Renting out your Kootenays vacation home in Fernie can be a great way to earn extra income – as long as you don’t waste your earnings fixing it up after tenants have left.
Goldstar Cleaning Services offers housekeeping, security check and janitorial services for vacation homes and this is our guide to making your vacation home experience run smoothly.
Mudroom and entranceway
Create some cubbyhole storage spaces so everyone has their own place to store shoes, jackets and sports equipment.
Rubber flooring is a great choice to minimize damage by skis, ski boots and bikes.
Kitchen
Stick to basics. The more kitchen equipment there is available to your guests, the more they will use – which means more chance of items getting damaged, and more mess for your housekeeping company to clean up.
Encourage your guests to wash up as they go by providing the same number of table settings as your house’s maximum occupancy, plus two (in case they invite the housekeeping staff to dinner). So, if your condo sleeps six to eight, provide no more than 10 sets of tableware.
Don’t put all your old kitchen gadgets or small appliances in your rental vacation home – they will just gather dust or get broken.
Do buy good quality, hardwearing appliances – a self clean oven is worth the investment.
Leave some empty cupboard space for guests to store groceries.
Do provide dish soap, tea towels, cleaning cloths, bin liners and a washing up brush to help guests keep the area clean. If you have a dishwasher, provide tablets so guests aren’t tempted to use dish soap that will clog up your appliance.
Keep placemats and coasters near eating areas.
Living areas
Declutter – vacation homes with many trinkets and moveable items take longer to dust and tidy. Resist temptation to fill shelves with the board games you haven’t used for years, or your old VCR collection.
Don’t move your old white suede couch to the vacation home – choose quality furnishings that will be easy to keep in immaculate condition – this will help your vacation home maintain a higher rental value.
Remove all personal photographs – your guests are paying for a home away from home, not a reminder that they are in someone else’s house.
Create a binder with local visitor information, including your expectations of how guests should leave the vacation home and how to report any maintenance problems or emergencies at the property.
Décor
Leave your personal preference for black walls and striped wallpaper for your own home and decorate your vacation home in keeping with the location.
Ski condos should have a modern lodge feel (but go easy on the antlers and ski furniture) and beach or lake houses need to be light and airy.
Make sure high-traffic areas are painted with good quality, wipeable paint.
Choose flooring that can be easily cleaned – dark carpets, light hardwood or laminate flooring are ideal. Avoid floor rugs.
Supplies
Give your guests access to an all-purpose cleaner, cloths and paper towels, floor brush and small vacuum cleaner so they can clean up any small spills during their stay.
Have a lockable cupboard so you can stock up on toilet paper and cleaning products that can be easily accessed by housekeeping.
Washrooms
Put a toilet brush, hand soap, hand towel and air freshener in every washroom.
Resist temptation to leave dozens of lotions and potions that have to be moved every time the room is cleaned. Provide a few essential items like shampoo and body wash in a cupboard if you wish.
Buy two small, machine washable bath mats and keep one with your spare sheet and towel sets.
Bedrooms
Spend a night in each of the beds to see what your guest’s experience is like, and make changes to mattresses, room layout, window coverings or furniture as necessary.
Consider replacing pillows once a year so they remain in the best quality condition.
Get two sets of bedding and towels of the same pattern for every bedroom in the house, to make changeover day simple.
Housekeeping
Vacation homes always need to be kept in immaculate condition ready for the next potential paying guest.
Goldstar Cleaning Services offers a turnaround service for vacation homes, including a laundry service. We can also do security checks for insurance purposes.
More information on vacation home cleaning options.
Family and friends
If you let your family or friends use your vacation home, ask them to cover the cost of getting the property cleaned by Goldstar Cleaning Services at the end of their stay.
A Goldstar Cleaning Services gift certificate is also the perfect thank you gift for a friend who has lent you their condo or vacation home.
Thinking of buying a vacation home in Fernie?
Contact Fernie Vacation Properties to view one of their ski hill condo properties.
Want to spend more time enjoying yourself outdoors this summer, instead of cleaning the house for hours each week?
This is Goldstar Cleaning Services’ guide to keeping the dirt out of your house, so you can enjoy the summer.
1. Arm yourself with a spray gun
Make sure there is a hose with spray gun easily accessible in your yard, so that muddy furniture, bikes, toys, dogs (and children!) can be washed down easily before they get near the house.
2. Build your home’s defences against dirt
Most of the dirt in your home is brought in on the feet and shoes of your pets, family and visitors – make it easy for them to leave that dirt outside.
Keep a pile of old towels in your porch or mudroom so you can easily dry off pets before they go into the living areas.
Keep a laundry basket in the mudroom for muddy or wet sports clothes.
Change your doormat in spring and fall
Make sure your mudroom has plenty of space for shoe storage so there’s no excuse not to keep shoes stacked out of the way.
Keep a plastic tub or other container outside the front door for rubber gardening boots and mountain biking shoes that are too muddy to bring inside.
3. Get your barbecue set for spontaneous entertaining
Hose down patio furniture to remove loose dust and spider’s webs.
Clean soft furniture with tent and awning cleaner, which will clean off dirt without reducing water resistance. Use bathroom cream cleaner to get plastic furniture back to its original colour.
Keep a barbecue cleaning brush and barbecue tools close to the grill.
Buy a good-quality cover for your grill to reduce rain damage
Almost every bottle in the cleaning products section now claims to be environmentally friendly, biodegradable, paraben free or just ‘green.’ You may want to cut down the levels of toxic chemicals used to clean your home for health reasons or to address your environmental beliefs. But how do you know what product claims are genuine, and which ones are clever marketing phrases that skirt around the real picture?
What to avoid
The most important issues associated with household cleaners include:Health concerns — strong chemicals give a product cleaning power, but may also increase potential health risks. Always read the instructions to avoid over-exposure that may cause respiratory problems or skin irritation. Keep chemicals out of reach of children.
Ingredient disclosure — Ingredient lists rarely contain information about the percent composition of different ingredients. In addition, some disclosed ingredients are generic eg. ‘fragrance’ – making it impossible to tell whether it contains the chemical you or your child is allergic to.
Environmental concerns — Cleaning products are typically washed down the drain to be processed by sewage treatment systems and then discharged into surface waters. Some widely used cleaning agents (like alkylphenol ethoxylate surfactants) bio-degrade into persistent compounds that may pose ecological risks. Over two-thirds of the streams sampled by the US Geological Survey have detectable concentrations of persistent detergent metabolites (as well as disinfectants) that originated in cleaning products.
Waste reduction — Most cleaning products are now packaged in plastic bottles that can be recycled. However, many consumers dispose of these bottles as trash, adding to their community’s solid waste management challenges.
What to look for:
Look past the marketing slogans on the packaging and look for one of these logos, which show an independent organization has investigated the product’s ingredients, manufacturing process and disposal process and has deemed it to Each organization has a product finder on its website so you can check which products available to you are up to standard, and read information on the findings.
EcoLogo – Founded in 1988 by the Governmentof Canada but now recognized world- wide, EcoLogo is North America’s oldest and most widely known environmental leadership standard. EcoLogo contains 120 environmental standards and almost 7,000 certified products.
Greenseal – Green Seal standards provide leadership criteria for the development of many products, from home cleaning products to paints. Certification guarantees that products perform as well as conventional products. Ingredients are biodegradable and do not contain phthalates, heavy metals, or optical brighteners.
The Good Guide – Rates products and companies on their health, environmental and social performance. The 0 to 10 rating system is easy to follow, and you can search for products that match your priorities including fragrance-free, climate change, animal welfare and health.
Leaping Bunny – The Coalition for Consumer Informationon Cosmetics (CCIC) administers this cruelty-free standard. The internationally recognized Leaping Bunny logo appears on personal care and household products. They assure that no new animal testing is used in any phase of product development by the company, its laboratories, or it’s suppliers.
Make your own cleaning products
The best way to be sure that your products are not harmful to your family or your environment is to make your own!
• Check out our posts on using vinegar and baking soda around the house.
• For more ideas on homemade green cleaning products check out this printable recipe sheet from the David Suzuki Foundation.
Baking soda is non-toxic, environmentally-friendly, cheap and makes an effective all-purpose cleaner around the house.
1. Keep kitchen smells at bay
Keep a box of baking soda in the fridge, freezer or in kitchen cabinets to neutralize bad smells and stop bad odours from forming.
2. Baking soda paste
To remove stubborn stains from most surfaces, use a baking soda paste (3 parts baking soda, one part water). Apply, let stand, then scrub or wipe clean.
This also works for burned-on food at the bottom of pans, at the bottom of your oven or on the barbecue grill – leave the paste overnight and you will find it much easier to wipe away the mess.
3. As a dry shampoo
To quickly clean pets and remove “wet dog” odor, sprinkle with baking soda and brush out their fur.
You can also use baking soda as a dry shampoo on days when you don’t have time to wash your own hair!
4. Remove smells from carpets and rugs
Sprinkle baking soda on the carpet, leave for 15 minutes then vacuum away.
Spilled food on your favourite rug or expensive carpet? Blot the spill away as much as possible, then spread with a baking soda paste (three parts powder, one part water). Leave to dry and vacuum – the stain should be removed and there will be no bad smell. Tough stains may need several applications.
5. Freshen your laundry
Replace half of each measure of laundry detergent with baking soda to keep clothing fresh.
To remove grease stains from clothes, either add baking soda to the wash load or pretreat the stains with a baking soda paste (three parts soda, one part water).
Reduce the amount of chemicals in your and save some pennies by keeping inexpensive white distilled vinegar in your cleaning closet.
1. Use it neat as an all-purpose, deodorizing and naturally anti-bacterial cleaner.
Pour into a spray bottle to use on work surfaces, chopping boards and sinks.
To wash no-wax floors, add ½ cup of white distilled vinegar to a half-gallon of warm water.
2. Add baking soda for maximum cleaning power.
Sprinkle baking soda on tough grimy spots before spraying with vinegar and wiping with a cloth. The fizzing of the soda reacting with the vinegar helps soften the dirt.
Pour ½ cup of baking soda down a clogged drain, then add 1 cup of white vinegar – close the plughole and leave for 5 minutes, then turn on the hot tap for 30 seconds to clear the drain. Stubborn blockages may need more than one application, but it works!
3. A streak-less cleaner for glasses, windows and mirrors
Pour ½-1 cup white vinegar into the bottom of the dishwasher to banish white streaks from your glasses.
Window cleaning with vinegar will make your windows gleam and will not leave the usual film or streaks on the glass. Mix equal parts of white distilled vinegar and warm water. Dry with a soft cloth.
4. Clean the microwave
Boil a solution of 1/4 cup of white distilled vinegar and 1 cup of water for 3 minutes in the microwave. Will loosen cooked-on food and deodorize.
5. Kill weeds
Many municipalities – including Fernie – have now banned the use of cosmetic pesticides in backyards and gardens. To stop weeds growing, spray white distilled vinegar full strength on tops of weeds. Reapply on any new growth until plants have starved.
Share your tips!
What is your favourite green cleaning tip? Post them at the Goldstar Cleaning Services Facebook page.
Goldstar Cleaning Services is regularly called into private rental homes by landlords or tenants – these are our tips for how you can save yourself a cleaning fee, get your damage deposit back and ensure your rental is ready for the next tenants.
Start preparing from day one
• If you can keep the house clean throughout your tenancy, it will save you a lot of hassle when you decide to leave. Draw up a schedule with your roommates and make sure all the high-traffic areas are cleaned weekly.
• Take photos of every room before you move in, and arrange for a walk-through with your landlord. Make a note of any existing damage so you don’t get blamed for it.
• Take steps to prevent mess – put mats down in the entranceway and create storage for outdoor shoes. Put tin foil in the bottom of the oven and use foil stove element guards. Use stacks of plastic crates to separate recycling as you create it, and remember to put the garbage out every week for collection.
When you leave – don’t forget these cleaning tasks
• Clean inside the cupboards and drawers – especially in the kitchen and bathrooms
• Check the walls, baseboards and doors in high traffic areas for fingerprints, scuffs and stains and wipe them down. Don’t forget the staircase!
• We’re always amazed how many people forget to clean the inside of the fridge!
• Clean inside the microwave. If it is caked with food, put a wet cloth or a mug of water inside and microwave it for 15 seconds – it will soften up and make it easier to wipe down.
• Remove all your belongings, garbage, leftover food and recycling – if you don’t want it, your landlord definitely doesn’t want it.
• Mountain towns often have very hard water so unless you have wiped down the shower stall and bath tiles after every use, there will be a build up of limescale in the bathroom. Use CLR cleaner to remove it.
If all else fails – get in the professionals
Goldstar Cleaning Services offers move out cleaning services to tenants and landlords – our experienced cleaning team will deep-clean every inch of your property.
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Renting out your Kootenays vacation home in Fernie can be a great way to earn extra income – as long as you don’t waste your earnings fixing it up after tenants have left.
Goldstar Cleaning Services offers housekeeping, security check and janitorial services for vacation homes and this is our guide to making your vacation home experience run smoothly.
Mudroom and entranceway
Create some cubbyhole storage spaces so everyone has their own place to store shoes, jackets and sports equipment.
Rubber flooring is a great choice to minimize damage by skis, ski boots and bikes.
Kitchen
Stick to basics. The more kitchen equipment there is available to your guests, the more they will use – which means more chance of items getting damaged, and more mess for your housekeeping company to clean up.
Encourage your guests to wash up as they go by providing the same number of table settings as your house’s maximum occupancy, plus two (in case they invite the housekeeping staff to dinner). So, if your condo sleeps six to eight, provide no more than 10 sets of tableware.
Don’t put all your old kitchen gadgets or small appliances in your rental vacation home – they will just gather dust or get broken.
Do buy good quality, hardwearing appliances – a self clean oven is worth the investment.
Leave some empty cupboard space for guests to store groceries.
Do provide dish soap, tea towels, cleaning cloths, bin liners and a washing up brush to help guests keep the area clean. If you have a dishwasher, provide tablets so guests aren’t tempted to use dish soap that will clog up your appliance.
Keep placemats and coasters near eating areas.
Living areas
Declutter – vacation homes with many trinkets and moveable items take longer to dust and tidy. Resist temptation to fill shelves with the board games you haven’t used for years, or your old VCR collection.
Don’t move your old white suede couch to the vacation home – choose quality furnishings that will be easy to keep in immaculate condition – this will help your vacation home maintain a higher rental value.
Remove all personal photographs – your guests are paying for a home away from home, not a reminder that they are in someone else’s house.
Create a binder with local visitor information, including your expectations of how guests should leave the vacation home and how to report any maintenance problems or emergencies at the property.
Décor
Leave your personal preference for black walls and striped wallpaper for your own home and decorate your vacation home in keeping with the location.
Ski condos should have a modern lodge feel (but go easy on the antlers and ski furniture) and beach or lake houses need to be light and airy.
Make sure high-traffic areas are painted with good quality, wipeable paint.
Choose flooring that can be easily cleaned – dark carpets, light hardwood or laminate flooring are ideal. Avoid floor rugs.
Supplies
Give your guests access to an all-purpose cleaner, cloths and paper towels, floor brush and small vacuum cleaner so they can clean up any small spills during their stay.
Have a lockable cupboard so you can stock up on toilet paper and cleaning products that can be easily accessed by housekeeping.
Washrooms
Put a toilet brush, hand soap, hand towel and air freshener in every washroom.
Resist temptation to leave dozens of lotions and potions that have to be moved every time the room is cleaned. Provide a few essential items like shampoo and body wash in a cupboard if you wish.
Buy two small, machine washable bath mats and keep one with your spare sheet and towel sets.
Bedrooms
Spend a night in each of the beds to see what your guest’s experience is like, and make changes to mattresses, room layout, window coverings or furniture as necessary.
Consider replacing pillows once a year so they remain in the best quality condition.
Get two sets of bedding and towels of the same pattern for every bedroom in the house, to make changeover day simple.
Housekeeping
Vacation homes always need to be kept in immaculate condition ready for the next potential paying guest.
Goldstar Cleaning Services offers a turnaround service for vacation homes, including a laundry service. We can also do security checks for insurance purposes.
More information on vacation home cleaning options.
Family and friends
If you let your family or friends use your vacation home, ask them to cover the cost of getting the property cleaned by Goldstar Cleaning Services at the end of their stay.
A Goldstar Cleaning Services gift certificate is also the perfect thank you gift for a friend who has lent you their condo or vacation home.
Thinking of buying a vacation home in Fernie?
Contact Fernie Vacation Properties to view one of their ski hill condo properties. 
Almost every bottle in the cleaning products section now claims to be environmentally friendly, biodegradable, paraben free or just ‘green.’ You may want to cut down the levels of toxic chemicals used to clean your home for health reasons or to address your environmental beliefs. But how do you know what product claims are genuine, and which ones are clever marketing phrases that skirt around the real picture?
EcoLogo – Founded in 1988 by the Governmentof Canada but now recognized world- wide, EcoLogo is North America’s oldest and most widely known environmental leadership standard. EcoLogo contains 120 environmental standards and almost 7,000 certified products.
Greenseal – Green Seal standards provide leadership criteria for the development of many products, from home cleaning products to paints. Certification guarantees that products perform as well as conventional products. Ingredients are biodegradable and do not contain phthalates, heavy metals, or optical brighteners.
The Good Guide – Rates products and companies on their health, environmental and social performance. The 0 to 10 rating system is easy to follow, and you can search for products that match your priorities including fragrance-free, climate change, animal welfare and health.
Leaping Bunny – The Coalition for Consumer Informationon Cosmetics (CCIC) administers this cruelty-free standard. The internationally recognized Leaping Bunny logo appears on personal care and household products. They assure that no new animal testing is used in any phase of product development by the company, its laboratories, or it’s suppliers.
Make your own cleaning products
The best way to be sure that your products are not harmful to your family or your environment is to make your own!
• Check out our posts on using