Do you wash the bed linen and towels your guests use in your own washing machine?

[Magwitch]

@jaquo

Many people from the US seem to dislike the UK system of having the washer and dryer (many times a combo washer/dryer) in the kitchen. I’ve read things like ‘ew, the thought of my dirty underwear near where food is prepared and stored…’

Seriously? omg that’s hilarious!! People often have weird ideas about hygiene. I had a friend once who would make a big fuss of obsessively spraying surfaces in the kitchen. And then wipe them down with a manky old cloth that never got washed, let alone replaced. I once wondered where she’d got a black-bristled washing up brush until I realised it was completely encrusted with her hair

[dpfromva]

I’ll post this again http://www.stopthestomachflu.com/ with tons of info from the biologist-mom who runs around testing every and any cleaning product in every conceivable circumstance (including washing machines) in her own set of petri dishes!
I am not a germaphobe by any means but she’s got some good tips. I use my personal machines, with hot water and bleach and hot dry for all my white bedding and towels, and I dump the no-bleach Lysol laundry sanitizer right in with the detergent (instead of in a fabric softener dispenser) for the colored quilts, also washed and dried on hot. On the one-in-a-million chance there’s a pesky norovirus lurking. Wish I had time to just hang it out to dry and let the sun do its work, oh well.

[KKC]

I had a guest who was bitten by a mosquito but the next morning he messaged me and said it might be bed bugs or staph. I freaked a little that he was suggesting either of those things. I calmly told him it was mosquito season and I had seen one in the room
He got straight quickly as he gave a 5 star review and booked for his drive back. However the idea that someone might be thinking that is worth considering.

[Mexican]

To be honest a lot of this is sounding like that long winding road to mental illness. I’m hearing a lot of things that are borderline obsessive-compulsive or germaphobe. I can understand if there is a special circumstance like the person concerned has had an organ transplant is on immuno-suppressive drugs or has an immune system disorder. Otherwise, like others have pointed out, does the concerned person intend to not go outside?

[lchiu7]

Lots of comments here.

1. Firstly it’s almost impossible to vent outside since the building is stone and the bathroom is not against any wall. It would be really expensive to vent outside. And anyway, how hard is it to wipe the ceiling down every now and then

2. I don’t mind spending time in the laundromat - therapeutic

3. We have only been doing AirBnB for 6 weeks so we are learning the process

I wanted comments but in reality, all the comments arguing for a home wash are not going to persuade her and I want to keep peace at home. But I was in interested in other people did and certainly there is a diversity of views.

[lchiu7]

@jaquo

I imagine that you and your wife are lovely people but you sound to be highly disorganised when it comes to your Airbnb business

Lovely people is right

@jaquo

The fact that the dryer doesn’t vent out properly needs to be fixed if it really could cause mould. If you haven’t already, you’ll have guests who use the washer and dryer every single day of their stay. (Guests do that - a shirt one day, a towel the next … it’s not their electricity or hot water). It’s a legitimate expense against your rental business taxes.

Also if the laundry is done in the rental it simplifies your accounts - the water and electricity costs are automatically part of the rental’s utility expenses so there’s no need to record and itemise your laundromat expenses.

That part is true. We don’t pay for hot water in our building directly but it’s part of the apartment body corporate dues which are constant. The only variable charge is electricity.

So far my guests have done very little or any washing. I can tell from the soap powder usage.

[MtnGal]

Let’s see how you feel about going to the laundromat after 6 months. Good luck

[Rolf]

@lchiu7

And anyway, how hard is it to wipe the ceiling down every now and then

Nominated for quote of the month…

[Gem20]

Move the washer to the kitchen and open the windows when you put it on?

[Kingi]

@KKC

The most important thing is to use hot water

That just brought back mostly suppressed memories of the 30-30 thread!

[jaquo]

@lchiu7

Lovely people is right

Thought so
…

[Primdawg]

I have a stacked set at my rental. It is a smaller size, but I can fit a decent load in there. My unit at home is large capacity and has a sterilize option. If I’m in a hurry I take the linens back to my house, if not I do the laundry there. Regardless I use HOT water and use a laundry soap with enzymes. One of the main reasons I like white linens.
Your other option is to replace the dryer at the rental with one of the new heat pump ventless dryers. The Miele is very well thought of and is much more efficient than the ventless dryers of the past.

[Joan]

@Primdawg

option is to replace the dryer at the rental with one of the new heat pump ventless dryers.

I think this is what we call a condensing dryer in the UK, with a tank that fills as laundry dries, which is simple to empty. I’ve had a cheapo Beko for the last ten years, as we didn’t have space for a vent in a previous house, and love it. It has an in-built sensor that stops the machine as soon as laundry is dry, so no over-dry ironing to do.

[KKC]

@Kingi

suppressed memories of the 30-30 thread!

Ugh, I don’t know what thread you’re referencing.

[KKC]

@MtnGal

you feel about going to the laundromat after 6 months.

In other threads he’s said he had 10 guests in 6 weeks, that there are two apartments, and that there is more than one room in at least one of the apartments. As long as he only washes the sheets and towels it might not be too overwhelming but if they wash everything as often as I do I can’t imagine the amount of time spent at the laundromat.

@lchiu7

But I was in interested in other people did and certainly there is a diversity of views.

This is the quote of the month. LOL. “It won’t change anything but please take your time to give me your input.”

[Kingi]

@KKC

This is the quote of the month. LOL. “It won’t change anything but please take your time to give me your input.”

Not the first thread the OP has had this attitude either…

[adrienne12]

Thank you so much for the tips. What is biz?

[Mexican]

It stands for bio enzyme. It gets hot when you mix it with water. Seems to get many stains out.

[Annet3176]

@KKC

. “It won’t change anything but please take your time to give me your input.”

I like knowing what other people do, to help me decide if there is a better way that will fit my needs. It doesn’t mean I’m ready to make the change. I like when we have a group poll.

[Annet3176]

@lchiu7

I don’t mind spending time in the laundromat - therapeutic

I had a washer/dryer stack unit fail two summers ago. It was a pain to haul 3 sets of sheets & what seemed like 1Million towels etc to the laundry. But I loved using several washers & dryers at the same time & getting the work done in record time. I met a couple of nice people too. So it was a good experience