Is it necessary to clean the duvet cover?

[Diego33]

How often do you guys clean the duvet cover? I have been doing it every time to be clear but I was told I didn't need to the other day by a guest. Thanks

[Ed-and-Hugh0]

@Diego33 We have 2 sets and always clean between guests. Middle and upper end hotels wash between guests, and that's probably what most guests will expect, unless your prices are at the low end.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/hotelcheckin/2012/12/11/hotels-duvet-cover-questions-hampton-inn-bets-...

[Dede0]

@Diego33 and @Ed-and-Hugh0 Ooooh, what an great question! We have two duvet covers (with a third really sad one waiting in the wings in case of a laundry emergency) and we almost always change it in between every set of guests. My confession is right there in that previous sentence -- "almost always". Yes, I'm admitting that we sometimes (maybe 3% of the time) skip a change-out. We only do this if a) the upcoming guest is a single male,  b) we're really pressed for time, and c) a thorough visual examination and close-to-the-nose sniff test all along the top edge reveals that the duvet cover is one that we, ourselves, wouldn't mind sleeping under. (To be clear, unlike some European hotels, we don't just use a duvet on top but also use a top sheet under the duvet.)

I don't *like* it that we sometimes do this. I'm trying to reduce this to zero. I fully believe that we should provide a fresh duvet cover every single time.

I have to add that I've stayed at places that didn't even *use* duvet covers. And you can bet they didn't launder that duvet in between guests...

[Karl959]

I’m a single male so if i stayed at your establishment would i get a discount for having dirty sheets on my bed??  Your confession discussed me!! As a minimum ALL guests should get at least a clean and hygienic set of freshly laundered linen and if you can’t provide that to each and every guest you should either increase your prices or better still close down and go out of business, if you haven’t already!! Also why do you do this only if it’s a Male coming to stay, i’m guessing your **

** [Offensive content removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines] 

[Karl959]

I’m a single male so if i stayed at your establishment would i get a discount for having dirty sheets on my bed??  Your confession offended me!! As a minimum ALL guests should get at least a clean and hygienic set of freshly laundered linen and if you can’t provide that to each and every guest you should either increase your prices or better still close down. Also why do you do this only if it’s a Male coming to stay, isn’t that rather sexist? 

[Ana7]

I wash it every single time between guests. 

[Jo-and-Gil0]

I always change between guests.  I also wash mattress proctector after every couple of guests depending on how long they stay.

If I have guests for a week or more I always wash or change between but if I have guests just for a couple of days I don't wash matress proctecotor  ( Including pillow protectors)

[Blagoje0]

I think you should keep doing it every time because most guests will expect that.

[Karry0]

I wouldn't sleep on a bed that hasn't been changed even if it was slept on for an hour so I always change the sheets for every guest regardless of the price they pay as this is what anyone would expect.

[Susan-and-Eric0]

Likewise, we change duvet covers for every new guest.  That's what I would expect if I was a guest too.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

This might be the unpopular answer, but I do not expect the duvet or bedspread to be washed every time between guests.  We make our bed with a mattress pad, then fitted sheet, flat sheet, blanket, bedspread and then the duvet with a feather insert on top (or a second light blanket if summer). The Duvet often just gets pushed down onto the hope chest at the end of the bed and not used at all.  If you are using your duvet as a top blanket on top of the bedspread and not as the main source of blanket, I don't think you need to wash it every time either.  

[Amy42]

Personally I hate fitted sheets or heavy bedding and would kick off your sheet and bedspread, and only use the duvet, so you really should wash between guests. You don't know what people are doing in the sheets or what they prefer. 

[Jeffrey81]

Perhaps a better solution is to store the duvet in a nearby cupboard, at the top of the closet or in an accessible linen closet close by. You can tell your guests that it's available if they need it and launder the duvet cover only after they've used it. Putting on the bed when you already have sheets, a blanket and a comforter seems unnecessary.

[Eileen0]

Do you mean the duvet cover that goes over the duvet?  If so, I can't believe you would even ask this.  Would you want to sleep in a bed with a duvet cover that had been used by someone else and hadn't been washed before you slept under it?

If you mean the duvet itself and if, when used, is covered by a duvet cover, then I would say just every few weeks or guests. 

[William163]

If the guests used it, wash it! Period. Even if you "think they didn't use it". For those into decorative pillows and lots of layers of sheets and comforters, it's pretty....something....to assume that people are even aware of how all your fancy decorative bedspreads and pillows work, which are supposed to be used vs which ones are to be put aside, or that they won't come home exhausted late one night and simply pass out on top of everything. When I was hosting I specifically bought not only new sets of sheets to have enough for turnover between guests without having to be pressed for time to wash, but also several plastic bed covers, new pillows, and bedcovers on the cheaper/thinner side so that I could buy more of them and just because I knew the style of the one I personally used would take too long to dry to be feasible. If I were smarter Id've even had plastic inner covers for my pillows.