CLEANING: Laundry – Bleach Spots
I love coloured sheets and towels! I took great care to colour-coordinate our guest rooms so I would know, at a glance, which sheets fit which bed– buttercream for the bed in Molly’s Room, sage green for the Middleton Room and cornflower blue for the Grandstaff Room. Now let me set the stage for what came next . . .
Each room at the White Rose Manor has one bed–queen with two sets of sheets for each. Additionally, each room has its own wash cycles when it comes to laundry; I wash all of the bed linens for these rooms in separate loads, no combined loads. Also, I do not use bleach. You can imagine my frustration when my beautiful sheets were speckled with bleach spots, both large and small. I did mention I do not use bleach. What was happening?
The bleach spots first appeared on my blue towels in my guest bathroom. Next, they appeared on the Grandstaff sheets, our most frequently booked room– all soft and romantic, so you can imagine. Now, beauty marred with bleach spots? Of course, I could hardly stand it! I bought replacements. Then, it happened again. Next, the sage sheets began showing and, finally, the buttercream, though hard to see with the lighter shade.
What was happening? Miss Marple/Nancy Drew/pick your favourite is on the case. With a little sleuthing, plus having a college-aged son and a guest with a son a bit younger, the culprit was discovered. Now mind you, there is no negativity in this post about the product that caused the problem, but rather a problem that needed a solution. My solution was white sheets which I started buying after the second round of sheets began showing bleach marks.
The culprit was . . . cleanliness! More specifically, facial cleaning products, like ProActive leaving remnants of the product on hands, in hairlines and on faces! I suspect it mostly happened when guests washed their faces in the sink vs. the shower which might result in a more complete rinse. While great products can produce great results, lack of rinsing away all of the product can result in the residue bleaching anything it touches, especially towels, pillowcases and edges of sheets where someone pulls the sheets around the shoulders when settling in for a good night’s sleep.
So, the problem has been identified. White sheets, pillowcases and towels purchased, but I still prefer colours. Now what? A friend sent me a link for bleach-resistant sheets. I am not sure if they work, but I may try them when it is time to replace the latest purchases.
I am including the Bed, Bath, and Beyond link here: https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/s/bleach-resistant-sheets . If you try them, let me know if they work. If this article helped you identify the same culprit in your home, let me know that, too! Then, pass the information to someone else.
Wonderfully yours,
Alice