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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Original poster

Those of you with guest rooms…

85 replies

dinmin · 06/07/2023 12:24

…what do you do with the bedding in between guests?

Do you wash immediately after a guest leaves and put it back on the bed? (Potentially gets dusty before next guest)

Do you leave the dirty bedding on and wash it just before the new guest? (Sweat etc gets soaked in, any unnoticed stains may set)

Or do you wash it immediately and put it away and leave the bed there until the next guest is it about to arrive? (Bed looks ugly, duvet and pillows etc can get dusty)

OP posts:
MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 07/07/2023 01:25

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 07/07/2023 01:16

You leave used bedding to fester for weeks???

I have the bed stripped and washer going before the door has barely shut behind them.

Show quote history

Fester? You need a better class of guest, Darling.

Totalwasteofpaper · 07/07/2023 02:29

FisherThem · 06/07/2023 12:28

I'm lazy. Wash immediately, put back on bed. Shake to refresh before next guest. Rarely long between the bastards.

yup. I'm in this camp too. Although we have 2 sets of bedding for each guest bedroom so they are changed immediately and 2nd set goes straight on.

FridaRose · 07/07/2023 02:57

It doesn't get dusty as we live in the countryside.

I wouldn't want the bedding to be put away until next use - I want the rooms looking nice and pretty!

Frogpond · 07/07/2023 02:58

A friend of mine washed her guest room bedding every fortnight. She didn’t have guests very often.

neverenoughchelseaboots · 07/07/2023 07:07

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 07/07/2023 01:16

You leave used bedding to fester for weeks???

I have the bed stripped and washer going before the door has barely shut behind them.

Show quote history

Well a couple of weeks would be the extreme end of the scale. But even so, guests wear pyjamas so it’s never smelly.

If the room did seem like it needed an airing and bedding washed immediately, I’d obviously expedite the process.

rookiemere · 07/07/2023 07:16

I'm not sure what this sheet freshness is that people are talking about. Surely the bedding is either clean or dirty, and clean is clean.

FiveShelties · 07/07/2023 07:20

Wash as soon as guests leave and remake with clean linen ready for the next guests.

Maraudingmarauders · 07/07/2023 07:23

I leave it and wash it when next guest is due but that is because we have a dog who often likes to sleep in there during the day and I don't want them sleeping on clean bedding. So I wash it, guest stays, dog uses the bed and then I strip and wash ready for next guest (and keep the dog locked out for the 24/48 hours required).

Maraudingmarauders · 07/07/2023 07:25

I should add its usually only a max of three weeks without guests so it never sits long.

BarrelOfOtters · 07/07/2023 07:40

Leave it, thinking about it last guests staying over was BIL who crashed after he’d been out drinking, I. The sheets still on from Christmas guest….

leave bed made up as it’s cat’s safe place when the dog isn’t using it as a launching pad for one of her games.

it’ll get washed before next invited guests….rather than pissed BIL.

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 07/07/2023 08:16

I don't often have guests, so the mattress is left bare with a bedspread over it.

Twiglets1 · 07/07/2023 08:19

I wash it immediately and it has never occurred to me it might get dusty between guests.

CharlotteStreetW1 · 07/07/2023 08:29

Leave it on as DH or I may decant to the spare room at some point. Change it the night before next guest arrives. I have plenty of bedding (ex B&B) and can change a bed v. quickly in case of "emergency" guests.

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 07/07/2023 09:51

CharlotteStreetW1 · 07/07/2023 08:29

Leave it on as DH or I may decant to the spare room at some point. Change it the night before next guest arrives. I have plenty of bedding (ex B&B) and can change a bed v. quickly in case of "emergency" guests.

Sleep on sheets your guests have used, without washing?

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 07/07/2023 09:51

BarrelOfOtters · 07/07/2023 07:40

Leave it, thinking about it last guests staying over was BIL who crashed after he’d been out drinking, I. The sheets still on from Christmas guest….

leave bed made up as it’s cat’s safe place when the dog isn’t using it as a launching pad for one of her games.

it’ll get washed before next invited guests….rather than pissed BIL.

Eww.

RecycleMePlease · 07/07/2023 10:49

I mean to wash immediately then put back on so it's made up (also with bedspread, because someone will at some point leave the door open, and we all know a forbidden room is the most appealing thing in the world to a cat - well, after my chair that I just got up from of course)

What tends to happen is I leave it a bit, then remember, wash it, then the linens sitting in there until just before the next person arrives.

Original poster
dinmin · 07/07/2023 12:31

Wow, lots of replies! And what a lot of bedspread owners….

OP posts:
dudsville · 07/07/2023 12:34

We have two sets of bedding for the spare bed. After guests leave I wash the bedding and put the fresh set on. I prefer the look, but also we sometimes use it ourselves if one of us is having a restless night, etc. The bedding then gets changed and washed before the guest arrives whether we've used it or not.

Brumbies · 07/07/2023 12:36

Leave it till it looks dirty. No one has ever said anything!

Only kidding. Confused

BasiliskStare · 07/07/2023 12:38

@SilkTrees - that is our MO in. this house - glad to know I am not the only one

AliceOlive · 07/07/2023 12:45

Strip and wash when they walk out the door. Remake the bed. If it’s been a long time in between will wash again for the next guests.

Also sometimes I end up in there when I have trouble sleeping. And our cats spend time in there so we usually wash the comforter again, too.

annonymousse · 07/07/2023 13:43

Leave it on as long as not obviously dirty and then wash and make just before next guest so it's all fresh and fragrant for them.

MysteryBelle · 07/07/2023 14:52

rookiemere · 07/07/2023 07:16

I'm not sure what this sheet freshness is that people are talking about. Surely the bedding is either clean or dirty, and clean is clean.

Even clean sheets after a time don’t smell fresh, they aren’t stale or musty exactly but just don’t smell fresh anymore. On the other hand, I don’t like the heavily scented detergents that linger for weeks, they make the sheets have a sickening smell.

Freshly laundered sheets using a clean smelling and very very lightly scented or unscented detergent are my preference. So, sheets are washed right after guests but if next guests aren’t due for a long while, then they will be freshly washed again day before or day of. We don’t have frequent guests so a while goes by in between. I do like to put a bedspread over everything because the cat likes to lie down there sometimes.

rookiemere · 07/07/2023 15:34

I feel like such a slattern now.

I had naively thought guests would be grateful for a free bed with clean sheets and meals provided, without expecting the bedding to smell fresh as well Blush.

Parlourgames · 07/07/2023 22:24

I leave it on until I have to change it for the next people. My DH has a habit of lying on all the beds, reading etc. and the dog does too.

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