What do I do with discoloured Towels and Washcloths?

[Tommy150]

I am a newer host and just had guests leave. 

They were wonderful... No issues.

After they left it at my normal walkthrough and put all the linens and towels and things in a hamper and took them downstairs.

I just to throw the towels in the washer and noticed discolouration on them (they're grey).

This does not look like a stain at all it looks like something was bleached almost maybe some kind of makeup product or something? at any rate my question is what should I do in this situation... I saw many threads by searching that sort of stains and things like that are considered wear and tear and just to deal with it but this is something a little different.

They're not terribly expensive as I purposely made sure I shopped and watched for sales but the point is I'm going to have to replace them should I say something to the guest? I'm not sure how to tackle this...ps sorry for the bad typing for some reason I'm having trouble editing this on my phone.

[Susan151]

@Tommy150 That is the acne stuff that everyone is using these days, Proactive. Dark towels are especially vulnerable to this type of bleaching. I know of no way to salvage towels that have been "proactived." Consider white towels, or having less expensive utility towels that you ask your guests to use for both makeup and proactive.

[Joy298]

Hi @Tommy150 

Some cosmetic products contain acid for acne treatment could cause such bleach to towels or linens.

[Tommy150]

So it looks like it's benzyl peroxide. That's solved.

Now, would you say something to the guest or try to charge them?

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Tommy150 

My gray towels also got stained in a week so forget it, hotels have white towels with a purpose. As others said - it is an acne product and it is very common.

Don't throw away those new towels, dilute bleach with water and soak them until they become equally bleached. Then wash them and put some fabric softener at the end to neutralize the bleach smell.

[Anonymous]

@Tommy150  I think it's a good idea to set aside a certain percentage of your revenue from hosting to periodically replace towels and linens, since they deteriorate over the course of many washings anyway. Personally, I wouldn't bother seeking compensation for the towels - they are still perfectly usable as a personal set or as spares, certainly no reason to throw them away. 

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Anonymous , that's the ticket, My wife and I get the hand-me downs from our guest suites for our space and Im never short on painting drop clothes.   We are always looking for bargains, luckily we can write them off...  Stay well, JR   

[Bronwyn11]

Interesting about the acne treatment. Glad to know.. I started with white towels and facecloths. My problem was makeup,especially mascara which I couldnt remove, and people varnishing their toenails on the towels!! I have a number covered in permanent red polish so they have been reassigned to cleaning rags.

Solved the facecloth problem though, a local supplier sells brown and dark grey ones with 'Makeup" embroidered over them 🙂

Continually replacing towels though.. Repeated washing of them wears them out. Not worth following up with the guest though.

[Genevieve187]

I would not say anything either.  I would just file this under Cost of Doing Business.  But I think that white towels are the way to go in the future.  You might consider having a package of make up removing wipes in the bathroom.  But if that mess is from acne medicine, that won't help much.  Hang on to the towels, bleaching them yourself could help, or just use them as rags.  My rags are pretty fancy as they are my old monogrammed towels!

[Alexandra316]

@Tommy150I use white towels and facecloths: you can buy them cheaply everywhere, including Costco. I've lost some, sure, but they are also bleachable. After 2 years and 250+ groups of guests, I still think it's the way to go. 

[Inna22]

@Tommy150 these look just like about 10 towels I threw out yesterday! All this time I was blaming my cleaners (in my head) for somehow washing them incorrectly but now mystery solved. I was reluctant to get white because other stains would show easily but now convinced it is the way to go.

[Rajan2]

Has anyone found a good replacement for washcloths? Could you use disposables (not that I want to but weighing cost of water and soap vs disposable). 

[Susan151]

@Rajan2  I buy simple white washcloths at Costco. They are just under $1.00 a piece. This is what I leave, neatly folded in a basket for people to use who bring their own make-up remover. To date, I have been able to get them clean after use.

[Rajan2]

@Susan151 Thank you. My next purchase are these washcloths!

[Susan151]

https://www.costco.com/Grandeur-Hospitality-Towels%2C-Wash-Cloth-24-piece.product.100459651.html

I think they are even cheaper in the warehouse.