Question
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 checked out the websites for DadePaper and P&G Proline to see if I could get a little more information on the situation. I’m guessing institutional ProLine laundry products are what the Holiday Inn is using (or what you would like them to use given your job!). I also wish I knew what mechanical and thermal processes the hotel uses. 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 hot or 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® Regular Bleach2 as directed!
Please let me know if you have other questions, and I hope I will be able to help.
–Dr. Laundry