There’s nothing more frustrating than going to strip a room and encountering sheets and towels covered in stains. From makeup to bleaching acne creams, you’ve probably seen it all and discovered that, sadly, following the manufacturer’s washing instructions just won’t get some stains out.
Stains like these require a little more elbow grease, but that doesn’t mean you should get out the bleach and risk damaging your linens in the process. Here’s a simple two stage process that can be applied to both your bath and bed linen to remove the troublesome greasy stains that stem from sweat, creams and makeup.
When you’re a busy B&B owner or innkeeper, it can be tempting to hurriedly crank up the washing machine and move onto other pressing business. However, the preparation stage of a wash is actually the most important!
Don’t be tempted to hit your linens with a hot wash right away! It can actually cause some stains (especially protein based stains) to set. Instead, set a cold water cycle (and rinse) and add plenty of detergent for your first wash. Also, make sure that your load isn’t too bulky, as this allows the fabric to move freely so that soil particles can be broken up, and the maximum amount of staining can be removed.
Just remember not to overload the machine and keep this cycle going for at least five minutes for it to be effective.
Once the first stage is complete, it’s time to raise the temperature a little.
Following a cool wash with one that uses the highest temperature suitable for the fabric type of your chosen linens will start to remove all of those grease and oil particles. But, it isn’t all about the water temperature – you should also use a good amount of high quality, sufficiently alkaline detergent like Tide Boost with Oxi (or other brands with Oxi action). Off the shelf detergents are surprisingly efficient, containing sufficient alkalinity and other complimentary components to remove common oily stains.
This detergent holds onto the grease and oils to be removed and not using enough means this excess dirt gets re-deposited across the whole of the fabric. This is especially true when the fabric contains polyester, as it attracts oil, giving the material an unattractive grey color.
In an industry where your relationship with guests is everything, leaving warning signs in guestrooms or giving verbal warnings about using certain cloths for makeup removal is only going to leave a bad first impression. There’s always going to be someone who falls asleep without removing their makeup or needs to use acne medications. Fine-tuning your washing process is the ideal way to keep your whites white and keep your guests happy with your service.
