Have you ever wondered how often you should wash your bed linen/sheets? Many of us prefer to have it always fresh and crispy, the others don’t mind, but what is really hygienic?

 

Since changing sheets isn’t the most entertaining, we quite often dispute not only who but when should we change our bed linen. It should be washed every second week, at least. In summer especially, when our bodies sweat, we should do it once a week.   So is there any scientific reason to follow that rule?

 

According to professor Sally Bloomfield from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, there are of course many people who barely change their bed linen. They tend to use it for months and in fact they never get ill, but if we start washing our bed linen often we certainly reduce the risk of being sick.

 

On top, our body every day looses million of skin cells, most of them in bed. The cells & the sweat attract the mites. As harmless they seem, they produce droppings triggering asthma, allergies or eye itching!

 

If you wonder how to clean your bed linen the best way, always follow the instruction on the label. White sheets can normally take a bit more heat, and 60 degrees shouldn’t do too much harm. Be careful however with colorful bed linen.

 

Why does our bed linen often shrink?

Washing our bed linen in hot water may cause and often will some kind of degree of shrinkage. This is quite natural and it is due to the process called relaxation shrinkage.

As the cotton is spun & woven, the tension is created when the fibres are going through the straightening, stretching and twisting. It makes the cotton more durable and resilient to any possible damage. The tension is however released when the fabric is washed or steam pressed. The heat and the agitation simply allow the fibres to relax and return the fabric to its natural size.

 

Is there a way to avoid it?

Unfortunately not really! Washing in cold water and hang-drying may only minimize the shrinkage.

 

Not that far ago a US bed linen producer Sferra tested a king size fitted sheet. They have followed washing & drying care instructions. Below are the results:

 

	Width	Length	Depth
Size before washing	81″	84″	18.5″
Size after 1st wash	79″	82″	18″
Size after 2nd wash	78.5″	81″	17.75″
Size after 3rd wash	78″	80.5″	17.5″
Size after 4th wash	78″	80.5″	17.5″

 

Though the measurements are in inches, the crucial is the shrinkage rate that was 3.7%, 4.2%, 5.4% for the width, length and depth, respectively. The perfect fit (King size fitted sheet: 78″ x 80″) is accomplished after 3rd wash.

 

Due to the natural and inevitable bed linen shrinkage , at Evencki we purposely overcut our bed linen and sheets to allow for possible shrinkage, which according to our tests is up to 4% when washing in high temperature.

 

Pilling occurs unfortunately with all bed linen. However, if properly taken care of, luxury bed linen pill really seldom. So in case you are sleeping on luxury Egyptian cotton bed linen or regular department store bed linen, below we have provided the information why bed linen can pill & how to prevent it from happening.

 

It is more common to experience pilling in lower quality fabrics since the fibers in the yarn are simply not twisted properly, tightly enough. Over the time they will loose and break, knot and ball up. Think sweaters for a moment! They are constantly pilling. This is a result of their loose weave. But if you compare it with the finest woven wool suit, the weave is by all means tighter and therefore less prone to pill. With luxury bed linen where the weave is considerable tight there is less probability that it will pill as say a sweater.

 

In general it is all down to the cotton fibre, the better twist they have, the longer they are, the more stable the fabric is and the chance that our bed linen will pill are minimal. At Evencki, we use only long stable fibres. And though our cotton is considered as one of the finest, it may pill if we disregard e.g. care instructions. Excessive amount of fabric softener or detergents containing chlorine bleach can substantially weaken the fibres. Another rather harmful factor is heat. When cotton is washed or tumbled dry in high temperatures, its fibres begin to break.

 

When we sleep, we all toss and turn. The movement of the fabric act unfortunately against the weakened fibres creating certain friction. With the time, this friction causes the fibres to break and then to pill.

It doesn’t mean that we should sleep stiff, the way to prevent our bed linen from pilling is only to follow the care instructions. For all Evencki bed linen, we recommend our clients to use short wash cycle with a moderate amount of washing powder. If there is a possibility always hang-dry your bed linen, if tumble dry only on low heat. Avoid washing bed linen with other fabrics especially synthetic.

 

We also would like to highlight that cotton sateen bed linen should be washed in cold water before use. It will set the fibres. As percale bed linen has a different fabric construction, it has less of tendency to pill.

 

Percale vs. Sateen.    

 

At Evencki we are known for our crisp and fresh percale bed linen as well as our splendid cotton sateen. So what is really the difference between those two fabrics?

 

There are basically two types of weave. Percale is woven in a simple/plain weave and normally has a thread count higher than 200. Its sheets have a matte finish and feel very crisp & fresh. For those who are not familiar with the feeling, it is quite similar to a white shirt often made of percale. Percale bed linen is certainly a must have for summer. It is lighter in comparison to cotton sateen and more breathable making it perfect for hot nights.

 

Cotton Sateen on the other hand is woven with a different technique to create a surface that is smooth and silky. Sateen in general has a higher thread count than percale and has more luxurious feel. Since the threads are usually woven more tightly, its sheets are also thicker. On top, sateen bed linen is extremely soft, has a sumptuous feel, perfect for autumn and cold winter.

Yes, there is wrinkle-free bed linen, it is made of synthetic or chemically treated fabrics. Though it is wrinkle-free and for many people it seems like a great convince, at Evencki we only recommend natural cotton & linen bedding.

There are quite many people who are afraid of buying linen bedding just because it wrinkles a lot. There are others who reject natural cotton bed linen just the same reason.

 

Unfortunately those two fabrics despite the comfort they provide wrinkle. There are however a few ways around it.

 

1. Don’t use a tumble dryer: 

Tumble-drying will in fact create wrinkles that are difficult to remove, plus when on hot it can damage your bed linen. In case you like having your bed linen dry as fast as possible, 10 min. is certainly enough. As cotton sheets or bed linen have a tendency to dry quickly there is no need to keep them through the whole cycle.

 

2. Hang-dry your bed linen 

Avoid using tumble dry and once washed hang dry your bed line over a cloth dryer. Smooth it with your hands! It will help to avoid wrinkles.

 

3. Always fold your sheets & bed linen 

Once you wash & dry your bed linen, try to fold them properly. It will prevent them from wrinkling.

 

4. Iron your bed linen 

It might be a bit boring, true! But if you have a proper iron, it makes a huge difference how fast & how well you iron your bed linen. Try to iron once still damp.

 

5. Pre-washed bed linen 

There is bed line that has wrinkles on purpose. It is extremely stylish and highly recommended to anyone.

 

Our organic white Belgian linen: