You probably know that high-quality, gentle detergent is crucial for maintaining the beauty and integrity of your Egyptian cotton sheets. However, you might not realize that the simple process of washing your sheets can help make them soft and supple to the touch.
Add ½ cup borax to a laundry tub of cool water and soak your sheets in the solution overnight. The next day run them through a wash cycle without detergent (or a small amount) and dry. Add 1 cup of salt to a laundry tub of cool water and let your sheets soak for a couple of days. Then wash as usual.
Laundry detergent residue can build up on the sheets leaving them with that stiff feeling. If you don't use a fabric conditioner at all, the fabric fibres can become brittle, leaving them feeling scratchy. Overtime bobbles and pilling starts forming on the sheets creating a surface that can feel rough.
However, this is why new sheets can feel scratchy or stiff, even if they're made of soft material. A little soap, water, and a dryer sheet or two will have them smelling much more pleasant and feeling much cleaner to sleep on.
Too much detergent weakens fibers over time. Do not put detergent directly on the fabric as straight detergent can cause discoloration. Instead, fill the washing machine with water and detergent to dilute the detergent and then add the sheets. Lastly, do not use fabric softener since this also breaks down the fibers.
Low-quality bedding is often made with short cotton fibers, which poke out of the weave and can make them feel rough.
There are two simple ingredients that can turn even basic, inexpensive sheets into silky soft bedding: baking soda and vinegar. All you have to do is toss those stiff sheets into the washer with 1 cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup of vinegar, and wash for one cycle.
Wash with the hottest water temperature setting listed on the care label. Polyester blends are best washed using warm water, while cotton can toleratehot water. Hotter water kills most germs and also takes care of dust mites that thrive in bedding.
Clean bed sheets contribute to a comfortable night's rest. Each night, your internal clock lowers your body's core temperature in preparation for sleep. Your sheets help create a microclimate between your body and your bed, drawing heat away from your core and lowering your internal temperature.
Dermatologist Alok Vij, MD, says you should wash your sheets at least every two weeks — maybe more, depending on factors like whether you live in a warm climate and whether your pet sleeps in your bed. Dr. Vij talks dead skin, dust mites, bed bacteria and how to keep your skin safe when you lie down to sleep.
Once the sheets are dry, you can wash them a second time using the regular amount of detergent. Although washing them twice sounds like a lot of work, it really helps to soften the sheets. Dry outside or in the dryer, then iron them (if you like) and place them directly on the bed.
Cotton is usually the softest. Once woven, the fabric is brushed to lift fine fibers. This creates a fuzzy softness that feels especially cozy in cold climates. Silk: Created from the cocoons of silkworms, fine diameter silk threads make for lustrous, smooth sheets that are soft on the skin without feeling slippery.
Over time, high heat will cause your comfortable cotton sheets to shrink and even tear. If you have the space and warm weather conditions, line or hang dry your wet sheets.
This means that when you check into a hotel room, you can expect to be sleeping on freshly laundered sheets that have not been used by anyone else. However, some hotels may not change sheets daily if you are staying for multiple nights. Instead, they may change them every two or three days.
How Often You Should Wash Your Sheets (And How to Get Them Really Clean) Experts recommend washing or changing sheets once a week.
Typically, hotels wash their bedding once every week including various kinds of comforters, sheets, and pillows. However, they often swap out the pillowcases and linens between the guests. It's a common practice that the hotel comforters are rarely automatically changed – unless a guest requests it.
The Good Housekeeping Institute says that your sheets should be changed at least once every two weeks. However, if you suffer with night sweats or allergies such as asthma, it's worth washing them weekly to get rid of any grime or potential irritants and keep your sleeping space fresh and clean.
Tumble dry your sheets on the low-heat setting to reduce wrinkling and prevent unnecessary wear. Using a low-heat setting also keeps your fitted sheets fitting snugly—if the dryer is too hot, it may damage the elastic. Avoid dryer sheets, as they can weaken the material and cause pilling over time.
Separating linens into separate loads based on their material type (sheets vs towels) will not only give your linen a better clean, it will also help prevent unnecessary wear-and-tear on your linens and your washer – all while extending the life of your linens significantly! Don't Wash Sheets and Towels Together!
Seventh Generation Lavender Fabric Softener is our top pick for two top reasons: it's powerful on clothes but gentle on your machine (and the environment). Whether you're washing new sheets or your favorite t-shirt, this fabric softener will have you looking forward to cuddling up in both!
Egyptian cotton will soften with age, laundering actually softens the fibres so that your Egyptian cotton bedding gets better with age. The hand or feel of the sheets created from Egyptian grown cotton is a bit harder than other cottons when the bedding is new.
Dryer sheets work by reducing static, depositing scents and helping make laundry feel softer to the touch. One of the key benefits of dryer sheets is that the ingredients in them help to combat, neutralize and fight the effects of built-up static in most fabrics.
100% Cotton bedding is naturally hypoallergenic, and breathable, making it the most desirable option for allergy sufferers. People with allergies or sensitive skin often find that Polycotton bed sheets make them itch.
High thread counts can certainly make for better, more comfortable sheets, but the quality of the thread matters more than the number. In fact, a better-quality fiber with a lower thread count will feel softer and stand up to washing better than a lower-quality fiber with a higher thread count.