Ask the Decorator online home-improvement and decorating show host Meghan Carter interviewed Alan Jesseman [1], the creative director at Anichini [2], 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 .

• 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 [3] for more videos and tips like these!