Question
I work in the laundry at a hotel. I am getting yellow stains left in my towels and sheets and I believe it is from a sunscreen. Can you give me any suggestions on how to remove these yellow stains?
Answer
Thanks for reaching out with your question about hotel sheets and towels. I wish I knew what type of clothes washers the hotel uses and how hot the water is. Front loading commercial washers that hold a large volume of laundry would make sense. Ideally the water temperature would be very hot, but given the desire for hotels to cut costs, they may be using only warm temperatures. Also, since many hotels now ask guests staying multiple nights to help save water by voluntarily forgoing daily washing of sheets and towels, that means the items are a little more dirty when they are washed. So there are many factors at play here, and without specifics on the laundry practices and products used by the hotel, it’s difficult to offer a remedy beyond the following:
- use the hottest water possible
- pretreat stains before washing
- use the correct amount of laundry detergent
- don’t overload the washer
- and (because I like believing the sheets I sleep on in a hotel are sanitary…) of course be sure to use Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach as directed!