This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
It appears hand washing is a lost art. WTF? I’ve soak in Shout overnight, bleached, used bluing, Oxyclean, Borax you name it but they are still dingy where people wipe their nasty dirty hands.
Do they not see they aren’t getting their hands clean when the towel looks like they’ve wiped down the car with it?
At first I was embarrassed when I would go in to do laundry and felt like I failed but then I came to my senses and realized it’s them not me.’ Again, WTF?
Before you ask, I used to have colored towels but people kept ruining those with Proactive so I had to switch to white.
Two products I’ve used with good results are Genesis 950 (an all purpose cleaner that is concentrated. At full strength it’s pretty potent. The other is Out’s White Brite.
Use Bleach Safe towels. They cost 2x as much but now I don’t worry about what people do to the hand towels and wash cloths. My bath towels are still white. For those, I use Biz to treat most stains. I’ll use ammonia on heavy protein stains. I add a cup of vinegar to every load and thats what really seems to get them white. Bleach doesn’t work and oxyclean doesn’t work as good as Biz. Shout definitely doesn’t work.
@Bunny, I started doing something that seems to work well to prevent my white hand towels from getting dingy. Although we have white bath towels, hand towels, and washcloths, I hang beige bath towels from my towel rings in each bathroom. In addition, I provide white hand towels easily accessible for those who prefer not to use a “community” towel.
The white hand towels rarely get used and the beige towels do not show the dirt left by those who don’t quite get their hands clean.
I supply make-up remover wipes, with a sweet little note to use them. My new towels are from Costco
(apparently hotel grade) and white so far so good. I use rubbing alcohol as a first line of defense, it removes everything from grease to permanent marker, also one has to give your cleaning products a chance to work, extreme stains need to soak.
A few years ago I installed a classy paper towel dispenser in the bathroom, I had a construction worker staying…best move I ever made. If you have a stain you are concerned about DON"T put it in the dryer, it will never come out, heat sets the stain.
You haven’t heard of the new environmentally-friendly hand-washing technique that could save the planet? Here’s how it works: You wipe as much dirt and grease as possible from your hands on a clean dry towel before you wash. This saves both water and soap. You get maximum satisfaction when using pure white towels because it’s easier to see how much dirt and grease you’ve removed and how much soap and water you’ve saved.
It turns out this technique is nearly instinctual in young males as many seem to figure it out by themselves around the age of 5 and continue to practice it the rest of their lives.
So funny! I would add that another water-saving technique is to use the bathroom hand towel to wipe off smears of toothpaste from your mouth rather than…y’know… waste all that water washing it off.
Bunny, I just about lost my mind over poor hygiene issues and sought help on this issue early on with the forum. I solved the problem by providing make-up wipes and special black makeup wash cloths that say “makeup” on them. You can find them on Amazon and they are affordable. Unfortunately, not everyone is capable of reading and occasionally I have a guest wipe all their makeup off on my nice, white fluffy towels. I just suck it up as part of doing business and move on. Only so much you can do to prepare for people who should be required to have a license to leave their homes.
Thanks for all the replies but the problem isn’t make-up it is people’s filthy dirty paws and their inability to wash properly. The stain on the hand towels is right on the bottom third where people typically wipe their hands and it’s a dingy brown uniform across the towel.
@Bunny I gave up this fight a while back. I buy washcloths and handtowels from Dollar General in 6 or 12 packs, assorted colors. They’re very inexpensive and when they can no longer be put out for guests they become cleaning rags or donated to the local women’s shelter. Edit:. I still have top quality bath towels in the bathroom and outdoor shower. The inexpensive washcloths and handtowels give a nice contrast.
I recommend you to use microfiber towel. They are soft , cheaper, absorbs more water and are easy to wash. So it will not be difficult for you to replace it every day. You might use a darker colored towel if you are afraid that it will be stained. I also suggest you to use a color-safe bleach containing hydrogen peroxide to bleach colored towels without damaging them.
so far so good. I use rubbing alcohol as a first line of defense, it removes everything from grease to permanent marker, also one has to give your cleaning products a chance to work, extreme stains need to soak.
So funny! I would add that another water-saving technique is to use the bathroom hand towel to wipe off smears of toothpaste from your mouth rather than…y’know… waste all that water washing it off.