Hub Cloud You can tell a lot about a hotel by its towels, and the right or wrong towels can easily mean the difference between somewhere that you want to visit again and leave a glowing review for, and one that becomes a horror story to tell all your friends.
A good hotel will have sparkling white sheets and towels that look and feel great, and here we will take a look at exactly how they achieve this, and how you can do the same for your towels at home and in your own business.
How do hotels keep their towels and sheets so white?
There are lots of tips of the trade that promise incredibly white sheets and towels, and many of them do work. There can be downsides to each method, however, with some leading to greater wear on the material and others tending to be time-consuming or impractical in certain situations.
If you can, using a company like Thai Hotel Towel is by far the best option, providing you with spotless towels that are perfectly laundered every time. For your home towels and bedding, you can try and give a few of these tricks a try:
Bleach
One of the first things that springs to mind when talking about getting the whitest sheets and bedding is to use bleach. There is no doubt that this can be hugely effective, particularly if there are stains to remove, but it can come at a price.
If you use harsher chemicals this can cause lots of issues including marking other laundry if not used correctly, harming your skin and damaging your sheets and towels. A larger company will tend to swap out their bedding more often and have plenty of replacements, but at home, you may only have a couple of sets that you wash regularly. These will last a lot longer if you avoid using bleach.
Hot temperatures
Some people recommend washing and even drying at hotter temperatures to achieve bright white sheets and towels, and this can help to ensure your sheets are properly clean and that stains have been removed.
Unless you have heavy stains you may actually be better off using a lower heat or even a cold wash to give your sheets more longevity. Drying your sheets and towels outside can be the best way to avoid damage but also to get that extra brightness and pleasant aroma by hanging them in the sun.
Natural whiteners
Instead of opting for harsh chemical cleaners, you can actually get some impressive results using more traditional methods. There are many tried and tested ways to remove certain stains, revive tired-looking towels and brighten your whites, and many of these are natural.
Instead of using lots of industrial chemicals in your wash, a few teaspoons of baking soda can make a huge difference in the whiteness of your sheets. Similarly, using white vinegar at the right stage can leave your towels not only whiter but also feeling fresher as vinegar can also strip off some of the residue that builds from fabric softener and detergent.
Do make sure that whichever method you try, you do your research before you give it a go. If you decide to try a natural whitener for example, you can’t use both baking soda and vinegar at the same stage of the wash cycle or you will cause a negative reaction.
If you have your own hotel and are dealing with so much laundry on a larger scale, opting to use a service to take care of it for you can be the best choice, not only saving you time and hassle but also guaranteeing fresh, clean and brilliantly white sheets and towels every time.
Do hotels wash towels and sheets after every use?
Hotels should of course wash all of the towels and sheets in each room between each guest, but they don’t have to wash them after each use. If you are staying at a hotel for a few days you can say that you are happy to keep the same bedding or towels for the duration, or only want them changed once, or you can have them changed daily, it is usually up to you.
It can be expensive for hotels to have to wash and replace all of your linens after every use, not to mention bad for the environment, and many hotels today may try to encourage you to reuse them at least once with a sign or message to that effect. At home not many of us would change our bedding daily or wash our towels after every shower, so why do it at a hotel?
What type of towels do most hotels use?
Most hotels will offer you a full range of towels from washcloths and hand towels to bath sheets big enough to fully wrap around you and leave you feeling cosy and comfortable. They tend to be made of cotton over other materials, as cotton offers a high level of absorbency and softness that artificial fabrics do not.
That luxurious thickness and fluffiness that you associate with hotel towels tends to be from Turkish or Egyptian cotton with high thread counts, giving more surface area to get you dry while feeling soft and warm. As long as these towels are washed correctly, they will stay feeling and looking fantastic time and time again.
Final thoughts
Having hotel-standard sheets and towels in your home or business can seem a little daunting, but whether you opt to use a company to give you perfect results or take the time to find the right method to keep your sheets and towels spotless at home, make sure that you do your research and know what you are doing before you jump right in.
Sometimes over-washing or using the wrong chemicals or temperature can be more damaging than just using a regular cycle and drying out on the washing line, and often natural whiteners like baking powder and vinegar can have the best outcome – as long as you don’t use them together at the same time.
