Do you allow guest to do laundry at your property?

[Farwa-and-Raza0]

Since laundry room is right infront of our guest suite, we use to allow our guests to do laundry. However, it was such a pain to find articles of clothings forgotten in the washer stinking, forgotton lighters in the dryer or sand from the beach, and not to mention loads and loads of lint. We had one guest stay one night with us who did 6 loads of laundry!

I still have people constantly asking if they can use the laundry (even though its clearly written in the house rules NO LAUNDRY). Please help

[Elizabeth429]

@Farwa-and-Raza0,

I have a maximum stay of three days in a row so guests bring their laundry back home. 

If you allow guests to book longer and dont want to provide laundry, maybe search for a local public laundry service and provide that information on your listing.

Some guests dont have limits so it is better to not let anybody do it.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Farwa-and-Raza0

Is there a way to lock the door to your laundry? or somehow limit access? Cover it up so guests can't see it? Even if you SAY "no laundry" if guests see laundry facilities in plain sight they will want to use it (and ask or try to sneak in a load).  

Or you could just charge them whatever it costs per load at the local laundromat - put up a sign in front of your washer, ""$5 per load"" so they know laundry is not free. 

[Kath9]

@Farwa-and-Raza0, I used to allow guests but not anymore for all the reasons you've stated, plus the extra costs associated with water and electricity which are very expensive here. I politely decline their request and point them to the nearest coin-operated laundromat.

[Jillie1]

Yes, like you Kath, I used to offer free laundry facilities but due to abuse, lack of care, I'm going to lock it all up!  It's such a shame that lack of respect, knowledge of how to use washing machines/tumble dryers and overuse has led to other more careful guests losing  out.  I will be directing them to the launderette down the road from now on!

[Cathie19]

Keep things simple.

price or charge per load and have visible instructions and honesty box.

or

As with my guests:  can wash nothing, or produce lot of loads. I have disconnected the hot water hoses for visitors, and I deliberately don’t have a commercial or domestic dryer.

I factor it into my pricing and what I lose on one, I make up for with the non users.

🙂

Cathie

[Elena87]

@Farwa-and-Raza0

Some people will do load after load, some will think it's ok to start a three hour cycle at 3am.

Some will wash a miniscule amount every day. People will use wrong doses of detergents...etc

If any of these incidents are likely to agitate you, take action to control it.

Put a lock on the plug or isolate the machine from the power, put up a sign to explain it is strictly off limits to guests and not on the amentities (this will stop 80% of the requests but not all),  show where they can find the nearest laundromat and hide your detergents.

[John1080]

I see this conversation topic on here a lot. As a host, I provide my entire space with laundry, so it's a different situation. However, as a guest, if I were staying with someone, I would expect to have access to the laundry facilities.

I really do not understand the convtroversy surrounding this issue. I think if one is going to share a space with guests, laundry access should be provided. It costs literally pennies to do a load of laundry and really isn't a big hassle.

[Susan151]

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@John1080 wrote:

I really do not understand the convtroversy surrounding this issue. I think if one is going to share a space with guests, laundry access should be provided. It costs literally pennies to do a load of laundry and really isn't a big hassle.

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Clearly you have never tried to carry laundry down a 1900 steep, narrow and winding basement staircase where you can not actually see the stairs since the laundry that you are carrying blocks your view. There is no way I am allowing anyone but me to go down those stairs to reach the laundry machines. The risk of a fall is simply too high for me to tolerate. 

I am lucky that I have two laundromats 5 minutes away, one of which will even do same day wash and fold.

[John1080]

Susan, stairs is an entirely different situation altogether separate from the general issue being discussed here. 

[Victoria567]

On a lighter note, and what happens if it’s part of someone’s culture to have clean clothes daily?  

Speaking of course as a Scot with a self depreciating sense of humour ( one of our cultural traits) who culturally believes that cleanliness is next to Godliness?

[David126]

Generally speaking I do not do it, I certainly do not offer it, I do make exceptions.

Often it seems it is one nighters and if you think of what they paid me a couple of loads of washing makes my cheap to dirt cheap.

Examples of my exceptions include long distance cyclists.

[Miloud0]

Salute everyone, 

 @Farwa-and-Raza0, For us, we offer our guests to do laundary at our house. It is one from other amenities that we share it with them. we want them to feel as they are at their home.  

Thanks, 

Miloud 

[Letti0]

@Farwa-and-Raza0  I have an entire place and have no clue how often it's used, except for the laudry pods being counted 🙂 not worth the effort ;D

[Ned-And-Laura0]

My space is not shared, they have the entire attached in-law suite to themselves and there is a stacked washer/dryer in the unit that I provide for free.  I have bottles of detergent and dryer sheets from the 99 cent store and so far I haven't had any problems.  Found some cheap costume jewerly in the dryer a few times and sometimes the guests even wash the towels for us which is great!  I get a lot of people on road trips of CA who are just there for one night and I think having laundry available is a big selling point for them.   But I don't think I would offer laundry if the space was a shared room in my home, I wouldn't want other peoples laundry in my machines.  Having to deal with their wet clothes they forgot to put in the dryer when I need to wash mine...yeah, not gonna happen.