Tips for Washing Your Linens

Tips for washing linens

I love new linens; they are the easiest way to update a bedroom. The same can be said of fresh new towels, isn’t that why we always put out our best when we have guests? But just like everything else in our home, linens and towels are an investment. Treat them well and they will love you back.

Maid Natural house cleaning teams frequently launder mostly linens and towels when they do laundry for customers. Our teams have many tips on how to wash linens to prevent wrinkling, maintain the fluffiness of new cotton towels and extend the life of your linens. Here are some insider secrets on how we do laundry…

Scent etiquette – let’s get with the times.

Scent is a personal choice, although the majority of our clients choose scent free products. Because scent is a personal choice we recommend that you use unscented detergents when cleaning table linens and guest room items (such as sheets and towels). The key is to assume that your guests would like their scent preferences accommodated, keep this in mind when you are hosting your next party.

 

The Best Way to Care for Your Linens and Towels

Towels

New cotton towels are a joy, but can be fairly stiff. Do not make the mistake of adding fabric softener to the wash in hopes of softening them. Cotton towels will relax their stiffness after a few washes, whereas fabric softener will actually diminish their fluffiness and water absorbency. Most new towels have a fabric softener coating on them to give them a better appearance on the store shelf, so wash them prior to first use. Wash like colors with like colors,

French Linens

The most common complaint for this luxurious bed linen is wrinkling. There are varying qualities of French linen sheets, most tend to not be pre-shrunk. (Although most brands factor in shrinkage into their sizing).

Wash French linen sheets inside out and on the gentle cycle, not the regular cycle. Why? Because the reduced spinning rate will prevent wrinkling and pilling. You want your French linens to come out of the washer damp. Once the cycle is done, give them a good shake prior to drying.

The most ideal drying method is hanging outside in the sunshine. Line drying reduces wrinkles, is gentle on the fabric, and the direct sunlight kills dust mites. During the cold weather season when line drying is not ideal, be sure to not over dry your linens in the dryer. Over drying is not good for the fabric and will cause wrinkling. If you do have wrinkled linens and feel the need to iron them, consider the cycles you wash and dry with first.

From our experience the linen setting is too hot on most irons, and may cause shiny spots and can dull the colour. We recommend using a steam iron.

Kitchen Tea Towels

This cloth takes the worst beating and is very difficult to get clean. A kitchen cloth needs to be washed with the sanitary cycle to kill the germs and bacteria picked up in the kitchen. Because of the high heat, staining can be difficult to avoid. If you prefer white kitchen towels, then be committed to replacing them regularly. White towels lose their visual appeal and can make your sparkling clean kitchen look dirty if they are stained.