laundry - that fun topic

OK - the property we are buying has septic (and well !). My readings indicate the amount of laundry from a residence shouldn't be an issue. Of course, doing bedding and towels for a B&B, and perhaps guest usage will likely be much higher. And here in the middle of nowhere, laundry service is not really an option. And it is usually recommended that B&B/motel people use higher amounts to really get out stains.
So my question to you experienced B&B folks is, any possible ways you have found to reduce the need for laundering?
My current thinking includes:
- liquid soap (powdered is a bigger septic issue)
- the green thing - offer guests the opportunity to rehang/reuse their towels and reuse their bedding if > 1 night.
- put in a dry well to steer the laundry effluent away from the septic
Any other great ideas? Is there any great detergents that put out less suds/phosphates? Etc?

How big is your property? We had 4 rooms and had no problems being on septic system.

I don't have a septic system, but I do use a natural soap for MOST of my washing. (I find that their soap does make my whites less "bright" but that's because they don't have brighteners, which trick you into things are whiter than they are. They do offer an oxygen brightener seperately. The Cost Club sells them in bulk on their website up here, but I don't think they are on the Cost Club's website. But they offer the bucket of 1100 washes on their website for USD$125.
This is their listing:
Biodegradable
Non Toxic
Hypoallergenic
Gluten Free
No SLS or SLES
No GMO's
Chlorine Free
Phosphate Free
Septic Safe
No animal testing
Dye free
Non toxic
Paraben Free
Formaldehyde Free
Ammonia Free
Fragrance free laundry soap

EmptyNest said:

How big is your property? We had 4 rooms and had no problems being on septic system..

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Actually, not quite sure # BRs. We are in the process of buying it.
2400 Square Feet - a former model home. Zoned general commercial (but allows SFR, B&B, and a lot of other stuff).
Was in it once a few months ago, and may create another room once we close.
I would say 5 bedrooms, maybe 6. Will need to put in a couple of small en-suite bathrooms, as possible.
The nice thing is, it 15+ acres in a tourist area.

Unless you are going to have a high end, very expensive property no one expects new sheets everyday. Most guests will hang up towels if reminded.
We change sheets when the guests leave or, if they are here for a week or more, then every 3-4 days.
Towels every other day.
All of the bedding (pillow covers, mattress pads, blankets, etc) every 10 - 14 days. (Which is a hell of a lot more frequently than hotels do.)
You can use duvets + covers and change them every guest. Or duvets without covers but triple sheeting, again changed after each guest leaves.
Read your labels on your cleaning products for septic safe. Try to avoid over bleaching.
Depending on where you are located, you may need to have your septic system preapproved for the usage so it doesn't overflow into your water supply. You may need a bigger system for the different use if this property wasn't an inn before you bought it.

undersea said:

EmptyNest said:

How big is your property? We had 4 rooms and had no problems being on septic system..

Click to expand...

Actually, not quite sure # BRs. We are in the process of buying it.
2400 Square Feet - a former model home. Zoned general commercial (but allows SFR, B&B, and a lot of other stuff).
Was in it once a few months ago, and may create another room once we close.
I would say 5 bedrooms, maybe 6. Will need to put in a couple of small en-suite bathrooms, as possible.
The nice thing is, it 15+ acres in a tourist area.
.

Click to expand...

2400 sq feet. I doubt 5 or 6 unless they are 8 x 10 rooms. Make sure you have private bathrooms for every bed room. ABSOLUTELY. Suggest you take an aspiring innkeeper course, sounds like you might need it.

We have a little sign that lets guests know that we have a septic system and to maintain our beautiful mountain surroundings they can hang their towels up if they will reuse them. Almost everyone does. We also say that we change sheets on stays of 4 nights or more. We typically have a two night minimum so we aren't doing them every day, basically every 2 days is the norm.
How many bedrooms/bathrooms does the house currently have? The septic will be sized for that and if you're adding more bedrooms & baths then you will need a new septic system. We are building a new house next to our B&B and for a 3 bedroom/2bath it's about $12K for the new septic, of course that price all depends on your lot.
You should also have the well checked to see how many gallons a minute it produces. With adding more baths you may find that the water from the well isn't sufficient. The well and septic are pretty pricey things that you should find out well before buying the property.
I would really look at your space as 2400 sq. ft. doesn't sound right for 5-6 bedrooms with private bathrooms in each, as well as space for yourselves and common areas. And be sure that the amount of money you need to earn to pay bills and actually pay yourselves will be sufficient with only 3-4 guest rooms as that may be what you wind up getting out of that size house. Good luck.

we were in a harbor. damp towels hung up in the morning never, ever dried throughout the day and smelled sour to me. i appreciated the green effort, but yuck. it just didn't work out. i wish it had.
sheets stayed on the bed for a fluff. sometimes i'd change the pillow cases ... it depended. obviously if there was some kind of soiling, the bed had to be changed. if they stayed three nights i'd decide room by room.
i was on a seriously stressed septic system and used a laundry service. the cost was totally worth it for me. fresh clean linens. ahhh. i was at the end of a peninsula and it sure felt like the end of the earth ... but there was a laundry service that catered to island properties via ferry that made a run right there so i jumped on it.
have you had the septic system inspected and how is it? i think when the property changed hands, my old septic system failed and had to be redone.

MtnKeeper said:

We have a little sign that lets guests know that we have a septic system and to maintain our beautiful mountain surroundings they can hang their towels up if they will reuse them. Almost everyone does. We also say that we change sheets on stays of 4 nights or more. We typically have a two night minimum so we aren't doing them every day, basically every 2 days is the norm.
How many bedrooms/bathrooms does the house currently have? The septic will be sized for that and if you're adding more bedrooms & baths then you will need a new septic system. We are building a new house next to our B&B and for a 3 bedroom/2bath it's about $12K for the new septic, of course that price all depends on your lot.
You should also have the well checked to see how many gallons a minute it produces. With adding more baths you may find that the water from the well isn't sufficient. The well and septic are pretty pricey things that you should find out well before buying the property.
I would really look at your space as 2400 sq. ft. doesn't sound right for 5-6 bedrooms with private bathrooms in each, as well as space for yourselves and common areas. And be sure that the amount of money you need to earn to pay bills and actually pay yourselves will be sufficient with only 3-4 guest rooms as that may be what you wind up getting out of that size house. Good luck..

Click to expand...

Actually, zoning officer said property had large septic. It is commercial

More than laundry detergent will be the worry in your septic once you open a B&B, I am afraid.

undersea said:

MtnKeeper said:

We have a little sign that lets guests know that we have a septic system and to maintain our beautiful mountain surroundings they can hang their towels up if they will reuse them. Almost everyone does. We also say that we change sheets on stays of 4 nights or more. We typically have a two night minimum so we aren't doing them every day, basically every 2 days is the norm.
How many bedrooms/bathrooms does the house currently have? The septic will be sized for that and if you're adding more bedrooms & baths then you will need a new septic system. We are building a new house next to our B&B and for a 3 bedroom/2bath it's about $12K for the new septic, of course that price all depends on your lot.
You should also have the well checked to see how many gallons a minute it produces. With adding more baths you may find that the water from the well isn't sufficient. The well and septic are pretty pricey things that you should find out well before buying the property.
I would really look at your space as 2400 sq. ft. doesn't sound right for 5-6 bedrooms with private bathrooms in each, as well as space for yourselves and common areas. And be sure that the amount of money you need to earn to pay bills and actually pay yourselves will be sufficient with only 3-4 guest rooms as that may be what you wind up getting out of that size house. Good luck..

Click to expand...

Actually, zoning officer said property had large septic. It is commercial
.

Click to expand...

We built our home hoping to utilize an existing septic. After we started the B&B, the old system couldn't handle a full house several weekends in a row. Consequently, we now have a new commercial system and it takes a load of water! Our washing machine doesn't drain into it though. That water is diverted off to a lawn area. Our septic man wasn't too pleased with that situation, saying a commercial system needs all that water, but we just haven't had the down time to fix that situation. On the list for summer projects, though.

We are on a well, city water, and septic system. The following poem was given to me 20 some years ago by another country B and B. Feel free to copy it (in big letters, for the toilet room.) So far the septic system has never failed due to guests.
Those of us with SEPTIC TANKS
Give to you our heartfelt thanks
For putting nothing down the pot
That isn't guaranteed to rot.
Matchsticks are bad
Kleenex is too
Cigarette butts are taboo!
Feminine things, use the basket,
There's a darn good reason
Why we ask it!!!

undersea said:

MtnKeeper said:

We have a little sign that lets guests know that we have a septic system and to maintain our beautiful mountain surroundings they can hang their towels up if they will reuse them. Almost everyone does. We also say that we change sheets on stays of 4 nights or more. We typically have a two night minimum so we aren't doing them every day, basically every 2 days is the norm.
How many bedrooms/bathrooms does the house currently have? The septic will be sized for that and if you're adding more bedrooms & baths then you will need a new septic system. We are building a new house next to our B&B and for a 3 bedroom/2bath it's about $12K for the new septic, of course that price all depends on your lot.
You should also have the well checked to see how many gallons a minute it produces. With adding more baths you may find that the water from the well isn't sufficient. The well and septic are pretty pricey things that you should find out well before buying the property.
I would really look at your space as 2400 sq. ft. doesn't sound right for 5-6 bedrooms with private bathrooms in each, as well as space for yourselves and common areas. And be sure that the amount of money you need to earn to pay bills and actually pay yourselves will be sufficient with only 3-4 guest rooms as that may be what you wind up getting out of that size house. Good luck..

Click to expand...

Actually, zoning officer said property had large septic. It is commercial
.

Click to expand...

undersea said:

Actually, zoning officer said property had large septic. It is commercial

Click to expand...

Your zoning officer may not be the best person to answer the question. Before you sign on the dotted line have a certified septic system inspector check out the system to make sure it can adequately handle the work your business will require of it.

Depending on your state regulations, DEQ you may have to have a certain size unit per the number of bathrooms. While I am not getting into the C R A P that I just dealt with on the subject, believe me when I say, get all this done prior to purchase and make sure you have everything in writing as to what is required.
Let me just say there is big money in that business and with regulations, more fraud.

My house was listed on the spec sheet as 2350 sq ft. I am not certain if that included the furnace room under the (now) studio. We had 4 rooms and a bath upstairs, 3 regular size rooms, huge dining room (original kitchen the size of 1 upstairs bedroom & the bathroom), 9 x19 kitchen (formerly the back porch), and a sun room (enclosed half of the front porch). This house was configured perfectly for a B & B - not every house is, trust me.
I have 3 guestrooms upstairs. The 4th was my storage room (a requirement for cleaning supplies, linens, holiday decorations, and misc.) until I took half of it to create the private bathroom. The entrance to that bathroom was achieved by taking out the wall between the closets of those 2 rooms - the 2 closets together created a passage the size of a modern day closet as each one was perhaps 18 inches deep. Also due to the configuration of the house built in 1912, there is no way each room could have a private bathroom with the other 2. I could make 2 bathrooms out of the shared bath that would be tiny BUT 1 would still have to trek down the hall. For me, in my location with city utilities BTW, the large bathrooms works best, even with one of them shared.
Downstairs we have a bathroom, owner's bedroom, and living room (the sun room became his workshop and will be turned into my office when he dies). On the other side of the foyer is the room that is now my office and will eventually become "common" area which currently is the dining room. I do not remember the size of the dining room but one wall has the doorway from foyer, a china cabinet, a buffet, and a 60 inch wide hutch (tea cabinet) with an extra 2 or 3 feet to the window (I have a very large ficus tree in front of the window). My table has both leaves in it I get tablecloths 102 x 60.
All this to tell you unequivocally that a 2400 sq ft house will not provide more than 3 rooms - 3 bathrooms assuming you figure that out, plus owners' quarters. I do not want to discourage you, just to give you the facts.

charlie may said:

We are on a well, city water, and septic system. The following poem was given to me 20 some years ago by another country B and B. Feel free to copy it (in big letters, for the toilet room.) So far the septic system has never failed due to guests.
Those of us with SEPTIC TANKS
Give to you our heartfelt thanks
For putting nothing down the pot
That isn't guaranteed to rot.
Matchsticks are bad
Kleenex is too
Cigarette butts are taboo!
Feminine things, use the basket,
There's a darn good reason
Why we ask it!!!.

Click to expand...

Our bathroom wall signs say:
The grass is always greener over the septic tank so…
Please do not deposit foreign object (such as feminine
items, facial tissues, makeup puffs, contraceptives, or paper item
other than toilet tissue) in the toilet as they could clog
up the works, preventing that green from happening.
Thank you.
The Country Star Deer
I'm gonna have to add matchsticks in that list.

You will absolutely need to know the design flow rate (e.g., gallons per day) for your septic system, and then do everything you can to make sure that your average useage (say averaged over a week) does not exceed that. You may want to have a plumber install in a meter for your water supply (i.e. where the piping from the well enters the house), so you know accurately how much water you are really using. It is your peak times that you want to be concerned about - when you are fully occupied and all your guests are being profligate in their use of water.
Make sure that you are using the most water-efficient washing machine you can find (some machines use more water per pound of laundry than others). You could also change out your toilets to be high-efficiency or dual-flush models (at the very least make sure they are modern 1.6 gpf units). You can change the aerators on all your faucets to low-flow types, and also your shower heads.
Be sure to have your septic tank pumped on a regular basis, probably every other year at least. You will want to know how big the tank is. If there is room, it might be worth looking into the possibility of adding a second tank in series with the existing one before the water is dispersed to the leach field. This will allow for more settling time for the suspended solids in the waste water stream, thus extending the life of your leach field.
Also, if you are in a tourist destination, there is very likely to be a laundry service available. There must be restaurants that need table linens washed, motels, etc... The laundry might not be local -- most services have a fleet of trucks that travel all over the region. The service we use is located over 75 minutes drive away, but they have several clients in our area and so have a truck coming on a regular basis.

undersea said:

EmptyNest said:

How big is your property? We had 4 rooms and had no problems being on septic system..

Click to expand...

Actually, not quite sure # BRs. We are in the process of buying it.
2400 Square Feet - a former model home. Zoned general commercial (but allows SFR, B&B, and a lot of other stuff).
Was in it once a few months ago, and may create another room once we close.
I would say 5 bedrooms, maybe 6. Will need to put in a couple of small en-suite bathrooms, as possible.
The nice thing is, it 15+ acres in a tourist area.
.

Click to expand...

undersea said:

Actually, not quite sure # BRs. We are in the process of buying it.
2400 Square Feet - a former model home. Zoned general commercial (but allows SFR, B&B, and a lot of other stuff).
Was in it once a few months ago, and may create another room once we close.
I would say 5 bedrooms, maybe 6. Will need to put in a couple of small en-suite bathrooms, as possible.
The nice thing is, it 15+ acres in a tourist area.

Click to expand...

Sounds like a great starter. I encourage ensuites if at all possible. And I would not do a shared bath. We have one 'down the hall' but private bathroom and half the people that book it don't like the idea of down the hall. I also encourage a common room for guests to hang out in addition to a sitting room for you where guests don't have access.
Keep in touch as to how it all is progressing. Sounds really nice. Good luck!

We have a septic system for 5 bedrooms and our own well. Our B+B is 3 accommodations with a maximum occupancy of 6 people total. Here is what we have done for 25 years with no problems.
We have diverted all rain water from the roof to a dry well. All other waste water, including laundry, goes into the septic system, which we have pumped every year in the fall when our season ends.
There is a note in every bathroom alerting guests about the limits of the "country plumbing" and hang-up cards on the towel racks encouraging guests to hang towels to reuse. If they are staying 5-7 nights and they hang their wet towels, we allow the towels to stay on the towel rack to dry. There are always additional clean dry towels available in the bathroom if the towels are slow drying. If it is particularly humid and the towels are sopping wet I just collect them. As Seashanty says, nobody wants sour, damp towels.
We also have a note about our scarce fresh-water resources to encourage sensible use of tap/shower water. And we have upgraded the old water-hog toilets to new low-flo versions that work like a charm. Low flo shower heads are also a good idea.
We change bedding mid-stay for stays of 5 nights or more. Pillow cases get changed sooner if needed. For stays less than 5 nights I change the bed linens if they are soiled or if the weather is particularly humid. I do not tell guests anything about when I might change the linens because I like to have control of my schedule, not be held to a "promise".

Silverspoon said:

We have a septic system for 5 bedrooms and our own well. Our B+B is 3 accommodations with a maximum occupancy of 6 people total. Here is what we have done for 25 years with no problems.
We have diverted all rain water from the roof to a dry well. All other waste water, including laundry, goes into the septic system, which we have pumped every year in the fall when our season ends.
There is a note in every bathroom alerting guests about the limits of the "country plumbing" and hang-up cards on the towel racks encouraging guests to hang towels to reuse. If they are staying 5-7 nights and they hang their wet towels, we allow the towels to stay on the towel rack to dry. There are always additional clean dry towels available in the bathroom if the towels are slow drying. If it is particularly humid and the towels are sopping wet I just collect them. As Seashanty says, nobody wants sour, damp towels.
We also have a note about our scarce fresh-water resources to encourage sensible use of tap/shower water. And we have upgraded the old water-hog toilets to new low-flo versions that work like a charm. Low flo shower heads are also a good idea.
We change bedding mid-stay for stays of 5 nights or more. Pillow cases get changed sooner if needed. For stays less than 5 nights I change the bed linens if they are soiled or if the weather is particularly humid. I do not tell guests anything about when I might change the linens because I like to have control of my schedule, not be held to a "promise"..

Click to expand...

We have a sign in each bathroom - "if you want your towels changing put them in the shower" - people rarely do. We used to have the hotel signs with a lot of writing on them "saves the environment, too many towels washed destroying the world etc" but no one could be bothered to read that much - short but sweet on my custom signs works like a charm and saves me a fortune on laundry bills.

Joey Camb said:

Silverspoon said:

We have a septic system for 5 bedrooms and our own well. Our B+B is 3 accommodations with a maximum occupancy of 6 people total. Here is what we have done for 25 years with no problems.
We have diverted all rain water from the roof to a dry well. All other waste water, including laundry, goes into the septic system, which we have pumped every year in the fall when our season ends.
There is a note in every bathroom alerting guests about the limits of the "country plumbing" and hang-up cards on the towel racks encouraging guests to hang towels to reuse. If they are staying 5-7 nights and they hang their wet towels, we allow the towels to stay on the towel rack to dry. There are always additional clean dry towels available in the bathroom if the towels are slow drying. If it is particularly humid and the towels are sopping wet I just collect them. As Seashanty says, nobody wants sour, damp towels.
We also have a note about our scarce fresh-water resources to encourage sensible use of tap/shower water. And we have upgraded the old water-hog toilets to new low-flo versions that work like a charm. Low flo shower heads are also a good idea.
We change bedding mid-stay for stays of 5 nights or more. Pillow cases get changed sooner if needed. For stays less than 5 nights I change the bed linens if they are soiled or if the weather is particularly humid. I do not tell guests anything about when I might change the linens because I like to have control of my schedule, not be held to a "promise"..

Click to expand...

We have a sign in each bathroom - "if you want your towels changing put them in the shower" - people rarely do. We used to have the hotel signs with a lot of writing on them "saves the environment, too many towels washed destroying the world etc" but no one could be bothered to read that much - short but sweet on my custom signs works like a charm and saves me a fortune on laundry bills.
.

Click to expand...

Joey Camb said:

We have a sign in each bathroom - "if you want your towels changing put them in the shower" - people rarely do. We used to have the hotel signs with a lot of writing on them "saves the environment, too many towels washed destroying the world etc" but no one could be bothered to read that much - short but sweet on my custom signs works like a charm and saves me a fortune on laundry bills.

Click to expand...

Whenever we stay at a hotel with those little save the environment signs I always write a review and comment how management says one thing and the housekeepers do something completely different.
This last stay the housekeeper threw the soap out everyday. What a waste. She also changed the tp roll everyday to the point we had 2 partial rolls and a full roll going all at once. She never took the partial rolls away, just stacked them on top of the full roll.
Sheets were changed everyday. Towels, too, even tho we hung them up. Each day there were different numbers of towels left for us to use.
She did, however, leave the cute signature wrapped soaps everyday so now I have a collection of those.