Airbnb cleaning supplies list: the turnover caddy, restock kit and linens plan

What supplies does an Airbnb cleaner need?

An Airbnb cleaner needs a turnover caddy that goes to every property, a per-property kit that stays on site, and a linens plan agreed with the host. The caddy is the same core kit a house cleaner carries, with three additions: a laundry stain remover, an odor treatment, and a camera (your phone) because every turnover ends with photos.

Our guide on how to start an Airbnb cleaning business covers pricing per turnover, finding hosts and the written agreement; the Airbnb cleaning checklist covers the order of work room by room; and the cleaning business supplies list explains each chemical and the microfiber color system. This page is about what is different for vacation rentals: the per-property kit, restocking, linens and how to budget them.

The Airbnb cleaning supplies list by tier

What goes in the turnover caddy?

The caddy carries one product per surface, color-coded cloths so bathroom cloths never touch a kitchen, and the small tools a turnover needs. Keep it light enough to carry up three flights; vacation rentals are often walk-ups and beach stairs.

Chemicals

• All-purpose cleaner, glass cleaner, degreaser for the stovetop, bathroom cleaner and descaler, pH-neutral stone-safe cleaner, neutral floor cleaner
• An EPA-registered disinfectant for high-touch surfaces. The EPA’s List N explains that a product’s EPA registration number is how you confirm what you are buying, that the products are for use on surfaces and not people, and that they work when used according to the label directions. Write the label’s contact time on the bottle.
• Stainless steel cleaner, oven cleaner for the per-property kit, a laundry stain remover and a fabric or carpet odor treatment for guest accidents

Cloths, tools and carry

• Microfiber in four colors (for example red for toilets, yellow for the rest of the bathroom, green for the kitchen, blue for everything else), plus low-lint glass cloths. Rubbermaid’s microfiber guidance describes assigning colors by area or task to limit cross-contamination, washing pads, and drying on low heat; it also notes a pad should be replaced once it stops gripping soil.
• Non-scratch scrub pads, melamine sponges, grout and detail brushes, a squeegee for shower glass, a scraper for stovetop and dishwasher gunk
• Flat mop with washable pads (a fresh pad per property), an extension duster for fans and ledges
• Caddies. On WebstaurantStore’s caddy listings in October 2026, a 3-compartment plastic cleaning caddy was $7.99 to $10.99 and a Rubbermaid deluxe janitorial caddy $18.49. Use one for bathrooms and one for kitchen and living areas.
• Nitrile gloves, reusable gloves, shoe covers, knee pads, a headlamp or flashlight for under beds and behind sofas
• Trash bags in the host’s size, laundry bags for dirty linens, a lint roller, a small toolkit (screwdriver, pliers, zip ties), spare batteries
• Your phone with a charged battery pack: photos of every room, the thermostat, the lockbox and any damage before and after

Vacuum

Turnovers are frequent, quick and often in homes without a closet for a full-size machine. WebstaurantStore’s commercial vacuum listings (October 2026) showed a Bissell Commercial convertible cordless stick vacuum with HEPA filtration at $179.95 and a Lavex 6 qt HEPA backpack at $242.49. A cordless stick handles most condos and small homes; a backpack is faster on large or multi-level houses. Either way, carry a second battery or a spare bag, and empty the bin at every property so sand from one rental does not end up in the next.

Which guest consumables do you restock, and what do they cost?

You restock whatever the listing promises: toilet paper, paper towels, hand soap, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, dish soap, dishwasher pods, sponges, trash bags, coffee and filters, tea, sugar, salt and pepper, cooking oil, and often a welcome item. The host normally buys them; you count, refill and report.

Hotel-supply prices show what the items really cost by the case. On WebstaurantStore’s hotel bath amenity listings in October 2026, a case of 288 Novo Essentials 0.75 oz hotel shampoo bottles was $48.99, about 17 cents each, and a case of 600 Serene Elements 0.8 oz bar soaps was $118.99, about 20 cents each. Bulk refillable dispensers cost more up front and less per stay. Hosts who buy at retail are paying several times those prices, which is a useful thing to show a host who thinks restocking is expensive.

Par levels

A par level is the quantity each property should have after a turnover. Set one per item, per property, and write it on the inventory sheet in the closet. Hypothetical example for a two-bedroom, two-bath rental that sleeps four:

Report counts to the host in the same message as your photos. If you buy items yourself, keep receipts and bill them as a line item with any agreed markup; put that arrangement in the written agreement the Airbnb business guide describes.

How many sets of linens does a vacation rental need?

Three sets per bed and per bathroom: one on the bed, one in the wash, one clean in the closet. With three sets a same-day turnover never waits on a dryer, and a stained set can be pulled without leaving the next guest short. Two sets works only if laundry is done on site during every turnover and nothing ever goes wrong.

What a set costs by the case

Hotel linens are sold by the dozen and are made to survive commercial washing. On WebstaurantStore’s hotel sheet listings in October 2026, Oxford T200 queen fitted sheets were $122.99 for 12 (about $10.25 each) and T300 queen flat sheets $146.99 for 12 (about $12.25 each). On its bath towel listings, Lavex Premium 27x54 inch ring-spun cotton bath towels were $74.49 for 12 (about $6.21 each) and 30x60 inch bath sheets $86.49 for 12. A hypothetical three-set linen inventory for a two-bedroom, two-bath rental (two queen beds, four bath towels and two hand towels per bathroom per set) costs roughly $300 at those prices, before pillowcases, duvet covers, kitchen towels and pool towels.

Who buys and who washes

• Host-owned, cleaner-washed (most common). The host buys the sets; you wash on site or take them off site and return them. Charge for laundry time and any off-site machine cost.
• Cleaner-owned linen service. You own the sets, swap clean for dirty at each turnover and wash in bulk. Higher fee, more control, and a capital cost you must recover; it suits the pro tier.
• Commercial laundry service. A laundry picks up and delivers by the pound or by the set; the pro tier uses this at scale.

Handling

• Label every set with the property (a laundry marker on the tag) so sets do not migrate between homes.
• Strip beds into a laundry bag, never the floor; check pockets of duvet covers for socks and chargers.
• Pre-treat stains at the property, wash hot where the fabric allows, and retire a set when it pills or greys rather than putting it on a bed.
• White linens are the hotel standard because they can be bleached and matched; tell hosts who want patterns what that costs in replacement time.

What belongs in the per-property kit that stays on site?

A locked owner’s closet or a lidded bin holds what the property needs between your visits: the consumable stock, a backup of the products you use most, the things guests break or lose, and the inventory sheet. A per-property kit means a same-day turnover does not depend on what is in your car.

• Consumable stock at par (above), in a labeled bin, with the reorder point written on the lid.
• Backup cleaning products: all-purpose cleaner, disinfectant, glass cleaner, a toilet brush that never leaves this property, a plunger, a roll of trash bags, a pack of cloths.
• Guest-proofing items: light bulbs in the sizes the home uses, remote and smoke alarm batteries, a spare TV remote, a lockbox code card, extra hangers, a spare shower curtain liner, a fire extinguisher check tag.
• Tools: a small screwdriver set, a lint roller, a flashlight, a steam iron if the listing promises one, a vacuum kept on site at large homes.
• Paper: the inventory sheet, the property’s checklist with the photo standard (where the pillows go, how the towels are folded), the host’s contact and the Wi-Fi details, and a damage log.

Build the property’s checklist with the free cleaning checklist maker, print it for the closet and keep the digital copy on the job. The kit is also your defense: a photo of the stocked closet at the end of each turnover shows the host what was there when the next guest arrived.

Who pays for Airbnb cleaning supplies, the host or the cleaner?

The cleaner owns the cleaning kit; the host owns the property’s consumables and linens. That is the usual split and the one to write down. Everything else (who buys, who carries, who bills) is negotiable, and every version is fine as long as it is on paper before the first turnover.

• Buy your caddy, cloths, mop and vacuum yourself. They are cheap, you control the quality, and they move with you if a host leaves.
• Pass through consumables you pick up for a host at cost plus an agreed fee, with receipts attached to the invoice.
• Charge for inventory management as part of the turnover price: the counting, the reporting and the reorder reminders are work.
• Avoid owning linens until you have the volume to wash them efficiently and a contract that covers replacement.

Keep receipts for your own supplies; they are a business expense. If you supply linens or consumables at scale, ask your accountant how to track inventory. This is not tax advice.

What should you buy first, and how do you keep every kit stocked?

Buy the caddy and cloths first, the vacuum second, and set up the first per-property kit on the day you sign that property. Then run a restock routine so no turnover starts with a missing product.

Order of purchase

1. Two caddies, the ten chemicals, 24 microfiber cloths in four colors, glass cloths, pads, gloves, trash bags, laundry bags
2. Cordless stick vacuum with a second battery, flat mop and a dozen pads
3. Stain remover, odor treatment, lint roller, flashlight, small toolkit, battery pack for your phone
4. Per-property bins and inventory sheets as each host signs
5. A backpack vacuum, a steamer and a carpet spotter once you have large homes or pet-friendly listings

Restocking and maintenance routine

• Every turnover: count consumables against par, note what is below the reorder point in your host message, swap dirty cloths and pads into a laundry bag, empty the vacuum, photograph the closet.
• Every evening: refill the caddy from your car stock, wash microfiber separately from linens without fabric softener, charge the vacuum and your battery pack, check spray bottles for leaks.
• Every week: deliver host-ordered consumables, replace worn cloths and pads, wipe the caddies, check that the per-property toilet brush, plunger and flashlight are still there.
• Every season: deep clean and descale the mop and vacuum, replace the vacuum filter, review par levels against what the host’s calendar shows for the season ahead.

Turnover timing is set by check-out and check-in windows, so the schedule is the real tool. Broombook’s Airbnb cleaning software page shows how turnovers, reminders and card-on-file billing per turnover work for a cleaner serving several hosts; the restock notes live on each job so whoever cleans next sees what was low.

A worked supplies budget for five properties (hypothetical numbers)

Here is a hypothetical budget for a solo cleaner starting with five two-bedroom rentals where the hosts own the linens and consumables. It uses the October 2026 listing prices above and estimates for chemicals and small items.

If each property turns over six times a month at a hypothetical $140 per turnover, that is $4,200 a month in revenue, so the kit is paid for in the first week. Hosts’ consumables, at roughly 17 to 20 cents per amenity and a few dollars per stay in paper goods and coffee, are billed back or bought by the host. Price each turnover with the house cleaning price calculator as a starting point, then add laundry and restocking time the way the Airbnb business guide shows.