Take Care of Your Sheets

In my head I'm singing "Care for Your Sheets" to the tune of "Stand by Your Man." A little weird, yes? I know, but I feel pretty strongly about this one so I'm going to keep singing to myself even if it doesn't scan very well.

One of the questions we get in the store is "How long will my sheets last?" The answer I have to give can be a little bit iffy because how long your sheets last has quite a bit more to do with how you take care of them than anything else. So in terms of a time period good bedding can last ten years, a life time or less than a year depending on how they are used and laundered.

One of the most difficult problems to deal with at the store happens when someone has bought a really great set of sheets and launders them with care but uses the same set over and over and over again. They're good sheets, they may have been a little expensive, they feel nice so they've been the only sheets on the bed since they were purchased. The problem with this is that good sheets are made of natural fiber and will wear out if they aren't rested. "My sheets need rest?" you're thinking. They do. Just like anything made of cotton, or silk, or linen they aren't intended for constant wear.

Think of it like this: You've just bought a fantastic pair of jeans. They fit perfectly, they are comfortable and they make your butt look great. So you take them home and put them on and go out for the day. After being worn for 8 hours or so you take them off and toss them on a chair, maybe under a few other things. The next day you put them back on and wear them again for another 8 hours or so. After a week of wearing them everyday you wash and dry your jeans and put them back on again. Off you go for another week, wash, rinse and repeat. Now I'm going to ask you how good do you think those jeans are going to look after even just a month of that? What about after a year? It is no different with bedding. Just like with your clothing you have to change it up a bit.

Now after telling this little analogy in the store I've had a couple of people come back with things like "But I don't take my sheets outside, I'm not really doing anything in them." And I have to answer "Oh, but you are. You really are." At night we perspire, drool, roll, wiggle, toss and turn. All the products that we use on our hair and skin have prolonged and immediate contact with our bedding. People read in bed, work in bed, eat in bed, have fun in bed. All of these things deposit substances (sorry!) on the bedding that we then lay down on and roll around on. It gets worse even. If you are wearing pajamas made of synthetic fibres we'll need to worry about abrasion damage from the two fabrics rubbing against each other.

So we generally recommend that you keep three sets of sheets for your bed. The saying that goes "One for the bed, one for the wash and one for the closet" is an old one but it still holds true. Having three sets is the best way to make sure your sheets last as long as they should. Combine that with proper laundry care and your beautiful sheets can easily last for ten years and longer.

So that leaves poor laundry practice to deal with. There are lots of ways to shorten the life span of your sheet in the wash. Overloading the machine, washing sheets with towels, using harsh detergents, bleaching, fabric softeners, excessive heat, over drying and too frequent or too infrequent laundering can all damage bedding and decrease durability. You can read more about how to launder bedding in the Laundry Care section at www.oleanderforhome.ca.

So we always need to keep in mind that luxury bedding is an investment. It needs a bit of attention and care to preform its best. If you put the effort into it you'll reap the benefits for years and years.