Clean places rent much faster than dirty places. So looking for hacks to make kitchens and bathrooms SCREAM clean!

I don't hire a cleaning lady because I don't know how to clean, but I hire a cleaning lady because she's able to focus. Find a cleaning lady who accepts one-off turnovers whose work you like, pay her what makes her happy, and treat her like a treasure.

I hold a large security deposit. I provide a cleaning checklist. A tenant who wants a couple of thousand dollars back will clean WAYYYYY better than a cleaning lady getting a few hundred dollars, I've found (not that I would keep the whole deposit.)

Laura,

My best tip is Liquid Turtle Wax. One dab on a rag, wipe off, wipe off. We wipe the fronts and tops of appliances, counters, tub WALLS (not the tub floor!), chrome faucets and handles, after metal polish on stainless steel sinks…

Makes em SHINE! And helps sink or tub cleaning later.

Next is MopNGlow on Allure floors.

And it’s gotta SMELL good. It ain’t clean until it smells good. Pour some bleach in each sink trap. PlugIns near the entry door and several rooms. We use CLEAN LINEN scent.

Since fiberglass tubs are one of the few things I would never paint, does anyone here know how to remove the soap scum from

a dinghy looking fiberglass tub and surround? This tub is probably 20 years old and I want it to look brand new. Is that even possible?

Edit: Should have typed wipe ON the liquid wax then wipe in off. No need to let it dry and buff.

Tub scum: 30 Second Cleaner - spray it.

I spoke too soon...

The very BEST and effective way to get a rental clean and smelling great for top rent - HIRE A WOMAN!!

Men just don't cut it! We don't see it or smell as sharp as a woman.

Men: if want a divorce, ask your WIFE to clean a rental.

Brad20K,

I have often wondered how many wives here clean rental properties. Any wives here willing to step forward and say "I do and I am still married".

In the very few places which still have carpet or just stale basements, cellars, garages, stairwells, lobbies, DID have pets, we sprinkle Arm&Hammer Carpet Odor Eliminator.

Dust lightly and cannot be seen on light colored floors, carpet, or concrete.

Easy to put on furnace filters, down floor vents...

If you have carpet, sprinkle some scented powder (we used Carpet Fresh Apple Cinnamon) on and let sit for an hour before vacuuming.

Orange Glo is great for hardwood floors or stained wood cabinets, although the shine doesn't last long.

If you have older hardwood floors, a coat of floor-grade polyurethane is a fair amount of work, but really protects and makes the floors look great.

Range knobs can be removed and soaked in soapy water, then dried and reattached...usually they just slide off.

New switchplate covers to replace any broken ones...they are 19 cents each.

Get dead bugs out of light fixture glass coverings.

Make sure bulbs are at least the same wattage in a given fixture or it looks tacky.

LA Awesome is a STRONG cleaner for things you can't get clean, but test on a small area first as it will remove paint on some items.

I'm stepping up, BRAD. I do clean the rentals and I'm still married...

Why? Still looking for a good cleaner. Many have been hired in an effort to find one. Even when tenants leave a place clean, not too many leave a place spotless.

Light white bright

Paint the walls a light grey.

Paint the trim white

Install new light fixtures with lots of bulbs or put in new Daylight LED bulbs.

New blinds.

Oreo,

I have located a female house cleaner that I am using today at my vacant house. She is good but she also charges $25/hour.

My wife used to clean. Now I can't get her to do anything beyond the books.

Finding a good cleaner is about as difficult around here as finding a good handyman.

So, unfortunately, I do it myself.

Hey Zero,

I clean rentals. My husband didn't want anything to do with them. He didn't want to hear about them and insisted that the income from the rentals didn't count, only his salary counted.

Not still together, though, and whenever I hear from him it is to complain about how expensive everything is and how he can't find a place he can afford to rent. Life is not as comfortable without that rent money that didn't count as income.

Oregon,

Roy, when we got started she was a stay at home mom to two.

I had the W2 and worked nights and evenings on the rentals. She pitched in where she could. Lugged drywall up the stairs, carried tools, used tools, cleaned, all while keeping an eye on the little ones.

As the biz grew she slowly moved away from the tasks that involved working at the actual properties. We also grew the paperwork side as well. Plus she got her own W2, which she still has.

Kids are gone, for the most part. I haven't had a W2 since 2012 and it never was a six figure job. Seven figures if I included a couple spaces on the other side of the decimal.

I was hoping that she would assist on the flip house. Cleaning, painting and such. Especially since I originally got it for the youngest. But alas that is not going to happen. Plenty of opportunity but all she has done is given me decorating advice.

Not upset about her not working on the properties. She does all the paperwork stuff, balances everything and takes care of nearly all the housework at home. She has five more years until she can fully retire from her W2. My guess is at that time I need to have had all the stuff aligned so we can both do other things together that do not involve the rentals.

Zero,

Roy, just get one big hat. It's easier.

I took care of the books when we first started. As she moved away from the physical side she absorbed the paperwork side. Now that is what she does at her W2. Sometimes she complains that she does it all day and then comes home and has to do more of it.

She usually just spends early Saturday on our stuff now so not a long drawn out process any more.

I basically only enter the receipts from items I buy. I am not allowed to even attempt to reconcile. She has her way and it doesn't involve me.

Having someone share in the chores is nice tho. Just like when I said no more roof jobs. Hired it out and am not sorry.