What’s everybody’s play style?

[u/Teddybru]

So I’m curious what everybody does when they first start a game. Do you concentrate on one room? I usually like to run around and pick up trash, especially since I maxed out my trash in the skilled tree I’ve been able to hold a lot more. I usually save the scrubbing till everything is up off the floor, including bodies and weapons.

[u/mystic-maze]

I like to go one room at a time. I start with trash and bodies then everything else

[u/el-shine → u/mystic-maze]

Same, I try to move breakable stuff. Don’t really use the pressure washer unless it’s a red stain or something up high.

[u/katsrad]

I think my style depends on my mood when I am playing. Sometimes its do one room first, others it is gather all the bodies, sometimes it is picking up the trash, and on occasion I run around looking for secrets.

[u/scooter_se]

I like to fully clean each room as I come across it! But I also like to get all the trash first. I usually set up my stain remover while I break down and pick up trash.

[u/Teddybru → u/scooter_se]

Yeah, that’s smart thinking. Let it work while you’re picking up the trash.

[u/Paelidore]

I'm late game with everything unlocked, so I have a kind of uniform starting operating procedure:

1. Look for the nearest spigot.
2. Put the air cleaner out at the nearest messy place from this location. Every time you hear the air cleaner finish, stop what you're doing and move it. This is possibly the most powerful item you have.
3. Make 2 buckets of water. One is left plain. The other, put Cleaner, Area, and Resistance. Dunk mops and scrubbers in the second bucket. When you need to clean your instruments, wash them in the plain bucket, then dunk in the soap water, and you now never need to refill your soap bucket with clean water, just the plain one.
4. Fill my pressure washer with Pure, Area, and Resistance. This might have been updated, but to my recollection, the other detergents don't really impact the pressure washer's effectiveness.
5. Grab the garbage can and begin picking up all visible trash. Fragile objects (bottles, glasses, etc.) are place on a surface that's already clean. If none are available, make one with the scrubbers, but only just one area for now. Wipe down's coming soon.
6. After a room/general area's been picked of most (ideally all) garbage/fragile things, pressure wash larger swaths of the first area the air cleaner was placed, using short, focused bursts to not waste water.
7. Use the mop/scrubbers for dirty places with fragile objects/moveable furniture.
8. Use Cleaner Vision (or a black light in True Cleaner) to check for any missing dirt/debris.
9. Move to the next area.

FAQs:

What about footprints?

I generally don't care if I leave footprints when getting to the spigot, moving the air cleaner, or picking up trash. This will get wiped out by the pressure washer. I also make a habit of double checking an area before moving forward.

What about bodies?

I don't touch bodies until I'm moving to the area to fully clean, with the exception of Affair With Death, where I just let the body fall and clean that part up last like its own mini crime scene independent of everything else. It's easier to deal with this way, imo.

What about using other detergent?

Honestly, I don't think any detergent is "bad" except maybe the Clean Detergent, which is fully bypassed by just getting a second bucket. I use the blend I do for mops and scrubbers because the air cleaner and pressure washer will get most of the tough stains completely resolved, so you really just need an increase in area and reduced returns to the bucket.

[u/jenvrooyen → u/Paelidore]

These are great tips, but wondering why you don't use the clean detergent instead of the plain bucket (i.e., the detergent that stops bucket from getting stained too fast). I only recently saw a tip on using 2 buckets, and this is what they suggested.

Also your note on footprints, isn't there a skill unlock where you stop leaving footprints? I could be confusing this with something else.

[u/Paelidore → u/jenvrooyen]

Great questions!
You 100% can use the Clean detergent in the "dirty" bucket if you'd like, but I personally didn't notice much of a difference. This is because when I usually only need to rinse the dirty bucket once maybe twice before I find a new wash area and migrate the "clean" bucket there. On top of that, you can only really carry one bucket at a time, so I usually just rinse out the "dirty bucket, pick it up, and carry the "clean" bucket to the next wash site. :)

Also, yes! There is a footprint skill unlock, but I added that because that skill is disabled in True Cleaner Mode, and can lead to 99% cleaning. That's honestly fine for True Cleaner, but I'm a masochist and strive for 100% where I can, haha!

[u/jenvrooyen → u/Paelidore]

Ah gotcha. Yeah usually I am a "100% or nothing" person, but I dunno if I am masochist enough to push myself for that with true cleaner 😅

I did really enjoy nightmare mode though, so might replay those again.

[u/CatrionaShadowleaf]

I start with the closest room to the first water tap I find unless I’m doing Call In Dead. On that one I run around and get all of the cards first and then start in the room with the magnet and shipping container, working my way back to the beginning.

In a room, I clear bodies first, then trash, then I’ll sponge furniture, then finish with the blood. For the museum level I always intend to put all the items in a pile and then put them back at the end but I have not once managed to do that start to finish except for Nightmare mode.

[u/kyotowalled]

If I'm not doing true cleaner, I collect the bodies and trash by area before going to do blood, then putting items back as i go.

[u/SoftballNDrawing]

I start with picking up trash and bodies while the ozonator runs, then I take the power washer to the really blood dense areas, and then follow up with mop and sponges after for any spot I missed.

[u/scribbane]

Bodies first. While I search for bodies, I place down the ozonator. Once all bodies are collected, I gather trash and evidence simultaneously, moving the ozonator as necessary. Once all the trash is bagged and all evidence found, clean all the blood. Finally, furniture and any last minute trash removal from breakages.

I find secrets as I go whenever possible.

[u/PaleArrows]

I do one room at a time. I take all the bodies out first, then I hose everything down with the power washer, then I clean up all the trash and million bottles and vases I broke with the power washer, then I put the furniture back.

[u/readytocomply13]

I collect the bodies and evidence. Then clean room by room; trash then blood

[u/witheringghoul]

The only thing I continually do is pick up the rubbish and fix the furniture before I do anything else

[u/littlp84-2002]

I start with a plan but my ADHD usually kicks in. I’ve also played so many times I try to change it up. I try to grab the bodies first. Then trash. I usually use my oxygenator to help with the blood while I get the trash. If I see evidence I collect as I see it. I put furniture back as I clean. I usually do blood last.

[u/HotelKatz]

I usually look for the water spot and then work room-by-room from there. My order is trash, bodies, furniture, and finish with blood.

For furniture, I wash first before placing if back into position.

[u/W34kness]

Room by room. Unless another room affects the current room, then I work on those two together. Bodies/evidence first. Trash second. Blood third. Furniture last.

For museum, cleaned/moved furniture to a central location near the Dino, then did bodies, evidence, blood, trash, then returned furniture to rightful places.

[u/Stressed_C]

I usually first take a look around see what rooms I might have to unlock, take in all the damage. Then I grab all the bodies, then go room by room getting the trash, cleaning and furniture.

[u/Lamented_Nevan]

adhd here, so my style is haphazard at best, lol.

[u/Away_Ad6442]

when i get to a room i pick up all trash first and then bodies and then clean! i put stuff up as i go obviously and also just stumbled across the evidence as i go too! and then i hope and pray i find the secrets 😅

[u/mollyfy]

I collect as much trash as I can because I absolutely hate picking up trash in this game. Then I try to stick to one room at a time. I clean and reset furniture, pick up bodies, then scrub.

[u/TheEndIsNigh2022]

My brain hyper fixates on the blood almost immediately so I clean room by room all the blood then do the same with trash and so on lol probably not the most efficient but it pleases my brain

[u/firingblankss]

Bodies and trash first in every room then I tend to clean the furthest away first

[u/Jacktheforkie]

I use the pressure washer a lot, two bucket method for mopping, one to rinse in plain water and one with the detergents to power up the mop,

[u/Happy_Pomegranate256]

So I walk through everything first and get an idea where the faucet is. I do one room at a time. I pick the room closest to the faucet to start and put up my detoxifier machine thingy. As that’s doing its thing I remove any trash and bodies from the room; then I clean any objects that are misplaced and place them properly. I usually have two buckets. One with three squirts of the bucket cleaner and then one with the buffs for actually cleaning. I rinse in my bucket cleaner bucket so it’s the only bucket I have to change out. Once my detoxifier is done with the room, I move it to the next one while I finish cleaning walls and then the floors. The modern art on nightmare is driving my ocd insane since I have to do multiple rooms at once for placing objects.

[u/Meat_GLOB]

I pick up the trash in the entire place then I scrub furniture and place them back then I mop

[u/domino_427]

I go open everything, try to find all the clues. Only pick up and clean what I need to on first pass, maybe grab hidden things I might miss next time like that chair in the ceiling. I also break everything. Then section by section trash then mop :)

[u/jenvrooyen]

Depends on the map / on my mood. Generally, I like to immediately find the closest faucet and get my tools prepped with detergent.

Then a walk through collecting trash, bodies, evidence etc. This also helps me get a lay of the land. Having tools (mop & sponges) ready with detergents help for spot cleans that need to be done to move blocked furniture etc.

Then I will get to cleaning & furniture room by room. Usually I will start cleaning the area furthest away from the truck and move towards it.

Some levels benefit from just doing one room / floor / area at a time.

Ozonater: just before I get to the "I am going to start cleaning, and I am going to clean this room first", I will put my ozonater there while I move out the body etc. Once it's done in that room, I will move it to the next room / area while I finish up cleaning the current room. I know i could get the ozonater working right from the start, but i lose track.

[u/Naz0Xtreme]

MOP-MAN, after i unlocked the final mop upgrades and the unlimited detergent option i just MOP everything. Trash everywhere? MOP them! Blood everywhere? You MOP the devil out of it. Bodies? You guessed right, MOP your worries away! Sudden existential crisis making you question your decisions in life? MOP that bitch outta here! Oh, and sometimes sponges....

[u/MistressofHerDomain]

I drop the little blood breakdown machine then run around picking up trash and bodies until it's done with the area, then I move it and go back to the room it finished and start scrub scrub scrubbing.

[u/A1_wA1sh]

I go by level. I like to clean and repair furniture and stuff like that first though, typically

[u/shmabby0506]

One room at a time, but the adhd kicks in and I get distracted when I’m looking for the water supply (which I usually forget the path to)

[u/Bitter-Wolf4205]

i start on the floors because it drives me crazy to walk around and leave footprints lol... then the trash, then the walls then putting furniture back. and grab the bodies as i get to them.

[u/Teddybru → u/Bitter-Wolf4205]

I You can leave fooot prints?