CLEANPAD GUIDE · AIRBNB

How to clean an AirbnbFast turnovers come from the order,
not from rushing each task.

Two cleaners with the same checklist can finish an hour apart. The difference is sequence: which job runs in the background while you do another, and which job you never do twice. This is the order the Cleanpad checklist is built around, and why.

The principle: start the long jobs, finish the short ones

A turnover has a few jobs that run on their own once started (the washing machine, the dryer, a disinfectant that has to stay wet for its label contact time) and many that need your hands. Start every self-running job as early as possible so it runs while you work. The rest of the order follows from two old rules: top to bottom (dust falls) and dry before wet (wet cloths turn dust into smears), with floors last.

The order, step by step

1. Walk through before touching anything. Note damage and left items while the unit is as the guest left it. This is your evidence if you need it; see damage claims.
2. Strip every used bed and start the first wash. Laundry is almost always the longest chain in the turnover. From 20 November 2026 Airbnb says guests should not be asked to strip beds or start laundry, so assume every bed needs stripping (Airbnb, 20 October 2026).
3. Kitchen: dishes, then surfaces, then the fridge. Guests can still be asked to leave dishes in the sink; washing them is yours. Check the fridge and cupboards for food before you wipe shelves.
4. Bathrooms: apply, move on, come back. Clean the surfaces first. If you use a disinfectant, apply it and use its contact time to do the mirror, the bins and the towel change, then return to wipe. See the note below.
5. Dust high to low, room by room. Light fittings and shelves before tables, tables before skirting.
6. Make the beds when the clean linen is ready. Spare sets mean you do not wait for the dryer; see Essentials quantities.
7. Floors last, working towards the door.
8. Count supplies against the targets, not by eye.
9. Guest-ready checks: Wi-Fi, door code, smoke and CO alarm test buttons, hot water, bulbs and batteries, a smell check from the front door.
10. Final review as a separate step: read what is still open and decide whether the unit is ready.

Cleaning versus disinfecting

The CDC’s home guidance makes three points that change the order of a bathroom or kitchen clean (CDC, 31 January 2025):

• Clean surfaces before sanitizing or disinfecting, because dirt can stop the chemicals reaching germs.
• Read and follow the product label, and leave the disinfectant on the surface long enough to work. That waiting time is the “contact time” on the label.
• Ensure good ventilation indoors, and do not mix products or chemicals.

The CDC also advises cleaning high-touch surfaces such as light switches, doorknobs and countertops after visitors, and disinfecting when someone is sick or at higher risk. A spray-and-wipe in one motion skips the contact time; the apply-move-on-return pattern in step 4 fits it inside the window instead of adding to it.

Use the checklist as the order

The Cleanpad workspace lists rooms in this sequence: Arrival & laundry, Kitchen, Living area, each bedroom, each bathroom, optional blocks (outdoor, pets, deep clean, guest-ready checks) and Final inspection. On a phone, Next unfinished jumps to the first open task and the filters show only what is left or only issues.

Common sequence mistakes

• Vacuuming before dusting, then vacuuming again.
• Making beds before the floors in a carpeted bedroom, then dragging the vacuum past fresh linen.
• Restocking from memory. Counting takes a minute; a missing toilet roll is a review.
• Treating “all ticked” as “ready”. The last step is a review of what is still open, which is a different job from cleaning. See the final inspection guide.

To check the whole sequence fits, put checkout and next check-in in the setup and read the window; the turnover guide explains how to budget it.

Open the checklist in this order →

Updated 29 October 2026