Linens constantly stained

[Nicole2592]

We have had a very pleasant experience with Airbnb and our guests so far. The guests have been kind and overall leave things in great shape. But it is beginning to drive me CRAZY with the amount of towels and sheets guest are staining. 

A month ago we started providing make up wipes since that’s where most stains were coming from. But even after providing wipes, we are constantly getting stains. And not 1-2 towels but 6-8 bath towels in a house that’s a 2 night stay. 

I don’t want to post a sign saying guest will be charged for each towel or sheet they stain but we are spending $30-60 per house per week just to get new towels and sheets. I upped my cleaning fee too so that it’s not costing us as much to replace but does anyone have suggestions? I haven’t tried Aircover requests to guests seeing that most people say how bad Aircover is. Any help appreciated!

[Debra300]

@Nicole2592,

I have white towels and light colored linen, and use Shout stain remover, and it has taken care of all stains, makeup, blood, coffee, chocolate, dirt, etc.  I've not yet had to replace anything due to a unremovable stain.

[Robin4]

@Nicole2592 

4 years ago I switched from white linens and towels to coloured, and this helped the staining issue considerably.  I have not struck a general stain since that could not be successfully removed.

The only issue with using coloureds is, guests who might be using acne cream. The active part of acne cream is called Benzoyl Peroxide and this formulation has the effect of bleaching coloured fabrics or leaving a light rust coloured stain which cannot be removed as it affects the dye used on the fabric.

Without being rude about it I ask guests, if they are using acne cream to please let me know and I will provide white pillowcases for them in place of the coloureds as these can be bleached successfully, and I do keep white pillowcases on hand simply for this.

I also ask them to please use the supplied face wipes for make-up removal and this has been successful. I haven't lost a set of linens in the past couple of years and having patterned coloured bath towels seems to cope effectively with the odd make-up stains.

Cheers.........Rob

[Kendra114 · Accepted solution]

Yes stains! I’m becoming an expert on stains. Hydrogen peroxide OR enzymes usually found in pet cleaners are the best for biological stains. I’ve tried Shout & Oxiclean & they’re okay for fresh stains but anything more than 24 hours old is a different ballgame.

We personally don’t like wipes because we don’t want people flushing them & clogging the pipes. Plus they’re expensive. We purchase packs of the cheap, white, Walmart washcloths then just use them for cleaning when they can’t be revived. They do need loose strings trimmed after washing once in awhile but they’re actually really soft & nice after a couple washings. 

I’ve seen recommendations of using black washcloths for makeup removers but it’s not something we’re interested in doing at this time. Dish detergent works really good at removing makeup.

Side note on stains…

We have now resorted to blacklight inspections after every stay. Y’all might be shocked at what your guests leave behind. We have ridiculous guests so have to do these inspections often but I would definitely recommend doing it at least monthly depending on your occupancy rate. 

[Huma0]

@Nicole2592 

When I started hosting, I had more issues with stains, especially towels. For example, I had one lovely guest who stained brand new towels with what appeared to be black shoe polish. Nothing, but nothing, could get the stains out. I had to include something in my house rules about not using towels to remove make up, clean shoes etc. It sounds silly, but it gets the point across, as do the wipes.

I am not a fan of the wipes either and there is a risk of people flushing them. However, since I started providing wipes, this stopped happening:

I think it's more the fact that there is a sticker on the packet asking guests to use them to remove make up rather than the towels. Here, make up wipes are so common that you can buy them very, very cheaply, but actually, very few guests use them. I think it's more the message they send that has helped save my towels and face cloths from make up stains.

I use both white and coloured towels and sheets depending on the room. I have often read that it's best to treat blood stains with hydrogen peroxide and soak or pre-wash in cold water because the hot water can set in the stain but I have not had a problem removing stains with Shout or similar and a warm wash (30 degrees Celsius). For coloured items where I don't want to risk using these, dish soap can be effective without stripping the colour and it's also good for greasy stains.

The one thing I haven't been able to tackle is coloured towels getting bleached. I had a lovely set of brand new, luxury towels ruined by a guest who was bleaching her hair. Luckily, it's a rare occurrence. I haven't had problems with guests using acne creams for some reason.