Villa cleaning checklist for owners who live abroad

When you are on the other side of the world, you cannot pop round to see how the villa is doing. Whoever cleans it becomes your eyes, and that only works if the job is written down: the same list on every visit, the same photos, and a clear line between what the cleaner deals with herself and what she reports to you.

This guide is that list. Use it with any cleaner, or hand it to us. If you are about to close the villa for a while, read our guide to villa care while you are away first, as it covers getting the house ready before you leave.

For owners who live abroad, most problems have little to do with the cleaning itself. They are about access, money and who makes decisions. Agree these points in writing before the first visit.

• Wipe the tops of wardrobes, door frames and ceiling fans.
• Clear sand and red dust from sliding door tracks so the doors keep running smoothly.
• Check the moisture absorbers in wardrobes and replace any that are full.
• If the villa is near the sea, wipe the salt film off glass doors and stainless steel.
• Check stored linen and towels for any smell or spots.

On Samui the rainy season runs roughly from October to December, and it is the hardest time of year for a closed house.

There is more on mould and damp in our rainy season guide.

Book the clean for the day before you land, not weeks ahead, because dust and humidity come back quickly in a closed house.

• After a few weeks with regular visits: a regular clean is enough.
• After several months, or with no visits at all: a deep clean.
• Ask for what you need: beds made up with your linen, and with a regular clean the inside of the fridge (300 ฿) or oven (300 ฿) as extras. In a deep clean both are included.
• Tell us when you arrive, so the AC can be switched on and the house aired before you walk in.

A photo report is only useful if it is the same every time. Ask for:

1. Every room from the doorway, so you can see the whole space.
2. Close-ups of the bathrooms: shower, toilet, silicone and grout.
3. The kitchen: counters, sink, and the inside of the fridge if it is switched off.
4. Under the sinks.
5. Ceilings and window frames in rooms that have had damp before.
6. The terrace and the entrance.
7. Anything unusual, with a short note: a leak, a stain, ants, something broken.

Keep the reports. If you compare this month's photos with last month's, a damp patch that is slowly spreading is easy to spot.

A cleaner is not a caretaker. Repairs, pest treatment, pool chemistry, AC servicing and taking in deliveries are jobs for other people. A good cleaning service tells you about these with a photo rather than attempting them. We clean up after ants and geckos, remove surface mould from silicone and tiles, and photograph anything that needs a repair or a pest control company.

You tell us once what matters in your villa, and we write it into the notes for your home so that every cleaner follows the same list. Every cleaner is trained to our standard, and her work is checked against the checklist and the photos after every visit. You get the photo report on WhatsApp after each visit. If we missed something on the checklist, tell us within 24 hours and we will come back and put it right free of charge. We talk to you on WhatsApp or by phone. We speak English, Russian and Thai, and our coordinator briefs the cleaner in a language they understand.

A regular clean of a 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom villa costs 2,160 ฿ per visit every two weeks, or 2,280 ฿ on a monthly schedule. A deep clean of the same villa is 5,000 ฿. The price is the same in all areas of the island, with no travel fee.