As a host, how often should I changes sheets and towels for my guests?

Ani0
Level 1
Santa Clara, California, United States

As a host, how often should I changes sheets and towels for my guests?

 
40 Replies 40

Alright  @Maxine3 thank u so much for helping me.

HI I'm a new host and I would like to ask about Towels and bed sheets.

How many towels do you give to each guest? and do I change the bed sheets if the stay is more then 5 days?

 

Angie-And-Bob0
Level 2
Farndon, United Kingdom

I am new to this and am still awaiting our first guest.  I wasn wondering about thisw too.  I though I'd treat our appartment as though it were a hotel room and offer the guests a quick clean up every day ( if they want it) and  change sheets and towels every 4 days. I thought I;d offer to go in and do this and offer them that if they do not want me to enter during their stay they can take the sheets themselves.    I was hoping for more comments here so I could have more opinions from successful hosts.

do you give them 1 face towel and 1 bath towel each guest? for the stay like 4 nights ?

 

@Angie-And-Bob0  We aren't hotels. Many guests already think an Airbnb is just like a hotel. except cheaper. They want all the bells and whistles without paying the price. Please don't encourage this notion. My max stay is 2 weeks. I never clean when the guest is here. They get 2 bath towels, a hand towel and a face cloth and a change out of towels and bedding once a week. If they are staying for say, 10 days, I'll give them fresh at the halfway point, 5 days. Most prefer to change the bed themselves, in my experience, which tells me thy want their privacy.

If you take bookings longer than 2 weeks, many hosts do recommend coming in once week or two to do a clean, so if they are messy or dirty, yu can keep it at bay, and if they know you are coming to clean, they may keep it tidier so you don't think they are slobs 🙂

Marie82
Level 10
New South Wales, Australia

For more than 2 weeks stayed i offer free cleaning with bed linen change + towels

 

 

for less than 2 weeks  i leave many bed linen + towels inside the draw and ask them to change themself and i have as well washer and dryer with washing powder soft ect...

do you give them 1 face towel and 1 bath towel each guest? for the stay like 4 nights ?

Wendy-and-Frank0
Level 10
Stonington, CT

Clean towels every other day, clean sheets and pillowcases every five days or at checkout, whichever comes first.

 

I wash my sheets myself.

 

Most people don't know how to do laundry.  They don't sort colors, they wash everything in hot water causing sweat stains and other stains to set, and they don't know how to pre-treat.  (I pre-soak and wash my sheets in a water/vinegar/Borax/dishwashing liquid solution.)

 

I'm fine with them doing their own clothes however they see fit, but I like my sheets to look brand new.

 

I also iron the border of the top sheet and pillow cases so that I don't have that weird crease/fold that every top sheet and pillow case seems to get.

 

I turn down beds and clean bathrooms upon request but push hard with extended stays to let me in to change the sheets and scrub the bathroom.  I find that if I can clean the bath at least every five days, I have no significant build up of scum in the shower.  It also allows me to do a quick inventory to see if my "no food in the room" rules are being observed.

 

I don't accept stays of more than 15 days.

 

I offer a private bedroom and bath in a shared house so it's very easy for me to be able to do this.

 

If I were renting off site, I'd do what other suggested and leave x number of sets of sheets and towels on the premises and would provide a separate hamper where they can leave the sheets for me to do once they check out.

 

 

Hi Wendy

Can you tell me how you wash your linens? We've had an issue with stains left by guests and I'd love to know how to better clean our sheets and towels. At the moment we are just using bleach and oxyclean but this doesn't seem to always work and now a lot of our sheets have set stains. It seems like you know what you're doing so any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Kate 

same here! 

I’m having the same problem and I’ve been told it’s creams and lotions people use.  I am using gray towels right now but I’m going to switch to white so I can bleach them.  I haven’t been able to get the stains and pink looking spots out.

If you're using hot water to wash these things, hot water sets stains in forever. Try putting in washing machine in cold water with the soap and some oxyclean and let soak for an hour, then turn on wash cycle.

soak then with a mixture of vanish and fairy liquid, lots off, that should do the trick!

Clean towels every other day? You're generous. What do people do with towels that they need clean ones every other day, I wonder. I figure when people get out of the shower, they're clean. They dry off, hang up the towel, it's still clean. I give each guest 2 bath towels, a face towel and a washcloth. After 5 or 6 days, I'll ask if they need clean ones. So far, every guest who's stayed a week or less has said, no, I'm fine, thanks. Good for me, cause I have limited water supply.

One woman I know was property managing a vacation rental for a few weeks while the owner was away and told me 3 girls managed to go through 15 towels in 3 days!.

Lena101
Level 2
London, United Kingdom

I agree - new towels every day seem unneccesary and very unecological.