What is the best temperature to wash your bedsheets?

There is nothing better than falling into freshly-washed bed sheets at the end of a long week. But how often should we be washing them? Here are some of our top-tips on looking after your bedding and how to keep that fresh feeling lasting longer.

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.

Silk bed sheets should be washed at a lower temperature of 30° with a mild, non-biological detergent, or a silk specialist washing detergent.

As a general rule, you should wash your bed sheets once a week or every other week (keeping a spare set, or two, is handy if your diary is packed out, but also for rotating) If there is someone in your house who suffers from allergies, we would suggest washing once a week is best to keep them as fresh as possible.

White sheets should be washed once a week to keep them looking crisp and to prevent a build-up of stains.

For the very best results, always wash your new bedding before first use.

Most modern washing machines have a dedicated cycle for washing bed sheets - alternatively, it's best to use a normal, gentle cycle. Using a heavy duty cycle will cause the sheets to get tangled and can damage the fibres.

Silk bedding should be washed on a gentle cycle to protect its natural fibres. Top tip - place silk items in a laundry bag to prevent the fibres from catching and snagging.

If you are washing a patterned or coloured duvet cover or pillowcase, remember to turn them inside out before you put them through the wash to protect the colours.

Linen is a beautiful fabric that only gets better when it's washed and cared for properly. When washing French Linen please ensure that you do not use any products containing bleach, this will affect the colour and durability of the fabric. Be sure to use the correct detergent and avoid optical brighteners. Choose a gel or detergent that are specific for coloured fabrics.

You can tumble try your linen bedsheets but they are best left to airdry if you have the space. Linen has a wonderful rumpled texture that lends itself to being left unironed. Or if you prefer a more pristine look, linen can be ironed on a low temperature and whilst it's still damp. 

Most bed sheets can be tumble dried, be sure to check the care labels individually first. We suggest a combination of machine and air drying (where possible). Air or line drying your bedding is better for the environment.

Keep the temperature on a low heat and dry items in small loads to allow the sheets to dry evenly.

Remove the sheets from the dryer whilst still slightly damp and hang them out to air dry, this will help to naturally iron out some of the creases.

Hang out your silk sheets to dry naturally in the air - never tumble dry silk sheets as this will damage the precious fabric.

Iron your bed sheets if you love the soft, luxury look, we recommend removing them from the tumble dryer whilst still slightly damp and ironing on a low heat. Silk sheets can be ironed too but on the coolest, silk setting and not until they are completely dry.

Not a fan of ironing? Our French Linen range is a popular option as it's need little to no ironing due to it's more relaxed, live-in feel.

For light coloured linens, iron on both sides, for dark or coloured linens, iron the reverse side only. Ironing your sheets can help to remove the remaining germs and dust mites

Your mattress is too big to go in the wash, whereas protectors can be washed along with your normal bedding cycle. They are handy to keep away nasties from your bedding for those allergy sufferers too.

Wash your bedding on its own, that way it can move around freely in the washing machine, giving your sheets a more even wash.

Vacuum your mattress once every few months. Use the lowest suction setting with a upholstery attachment. Always check the care guide as some mattresses cannot be vacuumed as it moves the filling inside.

Avoid drying your bed linen with your towels. This can take longer to dry and you may end up shrinking your pillow cases.

Wash pillows and duvets on a very low heat, if your washing machine load is large enough - if not, take them to the dry cleaners and leave it to the experts! For best results, leave them to air dry. Always read the care labels before washing.

So there you have it, our expert guide on washing your bedding and keeping that super fresh feeling. You can read more about keeping those white sheets as white as ever, here. 

Got any more top-tips, we'd love to hear them! Please feel free to leave a comment below.

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