We have recently had a couple come to stay with their 8yo boy in our two bedroom property. After they departed, our regular house-keeper stripped the beds and loaded a mix of the linen & towels into each of the two dyson washers that we use. When she came to iron them, she found that eight items of linen had been scribbled on with what looked like a black ball-point pen. The ink hadn't come out in the wash, but had just gone grey and bled into the surrounding fibers a bit. All the items were from the single beds in the twin-bed room.
We think that it was done by the boy, but the parents are denying it categorically and saying it must have happened in the washing machine. We have explained that the load was split between two and that only other bed-linen and towels had been washed previously, but they still say there must be another explanation as their family do not do vandalism!
The replacement cost of the 400tc linen is about £135. Has anyone got any advice on a) How to get the guests to accept responsibility and/or b) get the ink out of the linen?
NB We don't take a deposit, but think the issue would still have to be dealt with, even if we did!
Ink stains on 400tc linen
Oh dear - I feel your pain (and frustration).
I've managed to get ink out of bedding by using a special 'ink stain remover' from the supermarket (in the UK). My mum has always sworn by milk. But I don't know if it will be so simple now they've been washed.
On dealing with guests; I have had to claim for bedding quite a few times over the years and because I always know the bedding was clean on with no stains I also know that any stains, when it's come off the bed, are down to guests. I have simply deducted a cost from the damage deposit with an explanation of why. To be honest it has rarely covered the full cost of replacement as I also have postage etc to pay for.
Best of luck
Mouse
x
I've managed to get ink out of bedding by using a special 'ink stain remover' from the supermarket (in the UK). My mum has always sworn by milk. But I don't know if it will be so simple now they've been washed.
On dealing with guests; I have had to claim for bedding quite a few times over the years and because I always know the bedding was clean on with no stains I also know that any stains, when it's come off the bed, are down to guests. I have simply deducted a cost from the damage deposit with an explanation of why. To be honest it has rarely covered the full cost of replacement as I also have postage etc to pay for.
Best of luck
Mouse
x
One martini, two martini, three martini floor!
It's a pain, I know, but I always try to check over everything before it goes in the machine - it's much harder to deal with stains if they've been "set" in the wash.
It's also another reason why I don't ask guests to strip the beds when they leave. It takes me a lot longer on changeover day but with the linen etc still on the bed it's easy to see if there's anything that needs to be treated before washing. Once it's in a heap on the floor it's 10 times harder & with 3-4 gites to change in a day once it's all in the laundry it's well nigh impossible to check properly.
Elena
Dordogne Holiday Cottages
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It's also another reason why I don't ask guests to strip the beds when they leave. It takes me a lot longer on changeover day but with the linen etc still on the bed it's easy to see if there's anything that needs to be treated before washing. Once it's in a heap on the floor it's 10 times harder & with 3-4 gites to change in a day once it's all in the laundry it's well nigh impossible to check properly.
Elena
Dordogne Holiday Cottages
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Stain Devils Ball Point Ink & Felt Tip remover is worth a try, but as the others have said, all stain removal is far more successful prior to washing. I have used this with success though.
Last edited by Nemo on Tue Nov 15, 2011 6:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Stain removal
As a chef I often have ball point pen ink stains on my whites. I have found that making a past with Vanish and a little water left on the ink over night usually takes it out. If not a couple of washes with the Vanish dose the trick. Best of luck.
I always deduct a charge for damage like this as it is extra work and cost.
I always deduct a charge for damage like this as it is extra work and cost.
You will never fail till you have stopped trying.
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santamaria
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Similar problem my helper did not notice the stains when she stripped the bed, so i only noticed them after while hanging the laundry after being washed. So I soaked in liquid hydrogen peroxide overnight and washed with very hot water and extra detergent and it came out. This has also worked for red wine stains.
aasta
A big thank you
Our grateful thanks to members for all your posts with helpful hints. We will certainly experiment with your suggestions. And we do have eight pieces of linen to experiment on!
Oh! Reading your posts, it reminded me that these guests DID strip their beds on departure, even though our property guide asks them not to. Usually, if people do ignore this and strip the beds, they fold everything neatly and stack it on the bed. This family stripped the beds and left everything in a tangled mound. Was this an attempt to cover up?
Oh! Reading your posts, it reminded me that these guests DID strip their beds on departure, even though our property guide asks them not to. Usually, if people do ignore this and strip the beds, they fold everything neatly and stack it on the bed. This family stripped the beds and left everything in a tangled mound. Was this an attempt to cover up?
Is the linen white or coloured?
I got a very fixed blood stain out of a white cotton pillow by using HG Mould spray on it - its got a very high bleaching content... would bleach colour out so not suitable for anything coloured but if you can't get the marks out any other way and you'd be chucking out, it might be worth a try...but only on white linen...
I got a very fixed blood stain out of a white cotton pillow by using HG Mould spray on it - its got a very high bleaching content... would bleach colour out so not suitable for anything coloured but if you can't get the marks out any other way and you'd be chucking out, it might be worth a try...but only on white linen...
Nightowl
Forever going one step forwards and two
backwards......
Forever going one step forwards and two
backwards......
We once had a family who stripped every bed in the house right down to mattress & pillow protectors etc.This family stripped the beds and left everything in a tangled mound. Was this an attempt to cover up
Every conceivable piece of linen from ALL the beds was left in a heap on the floor in one of the upstairs bedrooms. My first thought was exactly that - that there was something to hide as
it must have been some effort to carry all the linen to one room.
I spent ages carefully going over everything - just what you don't need on a Saturday. Found absolutely nothing wrong
Now why would someone do that?
Elena
Dordogne Holiday Cottages
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Can you imagine the time/energy bills if you did?I wash the mattress protectors whenever they look less than pristine & the pillow protectors after every stay for the adult beds and every other stay for young children's beds (they don't have the same sweaty heads as adults!) unless they look really rumpled.
It's true that some people may think that everything gets washed every time - I was more surprised that everything had been taken to an upstairs room when it was obvious it would all have to come back down again.
Elena
Dordogne Holiday Cottages
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It's true that some people may think that everything gets washed every time - I was more surprised that everything had been taken to an upstairs room when it was obvious it would all have to come back down again.
Elena
Dordogne Holiday Cottages
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