How to Clean an Airbnb Bathroom Between Guests

That Cleaning Girl · Airbnb & Rental Turnovers

Bathrooms are where guests look hardest. A single hair on the sink or a ring in the tub can overshadow an otherwise perfect stay. The good news is that a rental bathroom is very cleanable in a short turnover if you work in the right order. After staging the rest of the house with Guest-Ready Staging: The Small Touches That Finish an Airbnb Turnover, this is the room that deserves the most care.

Here is how we clean rental bathrooms around Mansfield, Midlothian and the south DFW area.

Clear it out, then spray

Start by emptying the room of everything that does not belong. Remove used towels, the bath mat and any guest items. Empty the trash. Pull the shower curtain liner out of the way if it is a curtain. You cannot clean surfaces you cannot see.

This is also when you check for damage, leaks or anything unusual, like a cracked toilet seat or a slow drain, and take photos before cleaning.

Spray the toilet, shower, tub and sink with your bathroom cleaner and let it sit while you do other things. Soap scum and body oils loosen on their own if you give the cleaner a few minutes. This one habit makes the scrubbing much faster.

While it sits, wipe down the counter, put toiletries back in their place and gather any hair from the floor and counter with a damp paper towel or a dry microfiber cloth.

The shower and tub

Scrub the walls, floor, tub and any shelves or niches. Pay extra attention to:

• The corners and grout lines, where grime collects
• The drain cover, where hair always ends up
• The soap ledge and shampoo caddy
• The tub edge and the base of the shower door track
• The shower head and handles

Rinse everything well. Leftover cleaner leaves a film that attracts dirt and looks streaky.

Glass, chrome and hard water

In North Texas, hard water is the reason clean showers still look dirty. Minerals left behind when water dries make white spots on glass doors and chrome fixtures. The fix is simple but important: dry the glass and the fixtures after you clean them. A squeegee on the glass and a dry microfiber cloth on the chrome make a clean shower look like it was just installed.

If spots have built up over time, a vinegar-based cleaner or a product made for hard water helps. That kind of buildup is better tackled in a deep clean than rushed during a turnover.

The toilet, top to bottom

Clean the bowl with a brush, including under the rim. Then wipe the outside from top to bottom: the tank, the handle, the lid, both sides of the seat, the hinges, the base and the floor behind it. The hinges and the base are where guests notice grime, and where turnovers most often fall short.

Use a separate cloth for the toilet. Never use it on the sink or counter.

The sink, counter and mirror

Clean the sink basin, the faucet and the drain. Wipe the counter, including under any trays or soap dispensers. Clean the mirror last so you do not splash it after it is done. Polish the faucet dry, same as the shower fixtures, so it shines.

Open the drawers and the cabinet under the sink. Guests leave things there, from hair ties to medicine bottles. Wipe the shelves if anything spilled.

Restock and stage

Once the room is clean, set it back up for the next guest:

• Fresh bath towels, hand towels and washcloths for the guest count
• A clean bath mat
• Toilet paper on the holder and a few spare rolls visible
• Hand soap filled, and body wash, shampoo and conditioner if you provide them
• Tissues, a fresh trash liner and a clean toilet brush and plunger
• A hair dryer in its spot if you supply one

Floors and the final look

Mop or wipe the floor last, working from the far corner toward the door. Get behind the toilet and along the base of the tub. Then turn off the fan, set the light the way you want it and take a finished photo.

Before you leave the room, look at it from the doorway and then from where a guest would sit. Hair on the floor around the toilet, a smudge on the mirror and a drip on the faucet all show up from those angles.

Keep bathrooms simple

The fewer things on the counter, the easier it is to clean and the cleaner it looks. Keep decor minimal and supplies in a tidy basket. For more on how we clean rentals start to finish, see our short-term rental cleaning page.