Many hotels opt for white linen for its crisp, classic and clean appearance. Yet stains from cosmetics, beverages, room service meals, bodily fluids like saliva, blood and sweat, and even shoe polish are very visible against white linen.
Thankfully, housekeeping can take steps to ensure effective stain removal and hotel laundries can follow recommendations to keep stains and in-wash issues from ruining linen. Together, these best practices will prolong the life of linen, reduce rewash rates and support guest satisfaction, sustainability and the bottom line.
The Importance of Washing Linen Correctly
Handling and washing linen correctly the first time prevents additional marks, removes the maximum number of stains and prevents rewash, thereby lengthening linen life. If processes aren't managed properly, rewash will result in higher operational costs because additional wash cycles require more water, chemical, energy and labor.
Proper laundering also reduces the risk that a stained piece of washed linen slips through the quality checks and ends up in a room, which can negatively impact a hotel's image and guest satisfaction.
Preventing Stains
Laundries can prevent certain stains from ever occurring, including:
Removing Stains
To prevent the wash process from setting stains or creating new ones, laundry managers should keep water treatment and product selection and usage in mind.
Although many laundries are aware of the negative influence of water hardness on the removal of fatty and oily stains, an often underestimated factor in proper stain removal is the presence of heavy metals in the incoming fresh water. Iron and copper have an especially strong negative influence on stain removal so proper water treatment is key.
Laundries should carefully select detergents that have been tested on a wide variety of stains and linen types. For instance, a detergent should be able to remove complex metals found in water without interacting with bleach to remove stains and reduce accelerated loss of tensile strength.
Cleanliness = Comfort
The quality of hotel linen can make or break a guest's stay. On-premises laundries must train staff in misuse of linen and proper stain removal to keep linen looking its best and to prolong lifespan. Following these best practices and recommended wash processes will ensure customer satisfaction and help reduce overall costs.
For more information about stain removal, visit our Clax Magic page.