Makeup and how to stop people from using face cloths to remove mascarra

[Susan277]

Does anyone else encounter this problem of make up on your face cloths? 

I provide makeup remover and organic pads and personally check  guests in and point out that we provide these items yet they still use face cloths to remove makeup. 

It is a huge pain to treat the face cloths after they have been used to remove makeup and costs time and money as they have 2 be treated and washed 2x to get clean.  Any suggestions?  

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[Tony67]

You can get black washclothes with "makeup" embroidered on them in white from Amazon. Put those by the sink and that may help. 

[Louise0 · Accepted solution]

There is NOTHING you can do.  Some people are just **.  I too provide makeup wipes and special grey face washers for removing makeup.  I also have it in my house rules and remind guests at check in.  However, with a few notable exceptions, most women will still scrub off their slap with my pristine white washers and towels.  In less than 50% of instances is it possible to restore the towels to a 'guest ready' state.

I became so fed up with this that I once messaged a guest to ask why she had done this, given the availability of alternatives and the explicit mentions in both my House Rules and House Manual.   I was genuinely curious and asked her for suggestions on what I could possibly do to stop it from happening.  Needless to say, no constructive response was forthcoming and I instead found myself on the receiving end of a torrent of abuse.

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[Helen56]

I also have no idea why anyone would use a wash cloth to remove make up, when tissues are provided in the room - and there is always toilet paper too.  I had one guest who was here for a wedding use a white wash cloth to remove make up, and it tood 4 or 5 washings to get it almost clean.  I now have make up remover cloths availble but no one has yet used them.  

[Ephraim0]

@Louise0 Ha, Classic! I love Austrailians!

As others suggested by lots of cheap wash cloths from amazon. I get 24 for like 12 bucks then put lots of them everywhere by the sink, by the shower. Also I use all white towels that I can bleach and so far in 3 months I've had only two towels stain. I think using lots of bleach and tide works for the most part.

[Bob39]

Put it in your House Rules that guests will be charged for new washcloths (face cloths) if they are used for makeup. Then, if the cloths have makeup on them, charge it against the guest's deposit. You may want to put a small note on top of the face cloths reminding the guests of this.

[Louise0]

Nope, doesn't work.  Makeupon towels etc is deemed normal wear and tear and you're unlikely to be able to claim against the security deposit, regardless of what it says in your house rules.

[Sandra126]

You are very lucky indeed if they use the facewashers for makeup. Try removing makeup from large towels instead, I would feel extremely pleased to only find the facewasher stained. Happy day!

[Robert-And-Nancy0]

I have had this problem with towels and pillowcases.  I have changed all my hand towels and face cloths to a darker color.  As far as pillowcases, I buy as many as I can when they are on sale so my cases always look bright and fresh.

[Leah16]

Hi Susan,
I have the same problem. I already provided cotton balls,wipes and Q tips for guests and still they are using the white face cloths to wipe their makeup off. What I did every time I have a female guests I put the darker color towel sets in the bathroom for them to use and not the white ones. Even the linens there's makeup stain. My husband told me that it is okay to tell the guest to use the wipes and other makeup remover that I provided for them and not use the face cloths.But I just don't feel comfortable telling my guest that. So, what I did was when I was showing them around the house I'll make sure to show them the bathroom cabinet where I put all the make up remover.I told them "there's makeup remover here" feel free to use it instead of using the face cloth. All bathrooms have their own makeup remover too. I said it in a nice way.And my guest just totally smiled and said "oh great! Coz I forgot to bring my makeup remover".
So maybe it is okay to remind your guest that you have makeup remover for them to use and it is okay to remind them not to use the face cloth.Otherwise,we'll keep complaining all the time if we don't remind them. I sent a text to a guest also onetime because she wasn't around when I showed the house.When they left,I don't see a stain on my face cloths. Even though they used up all the darker color and the white towels I have in the closet when they stayed for 3 nights-4 nights. But I'm still happy because I didn't see any makeup marks on the towels.

Leah

[Judy167]

I heard on a podcast that you can purchase dark washcloths with "MakeUp" embroidered on them. I googled that and there were a good many listings, some on Etsy and a few others that were very expensive. But I found some on Amazon here:
http://amzn.to/2u3s3p0

I will post if they are effective (hopefully my listing will be ready to go live by early August). One person said to lay them across the sink or the edge of the tub to make sure guests see them.

I see lots of posts that people don't use even when provided so hopefully these will -- who knows till we try?

Judy in NC

[Marco65]

At home I provide: pads (both cotton and sponge) to remove make-up (small and large), special dry towelletes (large, soft and thick, ideal for removing makeup), micellar water, cleansing and toning milk fby Collistar (fragrance-free, alcohol-free), cleanser by Estee Lauder and you know? Ladies always use white towels to remove makeup, mascara, lipstick and tanning, this is a nightmare! I had 6 Spanish guests and they just destroyed all my towels with makeup, I had to bleach them for about 10 days but of 12 towels only a few have returned to be usable! I'm giving up.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Susan277

What I don't understand is why people would use face/hand towels to remove makeup in the first place????? Towels are the WORST thing you could use. I can't believe a sane person would choose to use a towel when there are makeup wipes!!! 

[Tony134]

This conversation made me feel less crazy. Good times with towels and makeup. You haven't lived until you get two women who do this and also decided to take fresh towels every single day without your knowledge on a seven day listing...

Ended up throwing twelve ruined towels in the garbage... I was sooooooo mad.

[Felicia48]

@Tony134. Did you charge them for the ruined towel