How to care for bed linen?
Properly caring for your bed linen is key to ensuring comfort, hygiene, and longevity. We spend nearly a third of our lives sleeping: it is therefore essential to make sure that our sheets, duvet covers, and pillowcases remain clean, soft, and pleasant to the touch.
Good care is based on several simple steps: proper washing, careful drying, folding, storage, and respecting the properties of each material.
Bed linen, especially when made from natural fibers such as cotton, percale, or linen, requires special care to maintain its brilliance over the years. Well cared-for, these materials not only offer optimal comfort but also better durability. Regular washing of your bed linen also helps limit the presence of dust mites, dust, and moisture accumulated during the night.
Discover our tips to keep your sets beautiful and comfortable for longer.
How to store bed linen?
Storage plays an important role in preserving bed linen. Once washed and dried, your sheets and covers should be carefully folded. Regular folding prevents the formation of deep creases that would be difficult to iron later.
To save time when changing bedding, it is advisable to gather each complete set: duvet cover, fitted sheet, and pillowcases can be slipped inside a matching pillowcase. This way, you will always have a ready-to-use set that's easy to find.
The storage location is just as important. Linen should be kept in a clean, dry wardrobe away from direct sunlight. Moisture promotes mold growth and can damage the fabric, while sun exposure risks fading colors.
To keep bed linen fresh, consider placing small sachets of lavender, cedar balls, or scented linen in your wardrobes. These natural solutions provide a delicate scent and repel unwanted insects.
Another essential point: do not compress your stacks of linen. Natural fibers like linen or percale benefit from being stored loosely. This helps maintain the natural drape of the fabric and prevents the fibers from being crushed. Finally, regularly air out your wardrobes: renewing the air for a few minutes each month helps preserve the brilliance and freshness of your textiles.
How to soften new bed linen?
When new, bed linen may feel a bit stiff to the touch. This sensation comes from the finishes applied to the fabric during manufacturing. They serve to fix the colors, protect the fibers, and facilitate cutting, but can make the textile less soft.
To quickly regain softness and comfort, it is highly recommended to wash your bed linen before first use.
A first machine wash at 30 or 40°C, without fabric softener, is usually enough to soften the fibers. This initial wash also removes residues related to manufacturing. For an even softer result, you can add a glass of white vinegar to the softener compartment. Natural and effective, it helps relax the fibers and neutralize any odors related to textile treatments.
Unlike some commercial softeners, it does not leave any film on the fabric and does not impair breathability.
Over time and successive washes, your bed linen will naturally become softer. 57-thread-count cotton gains in softness, percale maintains its smooth and refined appearance, while linen, a robust fiber par excellence, softens wash after wash while retaining its authentic elegance. This gradual evolution makes your sets more and more pleasant night after night.
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