winter when my windows are open. I swept the floors yesterday and already today I can feel grit under my feet when I walk around barefoot, which I always do. In the summer when the A/C is on it takes a few days before the floors start feeling gritty.

[JustRobert]

[quote=Cleo;541522]

Originally Posted by ecchi

Actually the floors get sandy in one day due to living on a big sandbar that is called South Florida. It drives me crazy, especially in the winter when my windows are open. I swept the floors yesterday and already today I can feel grit under my feet when I walk around barefoot, which I always do. In the summer when the A/C is on it takes a few days before the floors start feeling gritty.

There is the issue (have hardwood floors so I totally understand) and maybe the combo vacuum/mop will help but you may want to consider putting hotel type carpet in that room and close off the door when not in use. That little grit stuff drops down in the carpet and not felt on bare feet.

[Cleo]

[quote=JustRobert;541527]

Originally Posted by Cleo

There is the issue (have hardwood floors so I totally understand) and maybe the combo vacuum/mop will help but you may want to consider putting hotel type carpet in that room and close off the door when not in use. That little grit stuff drops down in the carpet and not felt on bare feet.

I had carpet. In this humid climate it turns into a mildew breeding ground. I had to bleach the concert slab after my carpets were removed. Tile is the only way to go here in south Florida as it doesn't turn into a mildew breading ground. Wood is the second choice but it tends to warp and buckle after a decade or so.

[ecchi]

Originally Posted by Cleo

I had carpet. In this humid climate it turns into a mildew breeding ground.

At the risk of sounding like a scratched record: That is because you use a broom.

A good powerful vacuum cleaner will suck up the spores before they germinate enough to grip on. A broom never will.

Although NB "good" and "powerful", cheap and crappy won't be much help. Also note that you need different attachments for tile floor and carpet floor, use the wrong one in the wrong place and it won't do a good job (I know this because when I was a kid we had both types of flooring, and sometimes I tried to save time by not changing heads - my mother always knew).

Bottom line, a customer can be an idiot, they can complain about the stupidest thing. But they don't tend to make stuff up. If they turn up, look at your floor, and say you "need to vacuum the bedroom more" it means they have stayed in places better cleaned that your place. And assuming you had swept the floor before they arrived, the reason this "other place" did a "better job" was because they had one of these magic machines called a vacuum cleaner.

When I went on holiday this year I did not use Air B'n'B but I looked through and considered them. When you are a customer they really push their superhost rating, and although they don't say so, they infer "If you book from a non super host, don't be surprised if your accommodation is shit". So you really do not want to loose that rating. The cost and inconvenience of getting a really powerful vacuum is a small price to pay to keep it!

[MeatPounder]

I find using a Swiffer WetJet removes all the grit on my tile floors.
A quick and easy solution for me with Sammy () in and out of the back yard constantly.

[Cleo]

Originally Posted by MeatPounder

I find using a Swiffer WetJet removes all the grit on my tile floors.

They work great until they break.

[JustRobert]

Originally Posted by Cleo

I had carpet. In this humid climate it turns into a mildew breeding ground. I had to bleach the concert slab after my carpets were removed. Tile is the only way to go here in south Florida as it doesn't turn into a mildew breading ground. Wood is the second choice but it tends to warp and buckle after a decade or so.

Didn't think about the humidity/mildew issue. Looks like you might have to sweep/mop/vacuum each day the guest goes out. Might want to reconsider carpet understanding you need to replace it every year as a business expense (why I mentioned a cheaper hotel carpet or rental carpet) or a very large area rug that can be cleaned regularly. Wish you luck with this dilemma.