How do you get bedding laundry done between stays?

Answered!

How do you get bedding laundry done between stays?

I have a 5 bedroom / 2 bath log cabin that I have been hosting that can host up to 16 guests. Check out time is between 11am and check in time is at 3pm. We barely get the place cleaned and our struggling with getting the bed linens, towels and wash cloths washed and dried when bookings are back to back.

 

We bought a high capacity washer and dryer, but still end up taking home most of the bed linens. I really do not want to take anything home. 

 

How do the rest of you manage this issue? I thought to move the check in time to 4pm, but that seems so late.

 

Any advice?

1 Best Answer

First - being facetious but - you have a huge home, multiple bedrooms and you allow for one night visits? (are you nuts?)

Seriously though, I agree with everyone else. I looked at your listing and you have too much to do in four hours. I rent out a 9-room apartment (including three bedrooms) and it takes 4 hours to get it all done even with a routine. We have a large capacity washer and dryer on the premises.

In the beginning we washed all the linens and towels and ironed the pillow cases so they were fresh pristine.  It took so much so that I no longer allow one-night stays (those guests are always the messiest I discovered - mostly because they don't have the time to clean up after themselves, apparently).

I asked a neighbor how she cleans when she has overnight guests. Note - her space is only two rooms plus an efficiency kitchen.  Still, she has three sets of linens. When her guests check out she cleans the apartment and replaces the linens with set two. Then when the second guest checks out she cleans and replaces the linens for the next guest with set 3.  Then she takes sets 1 and 2 to a laundry mat where the laundry can all be done at one time and repeats.

I'm now adopting that strategy. When we have a quick turn-over we bag the laundry and take it home, use duplicate linens and mattress covers to get the beds ready for the next guests.

I recommend duvet covers or comforters and blankets that are easy to clean and resist stains (oh the grease stains).

We have the most problems with staining (almost always some type of oil stain) but otherwise we haven't had issues.

The guests have all been good about washing dishes and silverware and putting it away. We tell them they can run the dishwasher if they run out of time and we'll put the items away. But we still we clean every surface and vaccuum the floors and rugs thoroughly. Cleaning the bathrooms and changing the beds takes the most time so think like a hotel.

Duplicate sets of bedding, linens and towels will save you time in the long run.


Your place looks fabulous, by the way!

View Best Answer in original post

16 Replies 16

The larger the home, the more time to clean it. Assume the worst guest and budget the time. We actually have a two-day minimum and we block a day before and after to clean.

 

see my other post on having more than one set of linens.

Margaret1088
Level 3
San Antonio, NM

Although our place is not as big as yours, we do have the same check in & out times. To make our turnaround a little less stressful, we bought 3 sets of bedding for each bed & 6 sets of towels for each bathroom (figure 2 people per bathroom). The added expense was figured into our start-up costs and is tax-deductible. We hired a young woman to help (our cleaning fee goes a long way to help with her college expenses) but, still, I often do laundry 4 days a week. Good luck!