A clean rental property is important for many reasons. Cleanliness is a big deciding factor for renters who are thinking of renting an apartment. How clean your property is gives renters an idea of what kind of landlord you are. Small issues, like a dirty common area, are often indicative of larger issues, at least, in tenant’s minds.

One more reason to keep your rental property clean is because how clean the home is sets a standard for how tenants will treat it. As Eagle Management in Sacramento explains, property owners who have their rental properties cleaned professionally are indirectly showing their tenants what they expect. Sadly, the reverse is also true.

Keeping the unit clean is paramount to the well-being of your tenants as well as the health of your business. But what is the best way to clean a rental property? Should you clean it yourself or hire a cleaning service? Do the benefits of hiring a cleaning service justify the cost? Is there any difference between cleaning by a pro and cleaning by a landlord?

Why landlords often clean by themselves

Landlords who clean their rental by themselves often do so for two reasons. They think cleaning a home does not require special skills; anyone can do it. Consequently, they view money spent to hire a cleaning service as a waste. But landlords who hold this view overlook some important facts.

First, the standard of cleanliness you hold for your office is higher than the standard you hold for your home. What passes in a home will often not be allowed in an office because offices are open to the public and business owners want to make the best impression on visitors. The same thinking should apply to a rental property.

Second, what most people do when they clean their homes is regular cleaning. But what professional cleaners do is deep cleaning. Deep cleaning is what rental apartments need. When professionals clean a rental, they follow a checklist that allows them to go through the home systematically and clean it thoroughly.

Third, hiring a cleaning service is not a cost, but an investment. It is a strategy that lets you charge higher rents. A higher standard of cleanliness attracts higher quality renters. You will be able to draw tenants who want a higher standard of living and are willing to pay for it.

As we shall see, a cleaning service positively impacts on the physical state of your property and also improves the bottom-line of your business.

Benefits of hiring a cleaning service

1.    Professional cleaning reduces wear and tear

Dust, dirt, and grime accelerate the deterioration of materials. They wear the material down or create conditions that encourage its breakdown. Often this dirt is so ingrained that ordinary cleaning does not unearth it.

Professional cleaners know how to dislodge deep-seated dirt. They know the best cleaning products and techniques to use for every surface in a home. Every part of the rental is cleaned in a way that achieves optimum results, while also protecting the material.

2.    Professional cleaners have a system

Every home has those unreachable corners and crevices where dirt hides. These are often the breeding ground for pests and bacteria, as well as, the source of bad odors. Amateur cleaners usually don’t know of the existence of these places, much less, how to clean them.

Professional cleaners, on the other hand, actually look out for them. Moreover, they have the tools and techniques to rid those places of dust, dander, microbes, and causes of bad odors.

3.    Professional cleaning delivers a standardized outcome

How people define cleanliness varies according to their personal level of cleanliness. Landlords have one set of standards, amateur cleaners have their own and tenants will also have their own.

This can be a big source of conflict in a rental property. But professional cleaners have a uniform standard that is defined for them by their profession. How would tenants react if they walked into your rental and it looked and smelled like a five-star hotel room? This is the type of result professional cleaners deliver.

4.    Professional cleaning equals lower vacancy rates

Having your rental professionally cleaned reduces its vacancy rate because a property in a top-shape is hugely attractive to prospective tenants. It shows you value the property, and more importantly, you care about your tenants. Furthermore, keeping the home clean after tenant move-in creates a good relationship between you and the tenants. Tenants who are happy are more likely to renew their lease. And tenant retention is the bedrock of success in a rental property business.

5.    Professional cleaning boosts your productivity

Cleaning takes an extraordinary amount of time, especially if you are not a professional cleaner. But, in spite of the time it takes, cleaning is just a small part of your rental business. When you clean your rental unit yourself, you are giving your most limited resource – time – to one small aspect of the business.

A better strategy would be to outsource cleaning to those who can do it better than you, while you focus on things that only you should do. The overall impact of such an approach is that you would have a rental business that is well-run and also more profitable.