How to Properly Disinfect a Short-Term Rental

Short-term rental properties offer a unique advantage during health crises. Once properly disinfected, only guests occupy the space, allowing property managers to reassure guests about safety. Beyond COVID-19, disinfection practices benefit guest and cleaner health during flu and cold seasons.

How Does Disinfection Prevent the Spread of Illness?

Respiratory particles from infected individuals spread illness through coughing, sneezing, and touching surfaces. According to research, the COVID-19 virus can survive 2-3 days on metal and plastic, potentially up to nine days on some surfaces.

A guest checking out Tuesday could infect a guest checking in Wednesday, even with standard cleaning between turnovers. This is why disinfection — not just cleaning — is essential.

Protect Your Cleaners First

Your cleaners are the first people to enter the property after a guest departs. Their safety must be the top priority.

Cleaner Protection Measures:

Avoid touching their face while cleaning
Wear disposable or homemade masks (not N95, which are needed by medical staff)
Wash hands immediately upon arrival
Sanitize mobile phones with soap and water
Wear sanitary or rubber cleaning gloves
Never work if symptomatic

What to Sanitize

Sanitization reduces contamination to safe levels, killing 99.9% of bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The following items require sanitization:

All linens — including throw blankets, decorative pillows with removable covers, and any fabric a guest may have contacted
All dishes and flatware — guests touch multiple items when selecting from a cabinet, so even “unused” dishes should be washed
Dishwashers should reach 150 degrees F (65 degrees C) for effective sanitization

What to Disinfect

Disinfection kills everything on surfaces using stronger products. This is the critical step that goes beyond standard cleaning.

Bathrooms

Every surface in the bathroom requires disinfection with approved products. This includes the toilet (inside and out), sink, countertops, shower walls, tub, faucet handles, towel bars, and the floor.

High-Touch Points

These are the areas most likely to harbor contamination from the previous guest:

Light switches and outlets
Window handles and sills
Cabinet pulls and knobs
Appliance and electronics controls
Temperature controls and thermostats
Hangers and luggage racks
Drawer knobs
Remote controls
Amenities (soap, shampoo, supplies)
Toys and child amenities
Stair and porch railings
Cloth furniture (couches, chairs)
Indoor trash bins (inside and outside)
Cleaning supplies provided to guests
Door knobs and handles (disinfect these last, as the cleaner will touch them throughout the process)
Entry process (keypads, lockboxes, keys)

Product Guidance

Use approved disinfectants from the Center for Biocide Chemistries list. Follow “dwell time” (contact time) instructions on product labels — this is how long the disinfectant must remain wet on the surface to be effective. Wiping a surface dry immediately after applying disinfectant renders the process ineffective.

Pay Your Cleaner for Additional Time

Additional disinfection tasks require additional compensation. These steps add real time to every turnover, and your cleaners deserve to be paid for the extra work. This is especially important during periods of economic uncertainty, when service providers depend on consistent, fair payment from the managers they serve.

Factor the additional time into your turnover scheduling as well. A thorough disinfection adds 15-30 minutes per property depending on size, and rushing the process defeats the purpose entirely.

Looking for tools to put these ideas into practice? Explore Properly’s solutions:

automated scheduling — coordinates your service providers without the back-and-forth
service provider marketplace — connects you with vetted, certified cleaners in your area
property manager solutions — purpose-built tools for scaling your portfolio