Vacation rental owners - how often wash blankets?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dearest gentle reader,

Have no fear; the cleaners said they’ll replace duvet covers.

So I’m buying two sets of sheets, two sets of duvet covers, and one set of duvets.

Bed bug cases for mattresses, pillows, and duvets. Plus mattress pads that can be washed as needed. I’ll get an extra of each size to have on hand.

Two sets of towels.

The cleaner will drop off/pick up all of the linens to be laundered, saving lots of time on turnover day.

-OP

Gross wash the duvet too.

It will have a bed bug cover so I don't think it's necessary.

Plus, that'd be a huge time sink to wash 8 large duvets every single week in addition to all of the sheets, duvet covers, towels, etc. There is a duvet cover on it; you'll be fine.

So, are you washing the bed bug cover? Nasty. No, I wouldn't be fine as I have serious health issues and catch a cold by looking at someone 30 feet away. They are paying for a clean home and a cleaning fee to clean up after them. Not their problem that its a time sink... that's what you are being paid to do. You don't need a bed bug cover on the duvet. Just on the mattress. Then you need to wash it all after each use. Do you not wash all your bedding at home regularly? We strip the beds and wash everything from the mattress pads to the comforters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dearest gentle reader,

Have no fear; the cleaners said they’ll replace duvet covers.

So I’m buying two sets of sheets, two sets of duvet covers, and one set of duvets.

Bed bug cases for mattresses, pillows, and duvets. Plus mattress pads that can be washed as needed. I’ll get an extra of each size to have on hand.

Two sets of towels.

The cleaner will drop off/pick up all of the linens to be laundered, saving lots of time on turnover day.

-OP

Gross wash the duvet too.

It will have a bed bug cover so I don't think it's necessary.

Plus, that'd be a huge time sink to wash 8 large duvets every single week in addition to all of the sheets, duvet covers, towels, etc. There is a duvet cover on it; you'll be fine.

So, are you washing the bed bug cover? Nasty. No, I wouldn't be fine as I have serious health issues and catch a cold by looking at someone 30 feet away. They are paying for a clean home and a cleaning fee to clean up after them. Not their problem that it’s a time sink... that's what you are being paid to do. You don't need a bed bug cover on the duvet. Just on the mattress. Then you need to wash it all after each use. Do you not wash all your bedding at home regularly? We strip the beds and wash everything from the mattress pads to the comforters.

Of course. This is a different situation than home.

I’m asking people with experiences as vacation rental owners. Not what you do at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think anyone who replied owns a vacation rental. I own four in different regions and I have not found a cleaner who washes quilts and duvet covers after each guest. The triple sheet is a good idea, but I'm sure renters would complain.

+1

These posts are all aspirational. What they think should be done. What they want the places they rent to do. What they think they would do.

The reality is, washing quilts/bedspreads/comforters, whatever is on the bed above the sheet, is rarely happening basically anywhere you're renting - hotels, airbnbs, anything. It's not happening. My strong guess is, seasonally or if there's something gross on it.

Additionally, people who post on threads like that are people who think a lot about cleanliness, and thus have opinions on it, and think it's important. That's, like, 10% of people. Most people truly don't care that much. I remember a recent thread about towel washing, and an insane number of people said daily or every 2-3 days. That is NOT normal, folks.

+1

Seems like they’re unfamiliar with the quick turnaround on rentals.

[Anonymous]

We have a beach condo that we've rented out for decades through many different rental agencies that take care of the cleaning between renters. All agencies require a thorough cleaning before the summer season. If you're renting in May or June, you're going to get clean blankets and throw pillows, a well-stocked kitchen, clean windows, and new bed pillows.

If you're renting in August, those blankets and bed spreads are going to be nasty. They never get washed between renters. The cleaners don't have time and they don't care. We can't supervise the cleaners each week so everything just gets worse and worse as the season goes on. Items get taken from the kitchen, blankets soiled and put back in the closet, and kid fingerprints all over the windows.

We don't rent in the fall or winter so that gives us time to thoroughly clean everything before the next season but when a unit is rented year-round I imagine it is a constant struggle to keep up.

When we travel, I assume that sheets are clean and bedspreads/blankets are not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a beach condo that we've rented out for decades through many different rental agencies that take care of the cleaning between renters. All agencies require a thorough cleaning before the summer season. If you're renting in May or June, you're going to get clean blankets and throw pillows, a well-stocked kitchen, clean windows, and new bed pillows.

If you're renting in August, those blankets and bed spreads are going to be nasty. They never get washed between renters. The cleaners don't have time and they don't care. We can't supervise the cleaners each week so everything just gets worse and worse as the season goes on. Items get taken from the kitchen, blankets soiled and put back in the closet, and kid fingerprints all over the windows.

We don't rent in the fall or winter so that gives us time to thoroughly clean everything before the next season but when a unit is rented year-round I imagine it is a constant struggle to keep up.

When we travel, I assume that sheets are clean and bedspreads/blankets are not.

You could also pay extra to your cleaners right before you arrive to have them clean the blankets and duvets. I did this with our old airbnb years ago. I also asked to wash couch throw pillow cases, because I don't want to smell other people's dirty hair residue on them. We had a couch where the slipcovers could be taken off and we washed them 1/2x a year, but couch throw pillows were easy to wash any time. Although obviously we deal with dirty duvets when we stay at hotels, I had different feelings towards my own place.

[Anonymous]

I assume when there’s a comforter, that it is unwashed and therefore gross.

I vastly prefer hotels, this being one reason.

I would be pleased to see an Airbnb with triple sheeted beds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I assume when there’s a comforter, that it is unwashed and therefore gross.

I vastly prefer hotels, this being one reason.

I would be pleased to see an Airbnb with triple sheeted beds.

How about freshly washed duvet cover?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yuck. Please get a duvet cover and tell them to wash it every time!

This. It's not hard.

Putting duvet covers on takes time. Our rental house in OBX has 9 beds (5 kings and 4 bunk bed singles). In season, the whole house gets turned around before a single load could be washed, dried and replaced, but it would take multiple loads to do the duvets. So it is hard.
I agree it's gross and I hadn't considered this for all the years we rented before we bought. Now when we use our rental, I strip the beds and wash the quilts myself before we go to bed the first night.

[Anonymous]

How is this even a question????

[Anonymous]

In most of the homes we rent at the beach, it is obvious the comforters/blankets are not washed regularly, so I always bring my own. Always.