As a guest at any hotel, resort or a short-term vacation rental, you’re concerned about what is being done to ensure your stay is not only enjoyable, but safe. This is why we’re sharing our turnover procedures for Lazy Loon Lakehouse and why it takes our three-person team at least 15 hours to kick your stay off in style every time. Our procedures are based on researching CDC protocols, VRBO and AirBnB recommendations in addition to consulting with Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington (KFL&A) Public Health.

From day one, we’ve taken pride on holding high cleaning standards for Lazy Loon Lakehouse and we believe it’s just one of the many reasons why our guests enjoy their stay and return again. If you enter a sparkling clean vacation rental, you’ll feel relaxed and comfortable, and we believe you’ll likely leave it in great condition too – so the owners, property managers, cleaners and guests together help keep a clean environment.

Difference Between Cleaning and Disinfecting

Because so many people use these two terms interchangeably, we’ll explain the difference between them. When our team cleans, we use cleaning products to remove germs and dirt from surfaces. Our disinfecting procedure only starts after the entire cleaning protocol has been completed.

Once the provincial government gave the green light for vacation rental owners to open their doors, we researched and invested in a professional grade disinfectant & sanitizer which uses anolyte technology to destroy bacteria and viruses. It is a non-toxic, hypoallergenic, environmentally and ecologically safe sanitizing and disinfecting solution that is food grade.

We didn’t simply want to rely on Lysol wipes because the instructions say that the surface needs to stay wet for at least 10 minutes in order to be effective — which is difficult to make happen. The commercial product we purchased is manufactured in Ontario and kills viruses within 45 milliseconds. It is used in restaurants and other establishments with strict disinfecting protocols.

Physical Changes Made Because of Covid19

After Covid19 hit Canada, and before we welcomed our first guests, we made some physical changes as precautionary measures.

  • Providing touch-free kitchen and bathroom garbage bins and removing all decorative pillows, magazines and books.
  • Although we discontinued the spices and coffees/tea packages, we invite you to pick fresh herbs from the garden (if the deer haven’t eaten them first).
  • We always preferred hard flooring vs carpet so the only carpet you’ll see is the welcome mats and on the stairs.
  • We had some great cushions with cute cottage sayings, but we put them all in storage because cloth cushions are difficult to clean and disinfect.
  • We invested in a complete double set of duvet covers so every new guest not only receives clean and ironed white sheets, but also a clean, matching white duvet cover. And although we never had them, you also won’t find any fluffy or furry throws which act as dust collectors and are difficult to clean at the best of times.
  • As for interior furniture, you’ll find solid wood or leather. There’s no cloth couches or headboards which are difficult to disinfect.

A Sampling of Our Cleaning & Disinfecting Protocols

  • our enhanced cleaning and sanitation procedures of high touch surfaces, include but are not limited to disinfecting:
    • All door handles
    • All wall and lamp switches
    • All remote controls
    • All blinds pulls
    • All cupboard & furniture knobs & handles
    • All hard, horizontal surfaces
    • All furniture, including couches, chair seats & arms, tables
    • All faucets / faucet handles
    • Oils, vinegars, sugar, salt & pepper shakers, spice containers
  • And because we know guests spend a ton of time enjoying the outside we also clean and disinfect the BBQ, outdoor dining set’s table and chairs, all of our 10 Muskoka chairs, loungers, kayaks and paddles and boat seats and oars as well as all life jackets.
  • BBQ: In addition to ensuring you have a back-up tank of propane at the ready, we thoroughly clean the grill every time including a hot burn so it’s prepped to take care of your vegetables and meat.

HEPA Filters & Ultraviolet Lights

Although you won’t see anything different, the air filtration system at Lazy Loon Lakehouse is definitely not your typical cottage or lakehouse set-up. At Lazy Loon Lakehouse, you’ll breathe fresh air outside and inside. In addition to a regular furnace filter, we have a HEPA filter system with multiple media filters to filter out fine particulates like microorganisms and pollen. We also have ultraviolet lights designed to kill bacteria and viruses by destroying the molecular bonds that hold their DNA together. We had this HEPA set-up even before Covid19 — it’s reflective of our commitment to go above and beyond to ensure an exceptional guest experience.

Keeping our Turnover Team Safe

Our guests have families and our turnover teams do too. We respect our guests and the great team that helps ensure they have an enjoyable stay. We provide our turnover team with gloves and masks as well as the cleaning supplies to increase their safety. Our team is made of local residents who are experts at their job – it’s a true team that puts in at least 15 hours each week to ensure your stay is the very best in summer, fall, winter or spring.

What you can do to help stay healthy and safe:

  • If you leave the property, upon your return to Lazy Loon Lakehouse please use hand sanitizer before entering or immediately wash your hands in one of the bathrooms.
  • Every member of your group should wash their hands frequently throughout your stay. An additional bottle of soft soap can be found under the kitchen sink to refill bathroom soap dispensers if needed.
  • To help keep our turnover team healthy, at the end of your stay please put all used sheets and all pillow cases in the plastic bags provided in each room. As per provincial guidelines, “do not shake dirty laundry.” Our team will remove duvet covers for laundering.

As always, if you have any specific questions before your stay, please ask Ernesta, the hostess with the mostest.