How many towels would you expect for a 25 day stay?

[SmorgasBorb]

We have a little 1 bed Airbnb. It's usually only ever rented for weekends but we have a couple coming to stay for 25 days soon. They are happy to make their own beds etc and so I'm leaving them with all linen and towels for the period and we will collect a sack of the dirties every week. I'm leaving 4 sets of bed linen but I'm totally stumped as to how many bath towels, hand towels and shower mats to leave them though!

Weekenders are easy with a bath towel each, and a shower mat and a hand towel
Me and DH are happy to use a towel for a week or so so my instinct is to leave them with 4 each but the towel related threads on here makes me think it's not enough.

How many towels and specifically bath sheets per person would you expect to be left with for a 25 day stay in a small Airbnb? And is a bed linen set a week sufficient?

I do not the next day wish to wipe my face on the towel which I had previously wiped my private areas

Neither do I. But with a bath towel and a smaller towel for my face the situation doesn't arise.

2 towels per person a week.

if they change more often then they can use a laundrette.

I'm definitely grim then as I've probably been using the same hair towel for two weeks...as long as I dry it out it just smells of shampoo. Body towels I do when they need or to fill a load so prob every 5-7 days. I wouldn't have the time to do more...or the money!

One set of each
You could provide an extra hand towel which would be welcome

Why don’t you ask them?

The voice of reason!!

Speaking as someone who uses the level of dog hair on bedding to decide when to change it (once a fortnight maybe?) and does a sniff test on towels, I'd probably be a bit irritated by frequent deliveries of clean stuff.

But then I'm clearly minging and in a minority on MN

I do, however, get through loads of tea towels and get very irritated when staying in places that provide only 2.

@steppemum

I am laughing at the outrage mydogisbest because, while I don't wash my towels that often, I would never ever share a towel with my dh, to me that is GRIM GRIM GRIM

I don't see why. We both know how to wash ourselves properly and, to be honest, I more or less wrap the big bath towel round me while I clean my teeth, comb my hair etc by which time I am more or less dry.

I more or less wrap the big bath towel round me while I clean my teeth, comb my hair etc by which time I am more or less dry.

Same, I've never used my towels to scrub my arsehole dry. It is just wrapped around my freshly washed torso until I've air dried, so I'm happy to reuse it a few times. To be honest, I use my hands to sort of squeegee excess water off my body and I wring out my hair before I even step out so I'm not soaking wet anyway.

Reading this thread and seeing that people go through one or two towels per person, per day, I now understand why some posters complain that their washing machine is never off. DH and I do one load of washing for clothes per week, then a towel wash every other week (it's just the two of us so they can sit in the basket until wash day). Bedding is done when I remember, frankly. I have spares so, again, the new stuff goes on and the used stuff will go in the washing basket until I can be arsed dealing with it.

I wouldn’t share towels with my dh either, he really does scrub himself dry all over and also uses the corner of his towel to wipe toothpaste off his mouth!
I do the same as a pp, wrap it round me while I wash face and brush teeth by which stage I walk back into the bedroom and I’m not that wet anymore. It comes off and gets hung up.
I have a clean towel probably twice a week and one hair towel (only wash my hair maybe 3 times).
I’d be happy with 2 towels per person and 1 set of bedding per week.

@toomuchlaundry

If you went somewhere *@ChoiceMummy* and it had a limited amount of water for your use, so say the OP could lock down the tank so you could only use a certain amount of water, what would you give up so you could have clean towels everyday? Could you not dry your face on a flannel and dry your bits on a towel?

I wouldn't stay anywhere where the owner was going to look down a basic resource such as water. Fgs even in rural India, there was an abundance of clean towels and drinking water.

I do the same as a pp, wrap it round me while I wash face

Why don't you wash your face in the shower?

@Imworkingonit

I'd expect one set per week for both towels and bedding.

Agree

@RampantIvy because I cleanse on dry skin! I’ve always washed my face separately. I also hate hot shower water going in my face (and I swim with my head out of the water when I’m forced to go because I’m scared of it going up my nose ).

@ChoiceMummy I bet there isn't an abundance of clean towels and drinking water for everyone in India, that is the voice of privilege talking.

The OP states that they have to be careful of their water supply, and they do have to make choices, to ensure they have sufficient water for everyone

@TheChosenTwo

I wouldn’t share towels with my dh either, he really does scrub himself dry all over and also uses the corner of his towel to wipe toothpaste off his mouth! I do the same as a pp, wrap it round me while I wash face and brush teeth by which stage I walk back into the bedroom and I’m not that wet anymore. It comes off and gets hung up. I have a clean towel probably twice a week and one hair towel (only wash my hair maybe 3 times). I’d be happy with 2 towels per person and 1 set of bedding per week.

My DH doesn't scrub himself dry. He, like me, wraps the towel round him. If he wants to dry himself he uses a smaller towel.

That's why we have bath sheets. I hate supposed bath towels that you can't wrap round you

@Jumpingintomenopause

I would be happy with 4 sets of bed linen but would expect fresh towels 2/3 times a week.

This. Or just leave 4 sets of towels and they wash and dry themselves (assuming there is a machine).

If I were there for 25 days, I'd appreciate one
spare change of bedding and 4 towels per person and a note to say I can ask for more if I want .Then I'd just have one set in use and one in the wash like I do at home .

I have foregone the cleaning fee full stop as I asked if they wanted a weekly clean and they said no they'd do it themselves.

Surely part of the cleaning fee is washing the household linen so they should be doing their own laundry if you have waived the fee? In that case, 3 sets per person should be fine - 1 in use, 1 in the wash and 1 spare for emergencies.

1 set of bed linen per week and 1 set of towels per person per week, and one extra of each is sufficient imo.

@SmorgasBorb

It was a bit of an error to ask this on MN anyway, but when you're on tank water, it was nuts!

People who have never lived on tank water, understandably, do not have a clue!

Personally I'd leave them with the 'in use' set, I'd tell them there were spares for emergencies in the cupboard & that you'd swap the used for fresh next 'whatever day'.

This will all be a learning curve for you, but I hope you've charged them for an end of rental cleaning fee.

In Aus/NZ it's easy to put towels on an outside line to dry & stay fresh & those familiar with tank water, will not expect new towels every day/2days. It's a different way of living.

@steppemum
I would agree with this poster. Beds made. I bathsheet 1 hand towel each. Bath mat. Same again in the airing cupboard and leave them to it. I would , however, add extra guest towels for general use by the toilet basins and half a dozen tea towels in the kitchen.

I have a holiday cottage. I haven't got 4 sets of everything. Where the heck would you store it?

Will the guests understand about the tank water, so wouldn't be wasteful if they want to do their own washing?

@toomuchlaundry

I think folk would think twice about washing them everyday/every other day if they had to change the beds themselves. Especially if there is a please take care of our water supply informative notice

@ChoiceMummy do you understand what a rainwater tank is and what finite water supply means?

I think @ChoiceMummy is just being deliberately goady, or she has OCD. No sane person is that ridiculously fastidious to the cost to the environment, surely?

@ChoiceMummy wouldn't stay anywhere where the owner was going to look down a basic resource such as water. Fgs even in rural India, there was an abundance of clean towels and drinking water.

I haven't 'looked down' water! We only have what comes from the sky! I have no control over the tank water volume. I can't magic up water! The only control we have it to ask guests to be thoughtful with their water use. Most are very happy to do so and I'm not going waste their and our efforts to conserve water by using gallons on daily towel washes.

Clean drinking water is a privilege many parts of the world simply don't have and to expect them to waste it on washing towels is pretty awful behaviour