Dark Towels.. yes or meh?

[John5097]

For the past several months I have moved over to the Dark Side! (Think Film Noir!) Originally I got white to be able to bleach them but almost never use bleach anymore. Also every time I get new towels or sheets that's when guest stain them! 

These are nice towels and get washed between each guest. But don't have to worry about trace amount of mascara or makeup, which at times can be impossible to remove. So far no complaints and all 5 star on cleanliness.

So what color towels do you use? Would this be an issue of you as a guest? Would you expect white towels or ok with vacation on the dark side? 

[John5097]

@Colleen253 I still have almost all of the white towels I started with over 2 years ago. After about 6 months start getting very scratchy! I'm surprised no one complained. I started using some fabric softener to help keep newer towels soft. It works and I cant notice any fragrance.  

[Sarah977]

@John5097  I had a guest ask me how I kept the towels so soft and fluffy, which totally surprised me, because I don't do anything special at all. I only use cold water for a wash (which is never actually very cold, as I live in the tropics- it's more like cool) and hang things up on the line to dry. Never have used fabric softener.

Maybe it's dryers that make towels scratchy after awhile? All that stuff in the lint trap? That's fabric fibers. Things last way longer if they are hung to dry rather than put in a dryer. 

And those guest towels, believe it or not, I have been using since I started hosting in 2016. But I only host one guest at a time and don't have high turnover, and took a 2 year hiatus due to Covid. But still, those towels have been used and washed for 4 years.

[Colleen253]

@Sarah977 Yes, it’s dryers that suck the life out of things. I wish I could hang laundry out to dry. Where I am, that would be possible only a few months a year, and with the winds we experience, my towels would all end up on the other side of the world.

[John5097]

@Sarah977   @Colleen253

That makes sense the dryer extracts a lot of lent from towels and they would be losing fibers that make them soft. 

[Colleen253]

@John5097 I go easy on fabric softener because I find it builds up and makes the towels less absorbent. I usually use vinegar in the rinse and a bit of fabric softener once every few washes. Vinegar leaves the towels less than soft! 🙁

What about patterned towels to solve the staining and bleaching issue? A pattern would hide more sins. Like this:

[John5097]

@Colleen253 

That looking interesting! Don't recall seeing patterned ones ;before, although would likely just go back to white. 

[Helen744]

@John 5097 A half cup of vinegar toward the final rinse softens scratchy towels. H

[John5097]

@Helen744   I was doing that before using fabric softener but didn't notice any improvement. I suspect the front end loaders don't soak as long either and have more frequent wash and rinse cycles. Would need to go into the little bin as the doors remain closed. 

[Sarah977]

@John5097  I have a set of terracotta colored towels and a set of sage green towels. They were not expensive (Walmart), but they are nice and thick. The colors go with the bathroom. 

No guest has ever perceived them as not clean, in fact I've gotten compliments on them. One guest took one of the green ones on a booze cruise and came home with a different towel, one that was thin and scratchy, which I'd never use for guests (it was also green but a different color of green- some people aren't very observant and she was probably a bit inebriated). Because I could no longer match that towel, I found a sage green patterned towel that goes fine with the other ones. 

I don't get the make-up wearing gals, nor have they seemed to use products which stain, so I've never had an issue with staining or bleaching.

[John5097]

@Sarah977 Oh good I'm glad you like some color with towels. I guess makeup on towels is a good sign. They didn't like the disposable make up removers. After adding the make up towels had zero problems for over 6 months with scratchy white towels. But right when I got new sheets and towels, that are nice, $15 per towel and over $50 for sheets both got permeant makeup stains from all the next guest using them. I can eventually get them out, except one sheet that has some kind of clear oil like stain. I've also had guys get BBQ on brand new cotton-fleece cashmere blanket from Portugal, from BBB. Not cheap. Don't even put that one back there unless for returning female guest who is super clean. All in all its been manageable though. I've gotten very good at removing stains. 

[John5097]

@Sarah977 

I agree about the makup. Not many guest get macara on towels. For everyone one that does, ten other women I can hardly tell they stayed in the apartment at all. And women really keep it nice and clean. As I mentioned it was really alarming because the brand new linens were getting ruined, so decided to try the grey ones. 

[Huma0]

@John5097 

Have you tried dish soap on the oil stains? Apply it neat to the stains just like you would any pre-wash stain remover. It's designed to tackle grease and I've found it works overall.

[Ruth413]

I started my holiday let journey with Cream coloured towels which after a year, I changed to white, which after a year we changed to dark colours. 

After installing hot tubs in the properties I decided to supply dressing gowns and chose those to match the decor.  Dark blue for the cottage and dark green for the huts, with matching towel sets.  I would definitely go for the dark colours from now on.  They fit in with the style of the properties and the only thing I have found in 2 years is a bleach spot on one of the dressing gowns, which is totally my fault for putting a used cleaning cloth in the wash with them ! 

I found with the cream and the white that they just didn't keep that brand new fresh appeal for very long, no matter how well they were looked after.

[John5097]

@Ruth413 

Good to hear other guest and trying some things on their own and the dark colors holding up! I'm kind of liking the look of dark colors as well. Green would also match my bathroom. Maybe that's how I got one beach drop on a towel as well? Sometimes I will toss in cleaning rags with the towels. 

[Huma0]

@John5097 

I made this mistake in the past before and now never wash cleaning cloths with other items.

I have an ample stock of cleaning cloths so that I don't have to put on tiny loads to wash them. If you use microfibre cloths, they don't like fabric softener and, as I use that for other laundry, it's better to wash them separately anyway. They have definitely lasted longer since I stopped putting them in with my other laundry and the only bleach stains I've had have been caused by guests, not me!