In the past two or three years I have noticed a new behavior. Guests in their twenties (only in their twenties) are sleeping on top of the (wool) blankets or on top if the (Amish) quilts. It seems to be a “thing” with young people. I made up a nice little note for the nightstand but guests don’t read! How do other hosts handle this?
i noted this with Asian and
indian guests. when i know i have this guests i do a hotel style turn down and make it easy to get between the sheets
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… and how does the cost/labour/time/fuss of cleaning the blankets compare to just cleaning the sheets. I ASSUME THAT YOU have to assume that the sheets could have been soiled, so you have tom wash them as well. (I would, out of an abundance of caution.
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What do they have on top of them while they sleep? Are you in a hot climate with no AC… hot nights?
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We make up our beds with a nice feather comforter wrapped in a removable cotton cover. Our default setup was a fitted sheet on the mattress, and a top-sheet to go between the guest and the (covered) comforter.
We started noticing that about half the time (esp with Asian guests, which are our majority) the top sheet ended up rolled in a ball on the floor of the closet. For the past few years we canvass each guest before arrival about “customizing” the bed linens to match their preferences. They think we are super guest-oriented, and w save ourselves some unnecessary laundry: win-win!
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A guest from Czech Republic came and asked me what she was supposed to sleep on top of and under, she said she was confused. I use the same normal set-up as Spark- bottom sheet, top sheet, and duvet with removable, washable cover, or/and blanket, depending on the season. (and you only need a top sheet here about 5 months of the year- it’s too warm for more than that.
I showed her the deal. In Europe, they apparently just use a bottom sheet and a duvet. Once I showed her, she was fine with my bedding arrangement.
I once read a post by a European host who said he hated top sheets- that they were too “constricting”. He obviously assumed that just because the top sheet is tucked in under the mattress when the bed is made, that you aren’t allowed to pull it out so it isn’t constricting.
I also read a post from some American guests who had travelled in Europe in the summer, and said they hated that there were never any top sheets, only a duvet. They found the duvet too hot, so had nothing to cover up with. Then they’d get too cold, pull the duvet over themselves, then wake up sweating again, leading them to have terrible sleeps.
I also know that no top sheet, just a duvet, is the thing with younger North Americans, as the OP experienced. (I think it has more to do with laziness than anything else- there’s really no bed to “make”- you get up,throw the duvet over the bed, done)
In any case, if you get guests from Europe or Asia, it’s probably best to explain to them the top sheet arrangement, if that’s what you use. Folding down the top corner of the top sheet and blanket can also help make it clearer.
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I used to find this as well. I wanted guests to use top sheets to protect the duvet. I do wash the sheets and duvet cover between each and every guest but the duvet cover and top sheet are double protection for the duvet that i cannot wash as it is a feather duvet. I dont tuck in the top sheet or the duvet under the mattress anymore and I fold a big portion of the top sheet over the duvet at the head of the bed. I have found this method to help.
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You can wash feather duvets, I’ve done it many times. Although most domestic washing machines aren’t big enough for a large or thick winter weight duvet.
Just don’t put them in a hot dryer. I air dry mine on a line, shaking them out several times during the process, so the feathers don’t clump. Then you can put them in a not hot dryer at the end, to make sure they are fully dry and to fluff them up.
Guests not reading signs/notes? I could write a book.
Non-American guests being confused by the top sheet under a covered duvet doesn’t surprise me. I had German father and I grew up with the duvet-in-a-cover-only life.
Guests sleeping on top of a blanket/quilt? This I do not understand and I would not put any top cover on a bed that could not be easily washed. Replace nice quilts with something durable.
So I’m wondering how it works in European households with the no top sheet/only a duvet. I mean in people’s own homes, rather than rentals where all bedding should be cleaned between guests.
I use a top sheet and duvet with cover on my own bed. I don’t bother washing the duvet cover more than once a year, (it only gets used for less than half the year anyway- the rest of the year it’s too warm where I live for a duvet) because the duvet cover never touches my body and doesn’t get dirty- I just wash the sheets.
So do Europeans wash their own duvet cover as often as we would wash our own top sheets?
It just seems weird to me, as it takes up twice as much space in the washing machine to wash a duvet cover than to wash a sheet. It’s like washing 2 sheets.
German here.
I grew up using the following “set up”
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mattress
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fitted protective cover
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fitted bed sheet
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white pillow and blanket (filled with either (down) feathers or artificial (anti-allergen) fillings. Both pillows and blankets come in different thicknesses depending on the season.
For pillows and blankets we call that “Bettwäsche” (which can imply the bed sheet). More specifically it is called Bettdeckenbezug (as in cover for the blanket) - see attached image.
This cover is the barrier between the person and the blanket which is washed regularly. Blankets have usually been Twin size, nowadays this changes to Queen/King which makes it harder/impossible to wash the actual blanket at home in the “regular” washing machine.
We only have single beds which can be moved together so we have Twin blankets that still fit into our washer and we wash them regularly but not after every guest. It has been normal practice to just wash the blanket cover (and pillow cover + sheet, mattress protector) for every guest.
This is one of the things that confuses me with the duvets or the blankets in the US that many use (with designs on them) and don’t require a cover, that these would have to be washed for each guest causing lots of strain on the washer due to their size and weight.
The pillow/blanket covers make it easy to change the decor and it is little to wash. Easier to have several sets of covers than several sets of actual blankets which have to be rotated for each booking - unless the dryer has to work overtime to get it dry for b2b bookings. But that’s a management issue.
We don’t use top sheets and never had guests mention it (US guests or from any other continents).
But what is “regularly”? Every time you wash the fitted, bottom sheet?
You are confused about the terms for different bedding used in North America.
What you are calling a “blanket”- something filled with down or feathers, is what we call a duvet. (And Aussies call a “doona”) They are used with covers that get washed.
But as I explained above, in someone’s own home, if a top sheet is used, the duvet cover doesn’t need washing often, because it doesn’t touch your body.
A medium or heavy weight cover, never stuffed with feathers, but with a layer of some cotton or synthetic material inside and a nice fabric on the outside, is called a comforter or a quilt. They are flat, not puffy. They do not have removable covers. Again, if a top sheet is used, it doesn’t need to be washed often in your own home.
A blanket is just one layer of material, cotton, wool, or synthetic.
You still haven’t explained how washing a duvet cover every time you wash your bedding makes sense, when it is double the material of a top sheet.
I honestly don’t understand 80% of your response.
I never thought bedding could be so challenging to talk about.
Remember, I’m German, there is a language barrier and I appreciate your comprehension as I try to do my best to explain what I mean.
Again, let my try to explain - even if it sounds repetitive - forgive me but as I cannot follow all the bedding parts in the US as you describe (despite having lived there for 11 years) I can only speak for what we are using here.
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Mattress (never washed)
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mattress protector (similar to a fitted sheet, intended for high temperature washing, after each guest)
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fitted sheet as the main barrier between person and mattress (washed for each guest
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white pillows (fabric “containers” that hold (down) feathers or artificial filling - in our case usually polyester). To protect these from direct contact with the person, a pillow cover - usually with the same design as the cover for the blanket. Pillow is washed every month or so. Pillow cover is washed for every guest.
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bed blanket - that’s a tough one now. In our case it is a fabric “container” holding a filling, similar to pillows. We do have blankets here that consist of one layer as you described but these are not the classic bed blankets. The bed blankets have more volume to store the heat better while allowing ventilation. Like I said, they could be filled with feathers or polyester etc. - Here, as mentioned before, a cover is used to create the barrier between the person and the blanket itself. Covers are washed for each guest - the blanket itself once a month.
Whatever these individual pieces are specifically called, I don’t know. Just trying my best to give an idea how in Central Europe these things can look like.
I don’t understand your last paragraph about “making sense”. If you refer to my statement about (usually) American bedding consisting of “duvets” which, as far as I can remember can be quite heavy, thick and large - call it what you will (at least they are bigger than twin sized blankets that we have here, I was merely expressing my concern for the strain on the washing machines who have to handle these heavy duvets. That’s all. I consider it easier to mostly wash the covers for each guest instead of the entire (big and heavy) blankets, which also require a longer drying time.
Now, if you’re implying that the duvets are not being washed for every guest because you have another layer between the person and the blanket that’s up to you. Perhaps this is where the “top sheet” comes in. It appears to me that in that case that top sheet is merely placed “loosely” between the fitted sheet and the duvet where the person is supposed to be underneath. But since the top sheet is not “holding” on to the duvet this intended use may be compromised by the guests by removing the top sheet altogether, therefore having direct contact with the duvet.
While our guests surely have the “technical” freedom to remove the blanket cover (usually zipped or buttoned to keep the blanket inside) they never remove it. I’d consider this a more fool-proof way to prevent direct contact of the person and the blanket - compared to a loose top sheet which may get pushed away during the sleep and, again, possibly allowing direct contact with the person.
I hope I could get my point across.
I am not duvet person and did not have those in my rentals or my personal space. Strickly a bottom sheet, a top sheet with a cotton blanket, wool blanket and coverlet in cold conditions.
When traveling in France several years ago there were a couple Airbnb’s that had duvets with no top sheet. It was June and the duvet was too much. My sister-in-law does duvets, maybe because they lived in Germany for years and when I stayed at her house, I just couldn’t do the duvet, took it off for a sheet. I want to be able to pull something up or down depending on the temperature.
Exactly, if it is too hot for someone, they can remove the blanket from the cover and basically have a (double layered) top sheet. So you’re still covered with a very light layer.
That is obvious.
And you didn’t have to re-explain what you wrote, it was perfectly clear the first time around.
I was just trying to explain to you the various bedding terms as they are used in North America.
And I explained that what you are calling a blanket is what we call a duvet- a sack of fabric with channels sewn in it which contain loose down, feathers, or some equivalently synthetic fill. It has a removable, washable cover. Exactly like your photo.
So no, a duvet is not “heavy” or thick, it is fluffy, light, but warm- it is exactly the same thing as what you are calling a “bed blanket”.
When you talk about something that is heavy and thick, often made of decorative outside material, that doesn’t have a removable cover, we call that a comforter or a quilt- not a duvet, not a blanket.
No, that is not what I am implying. All bedding should be cleaned between guests.
What doesn’t make sense to me is in your own home, on your own bed, a topsheet eliminates the need to wash the cover of what you call a “bed blanket”. Which takes up twice as much space in the washer as a top sheet
I give up. We have this layer between the person and the blanket but it seems that I cannot explain it to you.
Yes, I understand that you have a layer between the “blanket” and the person- the “blanket” cover. You’ve explained it clearly.
But the cover is like 2 sheets sewn together, so takes up twice the washing machine space as a top sheet.
I don’t know what is so hard to understand about that.
Well in my experience having a top sheet does not eliminate the need for washing the duvet cover. It theoretically should, and once upon a time, did for me in my own bed when sleeping alone. But factoring in children, pets, partners etc, even in my own ‘controlled’ space, the duvet cover ends up needing washing just as often. For us, using a top sheet is about comfort in sleeping rather than minimising washing.
In our holiday cottages on the other hand, the quantity of washing and pressing is way more significant and as such, our guests just get bottom sheets with a duvet in a cover, everything washed on every changeover. That’s pretty normal and standard practice in the UK. When we go on holiday we just take our own top sheets with us.
When you say:
Does that include the duvet inside the cover that is washed for each guest as well?