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? 

[Paul1255]

@John5097  Since I’ve moved to a linen/towel/bath mat/kitchen cloth hire service I have never had to worry about the state the towels and linens sometimes get in.

Before moving to the hire service I used light grey but those often ended up stained by skincare products containing hydrogen peroxide , and who knows what else.

I moved to white after that, and it seemed easier to get the towels back into a state fit for use.

The hire service products are all white and crisp, and often get returned looking quite sad- but luckily I don’t have to deal with the laundering 🙂

[John5097]

@Paul1255 That's very interesting that you use a linen service!

I just have one apartment but may check around and see what services are offered. I'm sure the larger rentals in the area are using a laundry or linen service. 

Linens are also expensive. So far its been manageable but the last two new sets of both towels and sheets were stained with mascara. So could see a point where I would need to do something else. 

Another topic but it doesn't help when Airbnb commercials shows guest mishandling sheets, beds or furniture. Sheets and pillow cases are $100 a set, mattress and pillow protectors, another $75 plus the blankets, $100 each, plus towels $100 for set of 4. So $375 total for guest per one bed. 

I may try a combination of white and dark towels. Although honestly need to sort through all the extra linens,  pillows  and blankets to donate. 

[Huma0]

@Paul1255 

What do you pay for this kind of service? As far as I was aware, it's very expensive in London!

[Paul1255]

@Huma0 it’s expensive at £15 for a double/king set! But worth it for no linen purchase/replacement cost/stress and being able to pay for less housekeeping time.

[Huma0]

@Paul1255 

Makes sense. I turnover the bedrooms myself and was the linens myself (my cleaners just do the communal areas) but if I was paying someone else to do it, then it would probably be economical viable.

[Stephanie]

I think they look gorgeous @John5097 (not just because I have very similar towel and bath mat in my own bathroom!) 😎

[John5097]

I feel much better now about the color now @Stephanie !! 

[Stephanie]

In the UK at least, grey is THE colour to have your bathroom suite so you stylish as far we're concerned! @John5097 

[John5097]

@Stephanie This makes me so happy! It took me the longest time to figure out a storage option for this area in the bathroom. The stand up shelves were either too narrow or wide. Finally found a bakers rack on Marketplace only a few blocks away. Originally I planned a door right there to to into the living room but this worked out better and wasn't enough room. Its amazing how much time and planning went into this one spot. Oh I still need to install some towel hooks, but have been cautious because I don't want to have anything where someone can hit their head with something sticking out. I've done that before and hate it. 

[Stephanie]

If it's anything like my house, any clothes/towel hooks on doors have marked the wall on the opposite side and/or been overburdened and bent, even damage the door itself! @John5097 

[Huma0]

@John5097 

I have tried both white and coloured towels (and patterned ones). There are pros and cons to both, but I find that the coloured towels get ruined faster, as some guests use hair and beauty products that leave bleached patches in them and this inevitably happens when the towels are new! Stains are easier to treat on white towels, but patterned towels are more forgiving. Dish soap can remove some stains from coloured fabrics without bleaching them. It's useful for any greasy stains too.

Supplying make up wipes with a little note or sticker asking guests to use them for make up removal instead of towels has greatly helped reduce make up stains. It doesn't necessarily mean they use the wipes as I very rarely have to replace them, but it drives the point home in a friendly, accommodating way!

I do use fabric softener on towels, but my trick to keep them fluffy is to actually use the drier, but just as a final stage. Line dry the towels until they are only very slightly damp and then put them in the dryer for a few minutes only. There is a big difference when I do this rather than let them line dry completely and it means I am not using loads of energy either.

None of my guests have expressed any preference when it comes to white or coloured towels. They just like a decent supply of clean towels in decent condition.

[John5097]

@Huma0 I used to include make up removers but not many guest liked those. I had a little label on the top of the container, "Makeup Removers" and just that made a huge difference. It seems like a long time ago. Sense then I upgraded to the dark cloth make up towels that are monogrammed in the picture, "Makeup" that Emillia suggested and guest actually mention those in the reviews. I think its one of the first things guest see when walking though and probably laugh. That is a great suggestion about limiting use of dryer. The front end washer does extract a lot more water as they have 1400 rpm so maybe that helps. So far I have only used two sets for 5 moths so that's pretty good.

In response to your other comment, good idea to just toss used rags into a bin and do those alone. They would still need to dry but I have a bin full of old washcloths and rags after a year. 

I'll try the dish soap as well when I see that spot again. Some of the issues were food stains, coffee stains, etc, so could very well be guys are causing half the problem. 

 

[Huma0]

@John5097 

Quite early on, I added no meals/eating in the bedrooms and it's certainly helped a lot. Before that, I used to find all sorts of stains on the bedlinen and other furnishings, including egg, chocolate, pasta sauce etc. I once even found the INSIDE of a lampshade splattered in spaghetti sauce. I really don't know how the guest managed that. Of course, some guests do still ignore this rule, but the majority don't.

I still allow drinks in the bedrooms so tea and coffee stains etc can still be an issue, but that happens very rarely. The guests are more likely to leave marks on the furniture, even though I do provide coasters and remind them to use them, than on the bedlinen.

I like the idea of the monogrammed make up towels and might give that a try. To be honest though, since I started providing the make up wipes, I don't often find make up on the towels or sheets, even though the guests mostly don't use the wipes. It just makes them stop and think before they smear make up all over my towels!

[John5097]

@Huma0 

Great suggestions. For some things, like rule for no eating in bed, so far it was only one guest who left a coffee stain on the bed. It was the brand new sheets, though, and had left what looked like what must have been a used coffee filter filled with coffee sitting on the bed. I was able to get that out no problem, so haven't had to impose the no eating in bedroom rule yet. Although a while back there were two other instances, one left chicken bones in the bathroom trash bin, and the other got BBQ sauce on brand new nice blanket.

I also don't have a TV in the bedroom. So far guest love their stay. I also don't have a TV in my bedroom. I think it would become a sleep disruption. I also don't eat in my bedroom either ever. 

Im surprised not a single guest has complained about no TV in the bedroom though.

The use of bleach got me last turnover. I use Clorox foaming bathroom cleaner with bleach in the bathrooms, especially shower and toilet where I also use a brush and paper towels first to totally saturate and kill any bacteria or mold. I'm sure its not good for the porcelain surface but just do it. The spray bottles are kind of pricy at $5 but last a long time. Its so convenient I even use it to clean outdoor chairs as they get bird poop between every guest, and will hit window sills between regular washing. 

Anyway, the two cleaning rags that are saturated in bleach I tossed beside the sheets and towels got onto the dark bathmat. Bummer. I'm not sure what else to do with used cleaning rags. I use over 6 per turnover. The steam cleaning function on the washing machine, and over 140 degrees on the dryer kills bacteria (plus the two used for shower and toilet are soaking with bleach.) I like washing everything straight away. I always planned on anther large hamper to put all the used linens even though they are all washed right away. 

Maybe I'll clean the cleaning rags first with the hose outside. 

Oh well another towel to add to the garveyard closet in the hallway. I do like all the extra linens and can use it! But time to order another few sets! 

[Huma0]

@John5097 

If you prefer to wash everything straight away, then it is trickier. I rinse out the cleaning cloths and then hang them to dry. They then go in a cloth shopping bag and, when the bag is full, that's when I throw them in the machine, maybe with my gardening gloves, but not with anything else. This usually makes up a half load, which is fine because my machine has a setting for that. I have loads of cleaning cloths so don't usually run out in between the washes.

Shame about your bathmat. I also have a graveyard in my linen cupboard!