Hair cream, body lotion, hand gel - what the f*$@!

[Ben205]

We've been hosting for 4 years now. First 3, we never had this problem but in the past 12 months I've had to throw away 2 single duvet covers, 2 pillow cases and a couple of sheets (maybe more) all because of stains left by oily body lotions!

I just can't get them out. I've tried different wash powders (including biological), hot washes, Vanish stain remover and the like, and good old white spirits. Nothing shifts them.

Please, has anybody got anything else to suggest?

I should probably ask guests what they do at home to remove the stains but I expect the answer will be, we don't get them at home!

All suggestions welcome. Thanks.

Ben

[Laura2592]

@Ben205 strange that you are suddenly getting these issues. But weird things seem to go in cycles!

What color are your sheets and duvet covers? Would darker colors work better?

[Christine615]

I can say from experience darker colors make things worse because the oil stains show up as even darker and it's hard to miss.

Honestly, I wonder if some people use us as romantic getaways. We had someone who was a bit of a "hippy" stay with us once to catch up with his old girlfriend. Brought his kids, I figured it would be benign. Needed to use gloves to remove the underwear still under the sheets and not sure what substance was splattered on the floor mirror. Sigh.

I try not to think of it. 99% of my guests have been so good, but the 1% and their oils stains (or food stains) just make me want to go out and get cheap linens from a thrift store (I don't, but sometimes I'm tempted).

[Ben205]

@Christine615 Hi. I buy nice linens too and tend to think a few spoiled is the price of doing business. I'm just surprised how much of an issue it has become recently. There's no pattern to who uses the lotions, either.

[Christine615]

@Ben205Agreed. I do find nicer linens hold up better to the stains, but mostly white is easier to clean than colors because I have to be so picky about not stripping out the color. For the most part it's been fine, but I've reconciled myself that the worst problems are the pillowcases and getting matching replacements in colors is not easily done.

I have a friend in the hotel business and her stories are much worse. I guess I consider myself lucky.

[Ben205]

Hi. It seems to be worse on darker colours. And on newer fabrics. I tend to buy John Lewis bed linens and am wondering if they have started coating their cotton sheets in some way?

[Elisabeth40]

@Ben205 

It could be also the bedding itself. I mentioned that some bedding get stains and you cannot wash them out, it is the fabric. My mom is interior designer and I complained to her and she said, it's the type of material which is badly reworked and after washing it gets patches. 

[Anonymous]

@Ben205   My pre-treatment for oily or smelly stains is to dampen with a light spray of water, cover them with baking soda overnight, dab with gall soap (or a dishwashing detergent like Dawn for US readers), and then launder. But that's quite enough effort for a set of linens - if it still comes out unsightly, it gets dyed and repurposed for personal use, or as a last resort cut into rags or donated to an animal shelter. No textile should have to go straight to the grave over a little bit of lotion.

I'm on the fence about the quality and price of linens when it comes to this issue. My experience with most higher end fabric is that survives more normal washes without degrading the material and tearing, but the denser fibers also keep a firmer grip on stains.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Ben205 

I often get oil stains (from hair/body products or my eczema cream) on my own bedding and pillow covers - I soak in warm water with a mix of dishwashing liquid soap (2~3 pumps?) and laundry detergent (half scoop) for about 30 mins~1hr in a large basin, dump it all into the washer to run a quick cycle, then wash like normal. I've always been able to get these types of oil stains out, and I use different shades of solid grey bedding. 

If the oil stain is old or really bad, apply liquid soap on the stain and rub it into the stained area, let it sit for an hour or so and rinse out before soaking (hot rather than just warm water, if possible) and washing. I've been told that using the dryer or ironing the sheets can set the oil stains in the fabric if the stain was not removed properly during the wash - I always line dry (dryers are not common in Korea) and I don't iron bedding 🙂 

[Anonymous]

@Jessica-and-Henry0  Very important point to mention there - the biggest mistake when trying to get rid of stains is to use a dryer. Actually dryers are generally terrible for both the longevity of your fabrics and for the environment. Your lovely linens are Rihanna, and that dryer is Chris Brown. Take the appropriate action.

Hot water is also controversial here, though - it can help break up the compounds that cause some discolorations, but it can also make a pigmentation stain set more deeply. 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Anonymous 

For some stains, yes, hot water will set the stain. But if it's just body lotion/cream/oil (no color pigments in the oils) on cotton sheets, I've found that using liquid soap and warm water is effective - same as you'd wash greasy dishes and pots with lots of soap and warm~hot water. 

Tanning oil or body shimmer oil stains on a silk blouse would be different 🙂 

[Laurelle3]

I agree with @Jessica-and-Henry0 dishwashing liquid breaks down the oils like in washing fatty frypans and dishes with hot water soaked in a bucket for first wash.

Our cleaning guru on the local radio station says to put detergent oil soiled area rub with a nail brush to get in between the fibres, do this before putting in bucket to soak. (Works nearly everytime). For my 2nd wash I put in nappysan or similar for a regular wash and hang out in the sun. As @Christine615 says stains seem to show up more in dark colours

[Ben205]

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice. I think the mistake I've made is to wash and iron before checking for stains. These linens are heading for the rag bag but in future I know what to try!

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Ben205 

I think Airbnb hosts sweat too much about linens and make their job much harder than it could be. We host for 5 years and we have cheap poly-cotton sheets from Jysk and the cheapest Ikea pillowcases + duvet covers, also poly-cotton mix. 

For the single bed, the sheet costs 4€, Ikea set pillowcase+cover costs 7€. No ironing, drying quickly, and all stains go away in the normal wash with sensitive detergents.

https://www.ikea.com/hr/hr/p/traedkrassula-navlaka-za-poplun-i-jastucnica-bijela-plava-50392840/

https://www.ikea.com/hr/hr/p/lyktfibbla-navlaka-za-poplun-i-jastucnica-bijela-siva-30466422/

Ikea sets last forever (5th year) and Jysk sheets last about 2 years.

No complaints about sheets ever, but guests sometimes comment how soft they are.

@Ben205if you often have oil-stains problems I would recommend buying a few sets and give them a try.

[Matt682]

@Ben205 @Branka-and-Silvia0 

I also use IKEA sheets, covers, duvets, and protectors. With occupancy rates at about 90%, and two sets per bed, they lasted 3 years. I didn’t feel they were good enough to continue to use for paying guests, but they were certainly good enough to find a new life in someone’s home. They do wash well, and hold their colour.

They don’t hold stains, except to a small degree, blood. Make-up, creams, fake-tan, mascara, all gone. I use vanish stain treatment bar, and then vanish oxi-action on a soiled and eco-bubble setting on my machine. The trick I have found is to use a low temperature first so you don’t set the stain, higher temperatures denature proteins and make them harder to get out (or so I’ve been told).

I have considered buying hotel linens more than once. I’ve always worried about the cost of replacement if I can’t get a stain out or they become damaged. I don’t care about re-homing IKEA sheets and purchasing new ones anywhere near as much when they are a couple of quid.