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8 Linen Secrets 5-Star Hotels Don’t Want You to Know

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Five-star hotels have had their best-kept linen secrets - until now. We are about to tell you what those secrets are.

Confession time: don’t you just envy how these luxurious hotels have their linen game on another level?

We could go on, but today it’s about revealing secrets.

The truth is, you too can keep your hotel linen bright, beautiful, and perfect for use every day.

Want your whites whiter? Your linens stain-free? And no more gradual greying of linens?

Want to know the secret?

Keep reading - we’re revealing one five-star hotel linen secret after another. And we’re holding nothing back.

1. How to Pick the Perfect Pillow for a Good Night’s Sleep

A better Night’s Rest

Image from: Infographic Facts

Don’t you love how hotel pillows sit tall and proud waiting for you to sink your tired head in them?

A good pillow equals a good night’s sleep. And a bad one (you guessed it) equals tossing and turning and waking up with a sore neck, aching back, and a not so happy you.

So how do hotels manage to make you feel like you are sleeping on clouds? A little birdie gave us their pillow secrets:

  • Pick durable pillows;
  • Pick allergy-free pillows;
  • Buy the right pillow size;
  • Mind the firmness of your pillow;
  • Buy a pillow that’s easy to clean and dry;
  • Buy pillows according to your sleeping position;
  • Pick adjustable pillows that contour to the shape of the body.

Here’s an infographic showing you how to get a better night’s rest using pillow positioning.

2. How to Select Hotel Quality Sheets

als product

Hotels don’t use ordinary retail bed sheets; they use hotel quality sheets which are heavier, crispier, and thicker.

Hotel quality sheets are specifically designed and manufactured for the hospitality industry. Therefore, they can withstand frequent use and regular washing - day in, day out.

But there are secrets to procuring perfect hotel quality sheets:

Here are some handpicked hotel quality sheets:

3. How to Fold Hotel Towels

When you check into a hotel room and find hotel towels displayed in different attractive shapes and sizes you think “wow”. How do they do that?

It’s the little details that your guests notice. So don’t get left behind. Add a touch of elegance and class to your towel display.

The secrets of this towel folding art are:

4. How to Stop White Laundry from Going Grey

White Laundry from Going Grey

Different colours trigger various emotions and interpretations in our mind. That’s why when you check into a hotel room with white linen you get the impression that the room is clean, fresh, and uncluttered.

White shows stains easily so you feel confident using white towels, white bathrobes and white slippers.

No wonder hotels love white linen.

But as we all know, keeping your whites white is not an easy task. If you’re not careful, your white linen will gradually start greying - which is an eyesore to any guest.

Here are the secrets to stop white laundry from going grey:

  • Dry your whites in the sun; helps them stay whiter;
  • Sort white linen and wash them separately from other colours;
  • Securely close the detergent bottle after use (some bleaching agents can evaporate);
  • Use detergent intended for whites (they contain bleaching agents such as sodium percarbonate);
  • Use the correct amount of detergent for your water hardness and how soiled the white linens are;
  • Whiten greying white linen by adding a small amount of citric acid powder or vinegar instead of detergent.

5. How to Get Food Stains Out of White Napkins and Tablecloths

White napkins and tablecloths get easily stained. But if you don’t take care of those stains, your customers will doubt your level of cleanliness and form a poor impression of your establishment.

Here are the secrets to taking care of those stains before they reach your customer’s eye:

  • Remove all stains while they are still fresh;
  • Cover the stained tablecloth or napkin with artificial sweetener as soon as the stain gets on the fabric. The fine powder absorbs the oil and prevents it from making a permanent stain;
  • Soak pre-treated table cloths and napkins (use your enzyme-based stain remover as directed on the package) in hot water for at least 8 hours or overnight;
  • Run the soaked linens on a short cycle using hot water in your washing machine. (The long cycle will add extra wear and tear);
  • Hang the white linens out in the sun to keep them white naturally; don’t wring to avoid wrinkles.

You may also like:

6. How to Get Makeup Stains Out of White Towels

cosmetic product

Image from: Mordor Intelligence

Evidently, the cosmetic products market in Australia is not about to slow down. So it’s no surprise that some (if not all) of your guests will be wearing makeup. And chances are you will find makeup residue on your white fluffy hotel towels, bed sheets, and pillows.

Unless you learn the secret of getting makeup stains out of your towels and linens, or preventing them in the first place.

Here’s how:

  • Soak the stained towels in bleach and water with detergent for as long as needed, then rinse off. And do a regular wash of the towels;
  • Always provide makeup removers / makeup wipes in the guestrooms. Also, have white washcloths for people who bring their own cleansers;
  • Provide a bottle of makeup remover and a tin of cotton balls.

7. How to Stop Detergent Residue from Building Up On Your Whites

It’s easy to think that more detergent cleans your clothes better than less detergent. But that’s not the case. The detergent residue leaves your laundry feeling hard, rough, and not so squeaky clean.

Are there any secrets to counter this problem? Absolutely.

  • Add one cup of white vinegar to your wash with detergent. Vinegar will cut through the claggy residue that detergents leave behind;
  • Pour powdered detergent into the empty washer first before loading your linens. This gives it the most time to dissolve;
  • Don’t use too much detergent, especially with high-efficiency washers;
  • Never pour fabric softener directly on wet clothes. Also, use the smallest recommended amount;
  • Don’t cram too many items into the washer; it leaves little room for soil and residue to be flushed away;
  • Clean your dirty washer twice a month to remove soil, minerals, and detergent residue that’s depositing on your linen;
  • Hard water can react with detergent and leave mineral deposits on your clothes; Learn how to launder your clothes using hard water.

8. How to Make Towels Softer

It’s a delight to use soft and fluffy towels. But even the plushest towels can turn rough and scratchy when not laundered with care.

So what’s the secret to keeping your towels luxuriously soft?:

  • Start by buying dense high-quality cotton towels that are soft and absorbent. The heavier the towels, the plusher and more luxuriant they feel;
  • Wash and dry new towels alone for the first three cycles to get rid of manufacturer’s added pre-treatments and lint synonymous with new cotton towels;
  • Don’t cram too may towels into the dryer because they will clump and tangle; when the dryers' heat fails to reach all the moisture pockets the towels will come out hard and stiff;
  • Throw dryer balls or clean tennis balls into the dryer to break up clumps and help reduce static;
  • Open the dryer mid-cycle to pull apart any tangled towels;
  • Replace fabric softener with distilled white vinegar with each load; fabric softener hinders the absorbency of towels;
  • Use a product like Oxyclean (sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate - made by combining sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide) to bleach your towels instead of chlorine bleach. Chlorine contains harsh chemicals that flatten the textured loops that make up a towel’s fibres;
  • Use half a cup of baking soda to create a softer texture and get rid of the sour odour that comes from leaving wet towels in the laundry.

P.S. Don’t mix baking soda and vinegar in the machine. The chemical reaction may cause the machine to overflow.

More tips:

  • Too much laundry detergent leads to crunchy towels. Use half the recommended amount and run an extra rinse cycle to make sure all the detergent washes away;
  • Wash and dry the towels at medium heat to preserve the fibres and eliminate bacteria;
  • Only fold and put away towels that are completely dry. Don’t leave damp towels in the dryer either, in case you invite mildew or crease and crush the fibres;
  • Have enough towels to use on rotation so that the fibres get to rest in between washes.

Let’s face it, finding the best towels in town can be a daunting task. There are so many options to choose from. But don’t get overwhelmed. We recommend the following towels built specifically for the hospitality industry:


Colour Bath Towel

White Cotton Bath Towel

Striped Pool Towel

Oops! The Linen Secrets Are Out

We promised to reveal the linen secrets five-star hotels have been keeping under wraps. And we did. You now have the information you need to keep your linens in top-notch condition.

When you need accommodation linen, food & beverage linen or day spa linen, look no further than Australian Linen Supply, trusted by Australia’s best hotels.

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