Using fabric softeners each time you wash your sheets is a no-no. Fabric softeners coat a fabric's fibers and reduce the fabric's air permeability, leaving behind a film that can start to feel heavy and slimy.
When you wash your sheets and pillowcases, be sure not to use too harsh a detergent nor too much of it. Look for a mild liquid detergent without added bleach, optical brighteners, whiteners, or fabric softeners. Some experts even suggest using a baby detergent, which is gentle but effective.
Skip the Fabric Softener
Who doesn't love the buttery-soft feel that fabric softeners provide? But while it has a lot of pros—softening your garments, helping with static, adding fresh scents, and making ironing easier—it's actually bad for certain materials, including sheets.
Use the right laundry enhancers:
Use non-chlorine bleach when needed to get white sheets white again, but avoid traditional fabric softeners as they can weaken the fibers.
Too much detergent weakens fibers over time. Do not put detergent directly on the fabric as straight detergent can cause discoloration. Instead, fill the washing machine with water and detergent to dilute the detergent and then add the sheets. Lastly, do not use fabric softener since this also breaks down the fibers.
Copeland also advises making sure you aren't using softener too often. “Using it all the time stays in your clothes, and then it stays in your machines,” he says, which can not only shorten the life of your machine, but also your fabrics.
Unless they're extremely dirty, sheets don't require a heavy wash cycle. For this reason, sheets get clean on the normal, regular or colors cycle. Additionally, polyester blends wash best in warm water while cotton can be washed in hot. Above all, hotter water kills more germs and dust mites that live in bedding.
Joining you in bed are countless dust mites and bacteria, not to mention lots and lots of your own dead skin. Dermatologist Alok Vij, MD, says you should wash your sheets at least every two weeks — maybe more, depending on factors like whether you live in a warm climate and whether your pet sleeps in your bed.
Water Temperature and Detergent - The best overall temperature to wash your sheets in is warm water. Hot water will fade colors and can be harsh on fine threads. Cold water may not clean your sheets as well as you would like. Choose your favorite detergent or a mild one that will help you care for your sheets properly.
Avoid Using Fabric Softeners on Certain Fabrics
You'll also want to skip the fabric softener on specialty fabrics like wicking sportswear, flameproof children's clothes or pajamas, or water-resistant items, and synthetic fabrics like polyester or anything containing elastane and nylon (think skinny jeans or leggings).
But it comes at a cost: Fabric softener can reduce flame resistance on children's sleepwear, and the residue buildup in the machine can create a healthy environment for mildew to grow in. It can even diminish workout clothes' wicking ability.
Fabric softeners can also stain your clothes. Liquid softeners can occasionally leave bluish or grey stain spots on garments, and overtime the waxy buildup can also cause yellowing on whites.
For your everyday clothing, which will mostly be made from natural fibers like cotton, fabric softener should work just fine. You can enjoy the benefits of reducing static cling and improving the smell of your clothes, and any negative side effects should be minimal.
Most pillows are fine to wash at home, though a few may be dry clean only. Memory foam or latex pillows cannot be washed and must be steamed instead. Remove the cover from the pillows and wash it separately with sheets, following the above instructions. Place the pillows in the washing machine.
If your top loader has a dispenser (it's usually on the center column in the drum), just drop there the recommended amount of fabric softener at the same time you pour or place your laundry detergent on the drum and wash as you normally would.
Generally, you should use between one and two tablespoons per load. However, you should always refer to the instructions on the fabric softener container to make sure you are using the correct amount.
Linen is a naturally soft fabric, so don't use fabric softener as it can do more damage to the fibers in its effort to break them down. You'll also want to avoid bleach, as it's too harsh for linen and can damage the fabric.
Bacteria on your linen can cause breakouts, whiteheads, skin inflammation, and intense itching. They can also cause skin problems like acne or eczema or worsen existing conditions. Bacteria, dust mites, bed bugs are all responsible for affecting the health of your family's skin.
Is it okay to change your bed sheets once a month? While your specific sheet changing habits might vary a little bit depending on your lifestyle, your body, and your preferences, most experts agree you should change your sheets every week or every two weeks.
“We recommend washing bath towels after every three uses, or at least once a week, to ensure truly clean towels,” said Kate Elks, Brooklinen director. “Brooklinen's bath offerings, including bath towels and sheets, hand towels, and washcloths, only differ in size, so you can care for them all the same way.”
There's a lot of debate around the best temperature to wash your bedding, but as a general rule of thumb, we'd always recommend adhering to the care labels and following the instructions. Most fabrics can be washed at a warm temperature of 40° as this helps to remove dirt, natural body oils and takes care of germs.
Although lower temperature washing is favoured for environmental reasons, for bedding it's best to stick to 60°C, this will help kill dust mites and bacteria. It's hard enough to keep bacteria and germs at bay, but if you eat in bed, there's a chance you're making it an even bigger breeding ground.
Separating linens into separate loads based on their material type (sheets vs towels) will not only give your linen a better clean, it will also help prevent unnecessary wear-and-tear on your linens and your washer – all while extending the life of your linens significantly! Don't Wash Sheets and Towels Together!
Most towel experts would agree that it's a bad idea to use fabric softener on towels regularly, as it will decrease their absorbency over time.