Totally off-topic, but the misuse of dish soap reminded me. When my kids were young, one evening they said they would do the dishes. I was totally impressed with this demonstration of work ethic, until the kitchen began filling up with suds spewing out of the dishwasher. They had used liquid dish soap instead of dishwasher detergent. The kids were jumping up and down screaming in panic, my spouse was yelling, this mountain of suds was pouring out across the kitchen, and I was just laughing hysterically. It looked like a scene from āI Love Lucy,ā when Lucy and Ethel screw up some task. As a bonus, the floor was really clean after we mopped it all up.
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And anyone traveling can have an illness come on. The last thing I want to do is contact my host for more TP if Iām spending the night on the bathroom floor.
I have dryer sheets that are at least 10 years old. I canāt bear to toss them and thereās still a quarter of a box left.
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I actually had one guest that used the liquid dish soap in the machine instead of the automatic dishwashing detergent. It did the opposite. No suds and didnāt even get the dishes clean. Iām pretty sure the brand was Ajax.
Ours is a whole house rental with a laundry room. We provide powdered detergent and dryer sheets. No liquids, because that gets messy.
We provide Tide Free and Gentle liquid for our washer that requires HE detergent. We use it for the rentalās bedding and towels because we want to make sure that if we have guests who have fragrance sensitivities, they wonāt be bothered by lingering scents. We donāt want other detergents to be used in the washer, thatās why we supply it.
We do not use dryer sheets because of the fragrance and they are not good for dryers, either. I discovered wool dryer balls and have found them to work great. They are available for our guests to use and we ask that they do not use dryer sheets for the reasons mentioned.
We have found that very few use the washer or dryer, but those who do tend to have children.
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I used to because the washer is in the AirBnB flat but after one guest seemed to be washing everything in the flat 3 times a day even though the machine was broken and then caused the septic tank to back up costing about $1000 all up to replace/fix. So now I unplug and drop the plug behind the machine so it is obvious it isnāt there for guest use. If someone asked I would show them how to use it.
I posted here a few weeks ago about a woman who pulled back the drape, took the cover off the window AC, unwrapped the plug from around the unit and plugged it in. I was annoyed that she didnāt just ask because there was an outside cover on as well. Luckily I heard the compressor kick on so I went out and took the exterior cover off. I thought it was āobviousā that the AC wasnāt in service but the opinion here was that obviously I was wrong and I should expect people to use the AC if itās in the window. And I should put a sign on it.
My suggestion to you would be to do more than just unplug it, you should put a sign on it. So they have to move the sign to plug it in and use it anyway. 
I grabbed what I thought was Costcoās dishwasher detergent, didnāt read the label except that it was eco-friendly. The foam coming out of the dishwasher saved me the trouble of stripping the wax off the kitchen floor that was on my chore list!
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Almost everything I provide or do, in our rental, is because of my own experience elsewhere. Look at it as if you are the guest. I used to hate it when I was staying for a few days and had to buy a big bottle of detergent (or ketchup). Goodwill is worth something, even though it canāt be measured. Just think of what you would like to see if you were staying in your place. What would you find to be reasonable and helpful? That has been my āgo toā phrase. If you can afford it and if it is reasonable, then āwhy notā? I do have language in my House Rules prohibiting the overuse or abuse of laundry facilities. Itās never been a problem.
In the review they will say āthere was an annoying sign we had to move to plug in the washing machineā
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The difference is that they will be washing YOUR dishes that you will need to wash if they donāt. You arenāt going to be washing their clothes and giving them to the next guest.
But laundry detergent isnāt MISSING if it is not listed as an amenityā¦
geesh!
I only offer wash to parties staying a week or more and I just let them use whatever I have on hand at the time. I actually save on not having to do turnovers with these guests so donāt bother to charge.
I do supply dishwasher soap (and had one guest, a lovely English gentleman, that didnāt know there was such a thing. Fortunately it wasnāt a huge disaster when he used dish soap in the dishwasher - and we laughed about it.)
Only guests who stay 2-weeks or more are allowed to use the laundry room. I do not supply soap or dryer sheets and do not charge a fee to use the machines.
Ha! Couple of years ago we were staying in a relatively posh ABB and after a pretty boozy Sunday lunch I discovered there were no dishwasher tablets left. Nowhere open on a Sunday (Spain) to buy some so I thought āletās just put a squirt of washing up liquid inā.
Ten minutes later the designer kitchen looked the venue for an impromptu foam party! Fortunately, the only damage was having to spend a fair bit of clear up time. Lesson learned 
As far as providing laundry supplies, we have a seperate laundry room shared between two apartments and provide soap, conditioner and stain remover. Itās listed in our amenities as having a washing machine, but for one or two night guests we simply donāt bother showing them where it is unless asked.
To me it sounds a bit mean to provide a washing machine but not the basic soap etc to use it. We all know that it is nigh on impossible to purchase small packets of washing powder or fabric conditioner, at least not in Spain or the U.K.
If I turned up at an ABB and when shown the washing machine were told that I had to go and buy the soap, itād be 4* for amenities and 4* overall straight away.
JF
ā¦ well most of my guests are long term - meaning a month or moreā¦
Wasnāt specifically replying to you re providing supplies, sorry for any confusion!
JF
This forum is always challenging me to google āwhat ifā ā¦ so WHAT IF my host didnāt supply DW soap or Laundry Detergent:
Note: Both assume there is baking soda on hand.
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I do provide them with it, I think it would be nice for them to have it, and as well I am giving it for three, itās not a big problem for me to buy a detergent
We do provide a starter pack of detergent for our whole house rentals that have their own washer dryer, about 10 loads worth. We also have them start the linens on the day they leave.
That said, when Iām staying somewhere for a week and get an apartment with a washer dryer I donāt consider it a big deal to pick up a small pack of detergent while Iām picking up groceries. Iāll also splurge on soft toilet paper, so Iām not worried about having enough.
One of the reason I like to stay at a place with a kitchen and laundry is I like trying to live like locals. My favorite thing is shopping for staples in a foreign place. I learn a lot about the people there.
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Definitely, as I have a ventless washer/dryer that requires HE detergent.
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