Guests damaged the linens and towels with bleach.

[Nate0]

Hi there airbnb community,

I had guests who left the apartment with the linens and the towels discoloured from bleach or some kind of strong chemical. I contacted the guests and they refused to take responsibility. I took pictures and submitted them to airbnb resolution centre. Is there anything else that I can submit along with the pictures to make the case stronger. Also we submitted the case on the day the guest checked out...about 30 mins after the check out time.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Cheers,

nate

[Lisa10]

Hi Nate,

So sorry this happened to you. 

I had a similar issue with a duvet cover. I uploaded photos of the damage as well as links to where I purchased the duvet. Airbnb swiftly refunded me as the guests never replied.

Best wishes to you!

Lisa

[Michele1161]

Hi Lisa,

Did you approach the guest directly or just go through airbnb? We changed a guests sheets and towels and noticed bleach marks on our grey towels and pillow cases. We are unsure if we should approach the guest as he still has 3 weeks left on his stay or to leave it for now (have changed linen and towels to white) and go through airbnb when he checks out?

TIA,

Michele 

[Tyler0]

I think you have done everything you can do.  You should be sure to mention the damaged linens in the review for that guest though.

[Rick0]

Why are the guests bothering to wash the linens anyway??  I wouldn't want them touching any of that, unless they are staying for a month or more & need to change out linens a couple of times....Some people put bleach in everything because they are germophobes...it weakens fabrics, bad for environment, I could go on & on...Which is why I don't use "all white" ensembles for the bedroom or bathroom...  I once had guests who wanted to "help" by washing the linens...they couldn't find any soap, so they informed me they just washed everything in plain water...I smiled (but was horrified!)

[Belinda3]

Acne medication has peroxide. It affects some dyes but not all, so colors change. I have extra drawer space, so I leave some green items with yellow sections in each room with a note that "acne medication bleaches linens."

[Valerie43]

I think this just happened to me, and I was wondering how it happened, suspecting peroxide in acne cream. My guest completely ruined 4 brand new towels with weird huge stains. The other mystery is if you see you ruined one, why keep ruining the other 3?

[Mike77]

@Valerie43

Most people are idiots.

Mike
AirBnB Treehouse for Rent
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7292887

[Valerie43]

Ha ha ha! You're right Mike! I'm just disappointed first that he did it to more than one towel (accidents do happen so one is understandable but all 4?) and even more importantly, that he didn't see fit to tell me about it. I am disappointed because I thought he was otherwise a nice respectful guest (and stayed for 50 days), so I don't really know how to deal with this loss. I'll put it down to experience I guess. He also bled through 3 layers of pillowcases and one pillow and the stains won't come off even with bleach so as a newbie here, big lesson learnt! Waterproof everything and don't buy good quality towels. 😉 I was on this forum to try and find out if white was better (mine were expensive dark blue to match the bathroom) but apparently that doesn't solve the problem. If it had been a short term guest for a few days, I would have asked for money back for sure.

[Mike77]

@Valerie43

I buy stuff at the Goodwill and Thrift stores for the treehouse.  These people get what I provide and if they don't like it, they can whine to AirBnB and see if they can get their money back.

I don't run this business to make friends and influence strangers with my ability to buy nice towels.  It is a waste of time and money.

Mike
AirBnB Treehouse for Rent
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7292887

[Lyndsey2]

I can tell you from my own use of benzoyl peroxide products that the stain doesn't show up right away. It often takes hours to appear so it's quite possible to have no idea you've created a stain. Also, since not all dyes react to it, I was horrified when I ruined a friend's towel because I had never had any issue at home. I might suggest an extra washcloth or two in the room designated for those who use benzoyl peroxide/acne products. Then you are educating the guest but also providing a solution and catering to their needs. 

[Valerie43]

Lyndsey, I appreciate your input but even if it took a few hours, how could it have destroyed all four towels? One or two max maybe, then a few hours later you would see what happened and think about it. I had given him two towels for himself, and then two more when his girlfriend came to stay for the weekend. Also I am quite disappointed that he said nothing when checking out. I wasted time and money washing them all twice to no avail, not knowing exactly what the stains were. Maybe he was embarrassed, I guess. Your suggestion about the spare towel could work but I was wondering what would have happened with a white towel in this case, do you know? I guess again it depends on the towels and dyes used. I'm new at this, I am starting to understand that this involves a lot of waste! 

[Lyndsey2]

It wouldn't damage white towels and some dyes on colored towels are not harmed. I use white towels myself because I find it difficult to get informtion about what brand of towels will react or not without trial and error... and white is easier to replace piecemeal if necessary.

I don't trust dyes on linens at all, really. I have a set of very expensive sheets that bleached due to the lotion on my legs. No other sheets have ever done that and I certainly don't use anything weird (just Aveeno). With so many guests and so many potential skin products used, I imagine it will be a problem we all face more often than we'd like!

[Vanessa831]

I just had a similiar experience with bleaching stains on expensive linens. Was foolishly thinking of linen purchases from a more personal standpoint like "I'll buy really good sheets so they last for years". Ha! Second guests to use them and they are ruined, time to think more like a host. It looks like puppets had a party, how else does one explain bright orange and yellow stains on light purple sheets!? This thread was very helpful though, had no idea acne cream could do this and I assume it is the culprit.  The guests say the stains were there upon arrival, but I never would have made up the bed with sheets/pillowcases like this. Also I don't use bleach or any of the products reported to cause this sort of staining. 

I filed a resolution report with airbnb, but I'm already feeling like pursuing this is more trouble than it's worth. The guests are denying involvement which is impossible as they were the only ones in the space. I am a new host and a bad review at this point will be a real blow to my listing. I'm already regretting not eating the cost. It's hard not to react when money is flowing out of your pocket, but in the future I think i will let these sort of things go especially for longer reservations. The lesson I learned here is to buy good but inexpensive sheets that are white and pick my battles more carefully. Sigh