Washing duvet covers between every guest?

Truly–now where did I put my electric kettle??

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And you do have a teapot, right?

:slight_smile:

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I have an adorable electric tea kettle, @jaquo! I bought it primarily because of all the discussion here. I always knew the electric kettle was a big thing for some (married to a Brit for a time), but I didn’t realize my old, dependable Chantal whistling kettle (great whistle) would be viewed as inferior. So, thanks to everyone here, I bought an electric Bella look-alike teapot. I’m actually surprised that it gets used quite regularity!

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I think @jaquo is asking about a teapot, not a tea kettle.

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Correct. What is a tea kettle anyway ?

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Here is a link to pictures of tea kettles. They are metal pots with lids and spouts in which you heat water. The heat comes from the burner (hob). Whistling tea kettles whistle when the water is boiling.

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Couldn’t open that page maybe you were signed in to your personal account? A tea kettle sounds like a stove top kettle rather than an electric one. Don’t you make coffee with them too? Do you just use it to boil water?

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Here’s another link. Yes, they are stove top kettles. Yes, we make coffee, tea or whatever we want with the boiling water.

https://www.williams-sonoma.com/shop/cookware/teakettles/

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This is what I purchased for the carriage house…

Bella Electric Ceramic Tea Kettle

This is what I had and now keep in my house…

Chantal Classic Harmonica Teakettle

If you scroll down on the Williams-Sonoma link @EllenN provided, you’ll see the electric ones are still referred to as kettles. Go figure…

What of the French press?

Hi Halifaxy,
I do the same and have included on the Welcome Sheet that the wool, velvet and patterned pillow shams + duvet cover are ‘decorative’, not to be slept on directly. I provide clean, high quality sheets and pillowcases, also fresh towels etc. every 3rd night of their stay unless otherwise requested.
I stayed at a gorgeous bed and breakfast in Bend, OR and the Welcome Sheet used similar verbiage.
My Anthropolgie duvet set is expensive and custom dyed, not meant for washing regularly. I do spray the duvet and sham pillows down with 3 parts water to 1 part white distilled vinegar and wipe them over. I think it is even more sanitary than washing with cold water and hanging to dry in dusty conditions like Northern New Mexico.
I only host occasionally and offer 1 bedroom + private bath in my home, if I hosted on a daily basis, I might look into something less beautiful-expensive, more washer-dryer hardy, even bleach-able.
I also barely tuck the top sheet in and leave 2’ of fold-over at the top - which is how I sleep to avoid aging the lovely duvet.
In hotels, they rarely wash duvet covers or bedspreads.
Guest mention how fresh the bedding smells almost every visit, it’s the vinegar and water!
Now to figure out how to get them to not put their suitcases and backpacks on the bed- but that is another subject ; )
Cheers!

I understand your position and I also understand that it seems as though everyone has their own beliefs about Duvet Covers.
Personally, if I rented your Country Cottage, and checked in, only to find out that the bed Duvet was “decorative” I would request a freshly laundered cover, and would be willing to change it myself without judgment or anger.
If you were not able to provide me a clean Duvet Cover, which I consider to be the minimum necessary standards of a clean and fresh bed, then I would likely contact ABB and leave based upon unsanitary conditions.
I know this sounds very harsh, but I do require laundered bedding in any hotel ( or bed ) that I sleep in.
I am not trying to knock you down…just stating another viewpoint and how I would behave as a guest if provided a a previously used cover.
My focus is cleanliness, not expensive Anthropologie decor. It is the reason that many guests prefer white, and why most hotels utilize white.

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As a non-American I’m not sure what this is!

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A Pillow Sham is a fancy pillow case cover, that has stitched edging, and in this particular situation it has a pretty pattern to match the pattern of the Duvet Cover and came as a 3 - piece set.
I throw mine away and simply use pillow cases.
I would hope that anyone who uses pillow shams removes them and washes them in between each group.

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I worked in the accommodation industry for 10 years across various classes of hotels, motels and resorts and not one of the 15 odd places I worked changed the bedspread after each guest! The higher end places did top sheet and washed every 2-3 weeks (though hardly enforced), and the motels changed their manky covers only when for obvious stains or smell! Never heard of anybody claiming they ended up with a skin infection,disease or the like, hence why it is not at all common practise across the industry.
If people are happy to do it, by all means do it. It is a very nice gesture.

I wash my light summer covers after each guest because it’s basically just a nice sheet, but my protectors, couch scatter cushion covers, throws etc and the winter duvets, every 7th night, or as needed between guests.

Hi Happyfrog,

Thank you for your considerate reply from the hotel industry and as an Airbnb host. It does seem like a ‘luxury-designer decor’ vs ‘daily wash-n-dry decor’ bedding issue.

I once experienced the level of clean georgygirlofairbnb expects at Theoxenia Hotel on the Isle of Santorini, as all of the bedding was white and I could smell mild bleach on each item, though I just checked and they now feature white with blue embroidery… as Santorini is known for white and blue to match the cliffs and sea, it all comes together nicely.

Hosts like having their home look a certain way, often specific to their location, and occasionally sharing it with other world-travelers. Many do it out of generosity and participation in the Airbnb community rather than for profit.

I’m considering an offering in Italy owned by a designer with a gorgeous sienna (silk, I’m guessing) bed set which I’m certain is not dry cleaned daily or weekly. It has teal painted hangers to offset the sienna and match the artwork, 'love it! I look for and book places with rich, colorful details and 'am mindful of what is required to keep beautiful things looking that way.
I stayed with a couple in Scotland who told me a funny story about a guest who wanted everything to be white and bleached when they were offering Scottish wool blankets with plaid-quilted bedspreads. They gave him the phone number of the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh (at around 8 x’s the cost). A bit of Scottish humor at play. Even though the place was a little cluttered by my American standards, I greatly enjoyed their company, seaside home, walking their dog on the beach and wonderful Scottish shortbread.

If a guest has specific standards outside of or on the border of hotel or bnb norms, they can always make an inquiry of the host before booking to see if their offering conforms to them. Reading through the blog, it looks like possibly 40% wash all linens each time, though they don’t mention if they are all white and washer-dryer hardy or more detailed and design oriented. Luckily for those guests, most bedrooms are photographed and they can look for wash-n-dry whites.

Since I host p/t out of generosity and community and not for profit (as itemizing deductions is the only way I can imagine to host and profit after 30-40% income or hotel tax, cleaning crew, shopping time, purchase of food and toiletries, etc. and I already run another business) - I encourage other p/t hosts to join in requesting a travel points option over payout to be used for upcoming bookings or possibly with Airbnb partners like airlines or car hires. For profit hosts might enjoy it as well.

Thanks again Happyfrog, your place sounds both reasonable and nice, which indicates a good Airbnb host : )

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Can I ask about the vinegar and water? It doesn’t make your stuff smell like a salad? I use it sometimes as a cleanser. Maybe I have the vinegar ratio too high.

I really like the idea of the idea of accuring points towards an airbnb stay, it would be a great host incentive / reward. I’ve thought about it often as well! I like holidays, and to slowly be able to chip away at it all year would be amazing. Usually my airbnb money goes straight on my bills. :sob:

Like, for this stay of X nights totalling X dollars I would like to bank $15 of it to my host travel account please, and I would like it in the high interest option where I can’t touch it until X date! Like I said, amazing!

Better wash it every time for bed sets. However , no idea if Airbnb had a regulation or policy for it

Give them time @laurenclaire they are trying to regulate every other aspect of what we do :frowning: :slight_smile: