Ask the Decorator online home-improvement and decorating show host Meghan Carter interviewed Alan Jesseman, the creative director at Anichini, to learn the right way to wash your sheets. He offered some expert tips on the task, some of which may make you realize you've been doing it all wrong! I've summarized a few for you:
- Sheets should always be washed; you don't want dry-cleaning chemicals close to your body.
- Use a mild detergent or soap, something that doesn't have any whiteners or brighteners, and something that has minimal fragrance or colorings to it.
- Test oxygen bleaches on a corner before using to make sure it won't take the color out.
There's more where these came from and a video of the interview, so read more.
- Always dissolve your detergent in the water first and let it agitate for a minute before you put the clothes in.
- Everything will last longer if you use a front-loading washer; they're much more gentle because they don't have the agitator in the middle.
- Hot water is very harsh on the fibers and colors, and will shorten the lifespan of your sheets. Use cool or lukewarm water.
- If you line dry your sheets, the wind will blow most of the wrinkles out of them, and you won't get lint (a sign of your sheets breaking down). If you live in a city and can't line dry, use your dryer on the air tumble (fluff dry) cycle.
- Take your sheets out of your dryer before they're bone dry (hot and dry) because that's hard on the fibers.
- Sheets smell best if you line dry them in the snow!
Check out Ask the Decorator for more videos and tips like these!
Nﾟmph
Gambini
Pineapple
Thanks for the tips! I have been washing my sheets in hot water and I won't be doing that anymore. Good to know!
1I thought sheets were supposed to be washed in hot water only as it is more likely to kill any nasty germs or bed bugs?
2yeah, i'm pretty sure you told us not to long ago to only use hot water!
3I was always taught to use hot water to kill bacteria. The drying in the snow is a new thing for me. Interesting.
4I agree i always thought hot water was best on sheets
5i always thought you were supposed to use hot water too
also "Sheets smell best if you line dry them in the snow" um, what? typically, when it's snowing, it's freezing outside. how can you line dry WET clothes outside - won't they just freeze too?
6Hot water may kill germs best, but according to Alan Jesseman, using extremely hot water is also very harsh on the fibers and colors of your sheets, effectively wearing down them down quickly. So, he suggests using lukewarm or cold water. I have seen some antibacterial laundry detergents and sprays out there, which should help.
7I put a little Febreeze allergen in my laundry when I was it. I need to wash mine in hot err lukewarm because of allergies with my cat.
Poor little guy...
8*wash it
9I've always washed my sheets in hot water...never knew you were supposed to use cool.
10i would use cold water on everything ( i really don't think the hot water helps much - i'm not that dirty!) but the washer/dryer in my suite only does hot.
i can't wait to move.
11One reason to wash your sheets in as hot water as you can is to kill dust mites and to remove other allergens. If you suffer from allergies, buy good thick cotton sheets and resign yourself to having them last a little less long. Me, I go to hotels and ask for their old sheets --too thin, worn, or stained for the high-paying crowd. I then wash them in hot water and bleach, and they generally last me for several years. When one set starts getting too worn to be useful, it's time to hit up housekeeping again
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