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I received the following note in the private feedback from my latest guests:
“We wished there was a full length mirror in the apartment and wish that the fee for stained towels was disclosed prior to our arrival… my sisters and I would have brought our own wash cloths had we know that you charged a fee (no matter how many makeup wipes we use we always have makeup stains on our washcloths).”
So…why don’t you bring your own washcloths ALL the time if you know you’ll leave stains?
FWIW, they gave me five stars across the board in their review. I’m not upset, just perplexed that these girls think it’s OK to ruin linens as long as they’re not going to be charged for them…???
Thank goodness they didn’t ding you in stars for their stupidity. They were trying to get you to think through the logic of your position lol. If you get make up off with a wipe flannels are normally fine. Are they putting it on with a trowel? Also are they safe with linens? A friend just started doing Airbnb, she was a bit shocked with fake tan on the towels.
You’ll probably find that most hosts consider this the cost of doing business. It is possible to remove most make up stains from even white washcloths. There are many posts on this forum with excellent stain removal techniques.
Yeah, I’m not too worried about getting stains out of anything – all my linens are white. And I provide black washcloths for makeup removal. Like I said, I just found her logic (or lack thereof) kinda strange. I don’t know why anyone who knows that they leave a trail of stained washcloths in their path would only bring their own washcloths if they knew they were going to be charged for ruining someone else’s property. Other than that comment, they were fantastic guests and really enjoyed their stay.
Do you buy high end towels? I have had a lot of towels and such go bad. usually from acne medicine. I just consider it the cost of doing business. They are only a few dollars to replace.
For the last 2 years I never had problems with makeup stains but lately it’s nearly every visit. I use white washcloths and pre-treat stains and then wash with bleach so USUALLY they come out but what’s up with makeup these days?
Have you had any walk away? I am replacing washcloths far more often than I’d care to because they go missing. I don’t know if people like them, stain them and feel guilty, or what.
Would it matter if they were stained because they used them for “not their intended use?” Like makeup, blood, effluvium… vs they cleaned bugs off the front of their car with it?
Honestly that would annoy me but I think that is under intended use. Linens provided for wiping humans. But if they washed their car or used it as a dog bed or burned a bath towel on the outside grill…I might consider charging. Now if I can get it clean even if it takes multiple washes I wouldn’t charge.
Then wouldn’t makeup fall under intended use too? I don’t charge for ruined towels/washcloths, but I do sometimes mention it in the review. I certainly wouldn’t go to a friend’s house and leave a washcloth with stains all over it without trying to wash them out or offer to replace it, so I wouldn’t expect guests to do it either.
Given that I’ve never had a ruined towel you have a point. Even my guest whose dog had a diarrhea episode used paper towels to clean up not any of my cloth ones.
Sadly in the UK they are seen as old fashioned. Younger people use the disposable wipes often even at home. I think washcloths/flannels are great, effective and eco.
