Towels/bedding ruined by acne cream given a 2nd life

[Andrea9]

My wonderful last guest of a couple nights told me about her bleach stain mishap and gave me some money for replacement. That's great, but I really, really, really hate waste - just the way I grew up.

So I already knew from a prior experience with the same type towel in sand color that its hidden life is yellow.

Gave the ruined gray towel the same intensive bleach bath, and voila! yellow in a tone lighter, though the stitching is visible due to the darker color while it didn't show on the one that used to be sand-colored.

Because the pillow case was stained too, I dumped the whole light gray bedding into the bleach bath, and presto - it's now a lovely rich creamy light yellow, and I like it better than before!

And the good thing is - it's all benzoyl peroxide and bleach resistant!

Towels from IKEA

Bedding from Dutch store HEMA.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Andrea9

I am going to save this info!!! Thank you 🙂 I also have grey towels and bedding (not IKEA) for guest and personal use.  If anything similar happens to them, I'll be sure to try this.

[Kelly149]

@Andrea9 So was this just bleach added to regular laundry cycle or a bleach & water soak prior to launder??

good save!

[Andrea9]

@Kelly149

I never add bleach directly together with any other cleaning product after reading a German article that this seems to create fumes that harm the lungs and are only perceptible (shortness of breath, coughing...) after 6-8 hours. Never read it again, but bleach is hardly available in German stores at all (while readily accessible in the Netherlands), and I remember the German product used to have a warning against simultaneous use with another cleaning product/detergent. I have no idea if this is true, and never wanted to test it out on myself.

Which is why I first soaked all in a strong solution in warm water only for quite a while, then rinsed it all several times, and after that washed it in a normal detergent wash cycle.

[Isabel203]

It's chlorine bleach and ammonia that you can't mix, by the way. 

[Isabel203]

And thanks for the great tip... I also hate to waste!

[Jim-and-Marcia0]

@Andrea9  Thanks for the tip!

The underlying color for some yellows is pink!

I found that out by accidentally spilling bleach on a yellow towel.

With your tip, I'll be better prepared for guests with acne cream (benzoyl peroxide) too!

I did some work for a hotel and all their beds were either King or Queen. They purchase white sheets & pillowcases for the Queen beds and bone color for the King beds. That way they can tell at a glance which sheets go with each type of bed. By choosing either color, they can use their powerful stain removers, bleach and hot water without ruining the sheets. Good idea for homes with different size beds.

[Oomesh-Kumarsingh0]

@Andrea9@Jim-and-Marcia0@Kelly149@Jessica-and-Henry0 I would advice you all to use only white bed sheets and towels. It is easy to wash without any problems and white sheets and towels always give the guests a feeling of cleanliness. Good luck!!!

[Andrea9]

@Oomesh-Kumarsingh0

Using only white is the general opinion.

Apart from the fact that I personally find white bedding pretty boring and clinical it also either needs a much higher temperature to keep white 95C (more energy costs) or additional chemical oxydant at lower temp that it's not that cost efficient or environmentally conscious with my single guest room business. 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Oomesh-Kumarsingh0

I'm with @Andrea9 on this one.

Having white stuff MAKES  you have to use bleach and so many other chemicals all the time. Just soooo environmentally unfriendly. I have a bar of stain remover soap that I use for spots or soiled areas and it hasn't failed me yet~

[Oomesh-Kumarsingh0]

@Andrea9 Coloured towels have more chances to be ruined by guests which can be more costly than washing white towels and sheets on high temp. Many guests prefer white sheets and towels i guess it is because white always give a nice clean look. 

[Andrea9]

@Oomesh-Kumarsingh0

I think in a hot, sweaty, and tropical climate I'd prefer white sheets too. In the temperate Northern Hemisphere clean and clean-smelling and unstained linnens aren't the problem. Rather it's the supposed-to-be-but-not-quite white linnens I've encountered here and there, washed by well-meaning but inexperienced people  😉

Also something to consider that it's much more efficient washing when having more accommodations than one single room with either one or max. 2 guests.

[Oomesh-Kumarsingh0]

@Andrea9 There is AC in my properties so there arent any hot and sweaty situation. It can be hot and sweaty in the Northern Hemisphere during the summer period which is coming soon in europe it can sometimes be even warmer than here but that your opinion and you have the right to use any colours. You should consider buying a smaller washing machine if you have only one single room that will be more economic. By the way my maid never uses bleach to clean the white sheets and towels, she usually uses vanish white which doesnt contain bleach and can clean white clothes etc without a hot 95c wash. Have a nice day : )

[Andrea9]

@Oomesh-Kumarsingh0

Nice of you to think of ways I can solve my situation.

First of all, I do already have a somwhat smaller and perfectly working Miele machine. I don't exactly see myself spending hundreds of euros on an even smaller one to accommodate my guest bedding/towels, esp. not on the income I am able to make in a year. And no, there's no extra space in an Amsterdam apartment to place a 2nd machine. And no, can't raise my price to accommodate the investment since that would knock me out of the well-bookable zone.

Using Vanish as extra default product is exactly what I try to avoid - using too much chemical product (and Vanish is highly chemical!). Everybody is getting conniptions  about global warming, but nobody says a word about the **bleep** we do to the earth with all of these harsh household chemicals. I'm by far 'innocent'. I use a lot of stuff too, because it cuts through the grime and dirt, but not if it's not really necessary. Baking soda is similar to Vanish's effect, but not harmful, though not quite as strong.

Oomesh, believe me, I've read tons of suggestions here on the CC and other forums re. laundry and colors of bedding and towels.

I in fact have thought them through, I've weighed the pro's and con's, yet their implementation all involve solutions that simply don't fit into my personal toolbox. I'm renting out an amazing little gem of a space with what I have to offer, and it pays my home bills. I'm not planning on investing big-time or turning it into a one-room Marriott resort for my modest nightly fee   ;D

(No, investing won't let me raise the fee if I want to stay competitive. Unless I do reconstruction work, though that will take me forever to recoup.)

Famous Dutch citation:

Doe maar gewoon, dan doe je al gek genoeg!

(Just act/do things normally, and you'll already be acting crazy enough!)

[Christine1]

Groeten @Andrea9.

Juist, Meile is zeker de beste meid, en ik gebruik af en toe zonlicht of 60 graden voor hygiëne.

Immer besser? Voor mijn Hosting

Actually I'm thinking of promoting my Miele to co-host status.

#: )

Christine