Hospital Laundry Primus Style

[Iowegian]

I think the primary goal of hotel/motel laundry with respect to towels is to get them white. Softness is probably way down the list.

I'd bet the towels hotels/motels buy are selected for durability/washability first, and everything else later, unless you're lucky enough to stay in a really 5-star kind of place. A Comfort Inn or Days Inn towel probably wouldn't be comfy-soft even if washed in our home equipment. People use those motel towels for everything from windshield cleaning to butt-floss to shoe-shining.

 

[launderess]

Whiteness

Going by the dingy dull offerings I've seen in some hotels, not bloodly likely! *LOL*

Commercial/hospitality linens are priced several ways and the costs also come down to replacement. You can purchase a bulk lot of cheap towels and swap them out as they wear out, or you can spend lots for fine Turkish type and pay a premium for careful but good laundering so they last.

Since most commercial laundry set out is priced by the pound, linens for that trade (usually labeled "hotel quality) are a mix between threads per inch/weight and a weave that will withstand often harsh commercial laundering process frequently.

Hotels, motels, and gyms, also must factor in loss of linen/towels from theft and or improper use.
You can keep linens white and bright by chlorine bleaching the heck out of it and or using boiling hot water temps, however the stuff won't last long. Hence see above. You'll notice thick and plush towels are rarely seen in gyms, and healthclubs or even hospitals.

 

[Iowegian]

Sorry, you lost me.

Are motel towels dingy because the motel owner was too cheap to buy good ones, or because of what the guests do to them? My guess is the latter, but feel free to disagree.

We're not talking about the swanky "W" hotels, just your basic Travelodge type of place. Yeah, the ones with housekeeping staff of questionable citizenship status that are running OPL equipment with no training. The same staff that can't read the "Do Not Disturb" hang tag on the guest room doors. The same ones that when you say, "More Cheerios, por favor" they look at you funny when the cereal machine is empty in the breakfast room.

 

[whirlcool]

The glasses that are marked "Sanitized" and wrapped may have been cleaned with the same rag that was used to clean the toilet with previously. There have been several television shows about how hotel/motel maids don't know nuttin' about proper cleaning protocol or methods. They'll use one cloth to clean EVERYTHING!

As for one who has stayed in more motel/hotel rooms than I care to think about this is something that is very important to me. I used to carry my own glass around with me in my suitcase. And NEVER walk around the room barefoot or lay on the bedspread.
And use "wet wipes" on the phone and television remote control. When I started doing all this I was sick way less often.

 

[launderess]

@Lowegian

It's a mixture of both.

Cheap goods cannot withstand harsh or even some case what many would consider normal "hot" laundry practices, thus after a period begin to look dull and dingy.

Case in point modern offerings of "linens" including everything from men's shirts to bed/table linens that state "wash in cold water no bleach". Well how is anyone supposed to keep a white shirt of sheet clean with that sort of routine treatment. Mind you if the things are changed frequently and barely soiled it might work, but if used heavily items are another story.

The other fly in the ointment is that most hotel/commercial linens are now a blend of cotton/polyester. The latter holds onto oils/soils and is nearly impossible to keep white and bright without a good hot water wash, but being a thermoplastic fiber too much heat will destroy, so compromises have to be made.

Finally and totally off topic but without meaning to give offense just have to get this little ditty off my chest: "10,000 Swedes ran through the weeds, chased by one Norwegian".

There, had to say it as evertime your screen name comes up it reminds one of the song the old drunkard uncle from the film "I remember Mama" teaches his nephew. *LOL*

 

[beekeyknee]

Oh Laundress, you got me down on the floor. "I Remember Mama". Poor old dirty times, but they tried.

Those women crammin' that laundry in those machines. When exactly did people loose their minds? We know that fabric ain't clean. And they got to show all the steps to prove that their wash is clean. I like that!

I want a triple dose of chloroform before I have to head off to the home. Boils and goin' septic. No way.

B.

 

[tolivac]

shouldn't the operators loading the dirty items in the machines wear gloves?The unload side wouldn't be a worry so much-unless an operator had an infected sore or something on their hands.Hotels--SCARY-seen hidden camera films on both TV and YouTube about what hotel housekeepers do-yes wipe the drinking cup wrapped in the "sanitized" wrapper with the same rag for cleaning the sink and potty-or even the shower,too!when you visit a hotel-motel these days bring your UV light with you-you may be SHOCKED what you see under the light!!!Human and rodent Pee-Human semen stains!and so on!!Esp on the "clean" looking bedspread-makes for a spectacular UV display!You can buy portable battery powered LED and flourescent bulb UV lamps-all kinds od suppliers have them.Easy to find from companies on the "Web" that sell flashlights and portable lights.