Scorch marks on sheets. Toss or use?

[Christina957]

I am so fed up with this and hope some of you all can help or at least alleviate my fears of guests freaking out over sheet 'stains'. 

These are not actual stains, but scorch marks from the drier. As in, if too many sheets are in there on too high of a temp, some parts get snagged in the drier bin concentrating the heat on that one spot before releasing causing small black scorch marks. (They kind of look like ink/soot in 'skid mark' or penmark-shaped lines or like a little twisty pinches. Usually about an inch or so of area).  I even bought a brand new drier thinking that maybe it was the culprit, but nope. I think the cleaners are just using too high temp or loading too much at once of bulky sheets.

Heck, happened to me previously with brand new sheets and I didn't even load that much! I guess it's just the way they twist and turn in there when they get snagged. Our recent stay at our place (I often take stock and replenish what the management/cleaners may need) I noticed almost every bed sheet (4 beds multiple sets each) and pillowcases with tiny scorch marks. This happens almost every time we visit which is at least 2x a year replacing almost all sets each time. I've had it! I'm wasting so much on this! Do I need to?

I feel it's SUCH a waste of product and money for a silly little aesthetic thing. Does anyone else have experience with this? What do you do? Do you just use them? Also, nothing really gets these marks out---they're basically burns, not stains. I was able to lighten some, but it barely does anything after all the effort.

I'm about to give up and just continue to use them but so afraid a guest is going to complain about 'stains'--even though they're not dirty stains. (We haven't had any complaints about this yet thankfully...but the fear is there). 
Does anyone have any recommendations? Am I worrying too much? Should I get better sheets--would that even solve the scorching issue? If so, what kind won't snag and scorch like this?

[Emiel1]

@Christina957 

Do not use a dryer at all. I n my country the sun and wind outside are doing a perfect job to dry laundry.

[Christina957]

That is not an option when you have a Florida vacation rental with a quick turnaround. Not to mention, we are also remote owners. So our eyes and ears are our Management company and the cleaners they hire.

[Pat271]

I’ve read that tennis balls can keep sheets from wadding up. Haven’t tried it myself.

[John5097]

@Christina957 I've never had this problem. You may be right that its being over loaded or over dried. Maybe the sheets get balled up and don't dry completely so the cleaners put them back in on "timed dry" which overrides the drying sensor then get too hot. Figure out the right setting and and use "more dry" in the first place. 

I'm very OCD about sheets, they can't have any stains. If I see one when making the bed, I use a backup and treat the stain, usually a tiny spot. 

They also may not be cleaning the lint screen between each load then put it on timed dry. 

Laundry takes a long time. They are likely using the highest heat and timed dry to dry ASAP. 

You didn't say what kind of sheets. 

[Christina957]

@John5097 Problem is, I'm remote...I can't be there to monitor what they do. I did just buy a vaccume attachment to clean out the drier of lint as best I can because I can see quite a bit of lint down there. Hopefully it helps. The sheets are just basic microfiber from Walmart. 

[John5097]

@Christina957 Not sure how big the scorch marks are. I guess they don't iron the sheets? I noticed using steam can cause small stains where mold or something develops in the little openings for the steam to get out. 

The exhaust pipe and dryer should be cleaned out at least every year. If its a flexible corrugated connection in the back those build up fast. Dryer may be getting too hot because of that. 

How long does it take to wash all the linens, bedding and towels? And to turn over your rental? Four beds would take a really long time.  

I use all cotton but also run all the laundry in my WD. I have stackable WD in the rental also but it would take too long, as I also wash all the bedding and towels. 

I would have someone clean out all the lint twice a year. That's a leading cause of fire. 

Some host with 4 beds get a commercial WD or another set of WD. Not sure if it would fit. But have done the math before it takes a long time to wash that much. 

[Christina957]

@John5097 They don't wrinkle so no I don't believe they iron. These marks are definitely from the drier, not an iron. They're small..often no bigger than an inch. But they're also on the pillow cases which is just not a good first impression.

And as mentioned I'm not the one doing the turnovers so I don't know exactly how long it takes them to do in my units full size WD....but interesting point...IS IT my WD? Maybe they are taking them elsewhere to wash/dry on some of the back to backs 🤔 Because the last time I personally had this problem was with my old dryer. Although I've never seen them on the doorbell camera taking out sheets so I dunno 😕 

 We did just switch MCs and will have new cleaners with our next bookings and I just bought all new sheets...again...so we'll see how it goes. But to answer your question, I was able to wash ALL of my linens (4 beds and at least 3-4 sets for each bed) in 2 days....and that's with going out half the day and not really being on top of it the whole time. So nothing seems to be taking longer than usual to dry. They are microfiber so tend to dry quite fast and don't wrinkle. 

I also ordered an attachment for my vaccume to get really deep in there and clean out the vent...I should probably look into getting someone to do the whole line at some point too though to be safe. 

Thanks for the reply..definitely gives me some food for thought 

[John5097]

@Christina957 Yes I read your post the first time. But if you have no idea how long it takes to do laundry, or what settings your cleaners are using, how should I know? That's your responsibility. 

the tool to clean the exhaust attaches to a drill. 

Perhaps call a repair person or the manufacture to see if they have any idea. Or just keep doing the same thing and keep getting stain marks on the same sheets you keep using. 

Good luck! 

[Christina957]

@John5097 No I meant the update I posted below at the end of the discussion. We figured out the issue...it's the actual dryer. I just added the update after your last comment. You couldn't have seen it beforehand 😉

[Christina957]

OK well, it's definitely my dryer. New sheets came today (quite nicer than the old ones) along with the attachment hose to clean out the lint trap. I vaccumed out all the lint (this thing is awesome and really got down in there!).  I washed ONE Set, dried on 'medium' heat (there's no low, only no heat) at 'more dry' and there were at least 2 marks on the sheets when it was done. And it didn't take that long to dry either. This GE dryer is literally just 6 months old. What the heck are people doing to it?!!! So we're going to take it apart, clean it out and check that the drum is properly aligned and gasket still ok. Other than that i don't know what else I can do if that doesn't work! I'm not buying a new dryer every 6 months!!

These are not the new sheets in teh picture, but these are the marks it's leaving so you can get an idea of what i'm actually talking about. I did discover that straight-up peroxide sprayed on it seems to lighten them up a bit....but they don't disappear completely. Better than nothing I guess 😕

[John5097 · Accepted solution]

@Christina957  If the dryer is only 6 months old file a warranty claim. Looks like something is wrong with and and some kind of friction burn. 

I filed a warranty claim with my Whirlpool within the first year warranty coverage and repair person stopped by and replaced the door, at no charge to me. 

Good luck! 

[Christina957]

@John5097 Sigh....see my update below. We'll likely need a new dryer because apparently, GE is totally unreliable with the way they are manufactured.

[Christina957]

UPDATE:: WE MAY HAVE FOUND THE ISSUE....AND IT'S NOT GOOD.

So after taking the entire thing apart, we've discovered it may not actually be scorching, but the bearings on the front drum wore out so thinner items like sheets and pillowcases are making their way into the crevice that forms by that and getting all the black on it from rubbing there. Also turns out it's a common problem with GE dryers due to the way they are manufactured and constructed. (ie there is NO felt wrap!)😖 So it looks like the only options we have are to replace the bearings ($12 fix) and hope it holds out until our next trip here to replace them again, make sure our cleaners are spot checking and treating any marks when they happen (likely not easy to monitor)....or....get a new, more reliable dryer ($$$)....sigh.  

So what dryers do y'all have/recommend that are NOT GE?