Deep Cleaning Hacks for Getting the Hotel Feel at Home

What’s the first thing that’s on your mind when you step into a hotel room? How tired you are after a long day of travel? How inviting the crisp, white sheets and fluffy down comforter look? Where to get dinner? Or any of the hundred things about your itinerary? Whatever you’re preoccupied with, chances are you aren’t thinking about all of the dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people who have stayed in that room before you. And why is that?

We bet that you’d be doing a deep clean at home if you have just one person, be it a good friend or close family member, sleeping in your bed. Even if you aren’t a germaphobe. The reason a hotel room’s previous occupants never cross our mind is because there’s simply no trace of them left. Hotel staff ensure that each guest is greeted by a pristine, clean space every time they walk through the door. When it comes to cleanliness and comfort, we could all learn a thing or two from the deep cleaning practices of the best hotels.

Get the Fresh and Clean Feel of a Hotel at Home

While you don’t have to go all out, there are a few simple (and relatively painless) ways you can incorporate these best practices into your own routine.

Super-charge your regular cleaning habits.
Start by decluttering. Shoo out all of those dust bunnies that may be lurking behind tables, dressers, vanities, beds and drapes. Next look up to eaves, book cases, molding and windows for cob webs to be swept away. And don’t forget to open the windows while you’re transforming your bedroom. Ventilation is imperative to creating a long-lasting, healthy space. Consider cracking the window just a tad, even in the colder months, when you’re cleaning up your space.

Choose an everyday, all-surface cleaner that won't irritate your sinuses.
Hotels achieve that glowing sheen by wiping down all surfaces to free them of germs and other debris that just seems to accumulate. Opt for an enzyme based cleaner without antibiotic properties to get a just-cleaned sensation that lasts.

Signature scents.
Nothing starts off a vacation better than entering your hotel room to subtle scent that’s crisp, yet refreshing. You can easily recreate this with an oil diffuser, either a wall plug-in or a traditional reed diffuser with natural essential oils, and a mister or spray bottle you can use to freshen your sheets.

Pro Tip: Opt for citrus-based scents during the day; and at night, tranquil scents like mint and lavender help set the stage for sound sleeping.

Go for broke with your bedding.
No sleep chamber is complete without premium bedding. Hotel bedding is often perfectly tucked, tailored and placed to create an aesthetic that instantly sells relaxation, but more importantly that is clean and inviting. Because none of us has time to change the sheets every single day, to replicate the look and feel of hotel bedding here are a few tips:

• Purchase an extra supply of down pillows and down comforters
• Keep an all-natural, essential oil fabric mister in the bedroom for sprucing up the bedding
• Change pillows every other day and fluff and change comforters once a week

Double down on monthly cleaning.
Beyond the weekly maintenance, schedule your own deep cleaning once every month to help keep your space feeling renewed day after day.

• Clean your windows inside and out. Free them of the dust and finger prints that build up over time due to normal traffic.
• Have your drapes or blinds cleaned. Drapes can be dirtier than you think. They're dust magnets and hiding place for germs. Consider investing in a small, at-home steam cleaner to keep those drapes in tip top shape.
• Steam clean your rugs and floors. When you have light grout, the bathroom tile gets dingy in a hurry, rugs can look dull and discolored over time, and wood floors can lose their sheen. Steam cleaning not only provides an always new feeling in the bedroom, but it dispatches germs that aren’t picked up by the vacuum or broom.

Enjoy Your Space.
Whether you opt to fully upgrade your space with luxurious hotel bedding or just super-charge your typical cleaning routine, take a few hints from the pros and turn your bedroom into an amazingly refreshing retreat.