Pet sitting with guests at home: cleaning bowls and blankets between stays

If you welcome clients’ dogs or cats into your home, assign each guest a set of accessories to use throughout their stay, and ask the owner about preferences and sensitivities in advance. At the end of the stay, clean and dry everything before assigning it to another guest, and leave enough time in your calendar between stays. This applies to pet sitters and home boarders alike, especially when guests arrive one after another, such as before the holidays: a consistent method saves time, water, and energy.

One set for each guest

The host provides bowls, blankets, towels and, if needed, spare toys and leashes. The owner brings the food and, if they wish, a personal bowl and a blanket or toy the animal knows: a familiar item may help some guests settle in.

Group everything into a set for each guest and identify it with a label, color, or dedicated container so items don’t get mixed up. The client’s personal belongings stay separate from yours and go home clean, or as agreed. If multiple animals stay together, check with their owners whether they can share toys and bowls; if in doubt, keep them separate.

Questions to ask about accessories before arrival

Before arrival, ask the owner these questions, limiting them to what changes how you prepare and wash the accessories:

• Does your animal have any sensitivities to detergents or materials that you or your veterinarian have noticed?
• Are you bringing a personal bowl, and would you like your animal to use it?
• Has your veterinarian given any instructions to follow during the stay?
• How should I handle the items you bring: wash them, return them as they are, or keep them separate?
• Does your animal tend to chew blankets or toys?

Write down the answers alongside the client’s details: you’ll have them for the next stay, can follow their requests, and won’t have to ask all the questions again. If they change their mind or add a request, update the notes right away.

At the end of the stay: the cleaning sequence

After the guest leaves, always follow the same order:

1. Collect everything in a dedicated container, one per guest if departures happen at the same time.
2. Remove hair and dirt while dry.
3. Separate items by type: fabrics, bowls, washable toys, walking accessories.
4. Wash each item according to its label and instructions.
5. Dry everything completely before putting it away.
6. Check for wear, especially on items that have been chewed, and remove anything damaged.
7. Put each set away, ready for the next guest.

Keep the sequence as a checklist, printed or on your phone, and tick off each step after every stay: when departures are close together, it’s easy to miss one.

Sustainable laundry with multiple guests

Keep enough spare sets to avoid emergency half-loads: if one set is still in the washer or drying, the next guest will have a clean set ready, and you can wait until you have a full load.

Unless the owners request otherwise, group the animals’ fabrics and wash them in a full load with a gentle, fragrance-free detergent, using the amount indicated on the package. When possible, air-dry them to use less energy.

For your next purchase, choose accessories that are durable and easy to wash. Retired fabrics can be turned into cleaning rags; anything that can’t be reused should be disposed of according to your local waste collection rules.

Cleaning time in your schedule

Leave enough time between one guest’s departure and the next guest’s arrival to complete the sequence and let the slowest-drying items dry. There’s no one-size-fits-all time: to estimate it, note how long it takes after a real stay and factor in the item that takes longest to dry. Avoid accepting arrivals too soon after departures: if a client asks, suggest another time.

To reserve that time, in the PawsPet Business app, where the feature is available, you can use «Block time» in the Calendar: no marketplace bookings come in during the blocked period, while arrangements made elsewhere still need to be managed manually. You can record the information you collect in the «Notes» section of the client profile, which is private and not visible to the client, and in the client’s pet «Notes».

If a guest arrives with a health problem

If a guest has parasites, diarrhea, vomiting, or is receiving treatment, contact the owner and follow their veterinarian’s instructions: they, not you, make decisions about the animal’s health. In the meantime, keep the accessories the guest has used separate and wash them separately, without mixing them with other guests’ items.

More generally, if you provide services professionally, check with the relevant authorities about any requirements you need to meet.

To get started today, write your end-of-stay checklist and decide how much cleaning time to leave between guests: once these two things are set, the rest becomes routine.

Frequently asked questions