I’ve found the same thing. A couple homes in UK and France have had a dryer but most haven’t.
“Do you take flat sheets for the bottom since you don’t always know what size the bed is?”
That would make the most sense. In hospitals they only use flat sheets. There’s no elastic to wear out and it’s just simpler if the sheets are all the same size. My concern would be the weight of packing two queen- or king-size sheets and how it would affect the cost of your baggage.
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I’d probably only do this for in-country sits
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Another question for your sheet-takers. What do you do about the duvet cover on the bed where you stay? Do you wash it? Do you use a top sheet and not wash it?
Ha… The duvet cover would be part of the set.
So far the packing list looks like
- Towel
- Bed set, including pillow covers, duvet covers and bed sheet.
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I always strip the bed and put the linens by the washer. And I re-make the bed with fresh linens unless I can’t find the linens or the HO has told me not to.
But many of the people I have sit for in the past are concerned about not wasting water and/or electricity (as am I), so I only start the wash if they ask me to.
Often they prefer to just put the linens in with their laundry loads when they get home, as they will have dirty travel laundry.
(also, many apartments don’t have their own washer/dryer, which complicates things.)
My housesits have only been in the U.S. so far, so obviously there are cultural and location differences. I’m an experienced house sitter, but am new to THS.
I would absolutely recommend that all HOs inform their house sitter of their laundry preferences. Communicating preferences is the best way for both sides to avoid disappointment! 
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Welcome to the forum @luckycat and thank-you for sharing your feedback on this popular topic.
Absolutely agree… Communication is the route to a successful house sit in so many situations.
Enjoy connecting with other members and we look forward to seeing you more around the community 
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That is a good idea: bringing your own sheets! I like to wash and dry the sheets just as a way cleaning up but, as you pointed out… not always doable.
Another benefit is if the home owner has a complicated setup with lots of bedding. I am thinking, too, I do not have to ask them ahead of time… I can just do it!
Most homeowners would say don’t worry about doing the sheets but it is a nice way to leave the property.
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So far with our sits we are able to drive our car. This gives us the freedom to pack more than if we were flying. In these instances we always take a set or two of sheets, our towels and our pillows. At the end of the sit it allows us to put on the owner’s fresh sheets and make up the bed.
However every sit is different and the timing of the owner’s return and our leaving can often be close.
I would hope that sitters and owners talk about this issue beforehand so there are no disappointments from both.
Hi long1016, I trhink this can be a difficult one. I have had owners telling me not to and I shouldn’t have etc. . I have at times washed sheets but frequently timing has not been right to do this. And recently many of the houses I have sat for have had cleaners coming in once or twice a week, so have felt that changing of bedding was something that would be expected of them when changing owners beds etc.
I don’t see where the problem is if it’s talked about beforehand.
I don’t expect the sitters to wash, dry and put the sheets back on, because we have separate blankets and pillows for guests. This keeps the stress out of the sitters, especially when we come back early in the morning. If they just put all used sheets and covers in the laundry bin that’s fine with me. There’s a lot of washing to do anyway and I just throw it together….no big deal.
I always prepare our own bedding with fresh covers for our return and I simply take it out of the closet and pack the guests stuff away.
Putting a fitted sheet on the bed really isn’t much work and either me or the sitters can do it. There are enough sheets if the sitters want to do it. If not that’s also perfectly fine.
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We always wash the sheets and towels. We leave them clean on the bed or in the dryer if time did not allow.
I would NEVER leave dirty linen or towels. That includes dish towels. The house is cleaner when we leave than when we arrive. I want to home owner to enjoy coming home to a spotless house.
What if I don’t want this and explicitly tell you not to wash anything?
Even if YOU feel it’s the right thing to do, it’s not necessarily so for everyone.
I think it needs to be talked about and acted accordingly. Everything else means you ignore the HO‘s wishes.
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No one has told us to NOT do it. Obviously if they did we would not.
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You didn’t say obvious 
, you said always.
As a woman I cannot imagine who would want to come home to dirty laundry especially if you were sleeping in the Master bed room. We just completed our 3rd sit and have 4 more booked, NO ONE has stipulated we leave dirty linen.
On one sit last year I suggested to the homeowner that we would strip the beds and wash the bedding, and she told me not to bother. It’s unusual, but it does happen. It felt strange not stripping the beds, but we did as she had asked.
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Well I am also a woman.
In our home it would be a waste of the sitter’s time to change the covers, because I would take them back off anyway. We have separate blankets and pillows for guests so you actually would cause me more work than just leaving the used sheets and covers in the laundry bin. Additionally, our washing machine needs a lot of laundry to be completely filled and that’s why I am grateful if there are sheets and covers to put in with the clothes we bring back.
One more time: you think you have to wash and dry the bedding but other people do not necessarily feel the same. Why is it so difficult to talk about this beforehand?
I would never tell the sitter afterwards that it had been a waste of time. I would just say thank you and not mention, neither personally, nor in a feedback, that it caused me more work, but I would wonder why I put any thought in writing a welcome guide.
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I appreciate your input @anon39388349, that is one of my pre-sit interview questions. I sat for a HO who did not want me to strip the bed or even wash my towels, and I’m glad I clarified that beforehand. I’ve had a repeat sit for them and they are now my friends.
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I always wash the bedding and towels that we have used during our stay. heck I even do this when visiting family and friends. I suppose if it has been an issue, putting it in the welcome guide would be a good idea.
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