There is nothing better than sliding into fresh, crisp, white sheets in a lovely hotel room at the end of the day. Have you ever wondered how hotels keep their linens and towels fresh and clean?
Hotels can go through hundreds of sets of sheets and towels a day. These hotels, inns, and bed and breakfast locations use a combination of fast maintenance linen hire and gentle care to ensure the long life and cleanliness of linens.
Many hotel guests might be surprised to discover that hotels actually use normal, store-bought laundry detergent, similar to what is in many households. It is important for hotels to use normal detergent instead of professional-grade detergent because of pH. Normal detergent that can be purchased in grocery stores typically has a neutral pH, while the harsher, more professional-grade detergent is often basic, or has a high pH. This high pH can be very harsh on sheets and towels, breaking down the fibers more quickly than when more neutral detergent is utilized.
One way to keep towels fresh and mildew-free is to hang up the towels after use. Hotels encourage this practice with guests by displaying a card in the bathroom with the instructions to hang up the towels.
When a towel is not hung up to dry after use, mildew can grow on the towels much easier, leading to a musty smell, even after laundering. The simple act of hanging a towel can help avoid mildew smells in the towels.
A very helpful way to keep linens fresh is by not underfilling or overfilling a washing machine. Filling a washing machine too much does not allow for sufficient mechanical action to clean the clothes.
On the other hand, not filling up a washing machine enough allows for too much mechanical action, causing the linens to break down faster. It is appropriate to fill a washing machine to approximately 80 percent of the machine’s capacity.