When everything is going well, we spend about 8 hours a day sleeping, or a third of an entire day snugly wrapped in our sheets. Sheets that collect an assortment of skin, bodily fluids, dust, dust mites and pet hair if you have them. To properly wash our sheets, there is an arsenal of natural products. Without going back to the wash house, here are some useful tips, very easy to implement and which will save you money!
Pre-wash stains
Black soap is perfect for pre-treating stains. It is liquid, embeds itself well in the fibers and has no equal for gently removing all kinds of stains. To do this, you must moisten the stained areas well, pour a dose of black soap, the equivalent of a large tablespoon, on them and rub with a small quackgrass brush. A great technique also when washing shirts, to rub the collars and cuffs before washing. Be careful with blood stains, only use cold water otherwise you will cook the blood and set the stain instead of removing it...
Soak the sheet
With technology and these machines that do everything for us, we have forgotten this important washing step which consists of soaking the textile before cleaning it. As someone who very often washes old linens which have deeply encrusted stains, I understand the importance of soaking when you want to properly clean a sheet. No need to do it every time you wash it, if your sheet is just normally dirty, but if you want to remove stains, soaking is a very good solution! A large basin, hot water and you gently soak your sheet overnight. You can add a tablespoon of black soap to help dissolve the dirt. If you also want to whiten it, then opt for baking soda, a miracle natural product which will eat away the gray accumulated on the laundry and restore its shine by reviving its natural colors!
Wash with Marseille soap
With a gentle cycle at 60 degrees, try natural detergent recipes based on Marseille soap flakes, with a little bicarbonate, they are just as effective as detergents full of commercial chemicals without their artificial odors. A sheet washed with Marseille soap and dried outside smells much better than one washed with island scents... And it will be just as clean and safe for your children's skin or groundwater.
Spread the sheet out in the open air
One of the secrets to properly cleaned laundry is how you hang it out to dry. The better you hang your sheets (but also your shirts on hangers, or your T-shirts from bottom to top), the less you will need to iron them. Hanging in the middle, pulling the sheet so as not to create creases, it will then fold easily. The other secret to very clean laundry is the outside. A century ago, sheets were put to dry on meadows in the evening, so that the moon would have its effect and naturally whiten the textiles. It still works today! The sun also bleaches, a sheet hung outside will dry completely and get rid of stubborn odors. Hang your sheets out in the open air as much as possible. Not to mention that drying machines are large consumers of energy and tend to crease the fibers or even damage them.
To iron or not to iron?
Ironing smoothes the fibers and protects them, when you have beautiful old sheets, you can either fold them and store them unironed or iron them so as not to break the fibers. For everyday sheets, if you have time, a quick iron will remove all traces of humidity and therefore possible residue. I don't iron my sheets, I already spend a lot of time ironing the old textiles that I sell. I use my hands to fold them well and smooth them with the warmth of my palms (also very effective on the jersey of the t-shirts!)
How often to wash your sheets?
How often should you wash your sheets? Twice a month ? Once a week ? Once a month ? The average is more around once a week due to this natural pollution of bodies on textiles. Cotton and linen become damaged if they are not washed frequently and you will have more difficulty removing dirt, especially from pillowcases.
Also read on the same topic: What are the most effective methods for washing old laundry
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