Once you’ve taken the time to choose safe, sustainable, and stylish sheets, you’ll want to look after them. Some sheets are easier to care for than others, though, and a single misstep can damage your sheets forever. Here’s how to care for sheets made with organic cotton, linen, and hemp – part of the Leaf Score Guide to Non-Toxic Bedding.
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Caring for organic cotton sheets
Organic cotton sheets usually shrink quite a lot with their first wash. This is why many manufacturers now ship organic cotton sheets prewashed, so there are no nasty surprises when your new sheets don’t fit after your first wash them.
The reality, though, is that organic cotton sheets can shrink further and break down faster if you wash or dry the sheets too hot. However, if you follow the care instructions (which aren’t overly fussy), organic cotton sheets are easy to maintain for years to come.
Caring for organic cotton sheets usually involves:
- Washing your sheets with cold or warm water
- Avoiding harsh detergents, softeners, and bleach
- Drying on low or (ideally) line-drying
- Ironing or steaming to get rid of any wrinkles.
To keep your organic cotton sheets in good shape, we recommend removing them from the machine right away, reshaping them while damp, and line-drying.
Careful folding can help to avoid your sheets developing wrinkles, although organic cotton sheets are naturally smoother and less wrinkly than linen and hemp bedding. That said, it’s more obvious when cotton sheets are wrinkled or creased. If this bothers you, organic cotton sheets can withstand some degree of ironing without too much damage to the natural fibers. Try to make this an exception, though, and embrace the wrinkles!
If you need to brighten your organic cotton sheets, use a non-chlorine bleach or a mixture of baking soda and white vinegar.
Caring for linen sheets
Many of the same general care and maintenance rules for cotton sheets also apply for linen sheets. However, linen sheets do best with:
- Cold water on a gentle cycle
- Liquid detergent, no softeners or bleach
- An extra rinse, especially if you use powder detergent
- Line drying or low heat.
Linen is a very robust fiber (even more so than cotton), so drying linen sheets in the machine won’t do too much damage. That said, if you need to machine dry linen sheets, use a low heat setting, don’t overload the dryer, and remove the sheets right away when the cycle finishes.
Linen is also very linty and can be very heavy when wet, because it soaks up a lot of water. In my experience, you don’t want to overload your machine when washing linen. The weight can damage the motor, and the sheets themselves can get twisty.
Also, be very sure to check your lint traps and remove lint build-up after washing linen sheets the first few times. Gradually, the lint will diminish, and your sheets will get softer and softer with each wash.
Avoid washing and drying linen sheets (or any sheets!) with any abrasive items (like clothes with zippers).
The nice thing about linen sheets is that they look naturally casual and rumpled, so there’s no need to iron them! And linen sheets are also a great option if you are terrible at folding sheets neatly (like me).
Caring for hemp sheets
Hemp sheets are naturally antimicrobial and keep odors at bay for longer. This is good news because it means you can usually get away with washing them less often. When they do need washing, though, hemp sheets are a bit fussier than linen and cotton.
Hemp sheets do best with:
- A cold wash cycle (or warm water every once in a while)
- No bleach, softeners, or harsh detergents
- Line drying out of direct sunlight
- No tumble drying or low heat on a short cycle
- Low heat ironing only if absolutely necessary.
Hemp is a naturally wrinkly fabric, although less wrinkly than linen. This might mean you’re tempted to iron your hemp sheets. While this is okay once in a while, it can start to degrade the fiber. As such, if you like a crisper look to your bedding, hemp might not be for you.
If you’re used to filling your washing machine with all your bed sheets at once – shams, flat sheet, fitted sheet, and duvet cover! – you’ll need to kick the habit if you buy hemp sheets. And, if you can only do one large load of laundry at a time, you might want to reconsider hemp sheets and go for linen or organic cotton instead.
Hemp sheets soak up a lot of water during a wash cycle and get very heavy and tangled. I learned this the hard way by spending a solid hour trying to untangle a very heavy and wet bundle of hemp bedding. Super frustrating.
If you’re not careful, the heaviness of wet hemp sheets can even cause damage to your washer and dryer. My advice is to wash larger hemp sheets and duvet covers in very small loads and with similar color items. And make sure any zippers or closures are fastened before washing!
Hemp is a very linty fiber too, so be sure to empty the lint trap in your dryer every time you wash your hemp sheets. I’ve found that my hemp sheets are too heavy to comfortably line dry, so I dry them on low in small loads. Even then, the lint trap is full every time.
General care and maintenance of sheets
For all sheets, regardless of material, it’s best to wash in smaller loads and with similar colors. Cool water cycles and line drying are not only more eco-friendly than a hot wash and tumble drying, they’re also better for the sheets.
Over time, too many hot washes and high heat drying seriously degrade natural fibers. This can mean that sheets only last a few years instead of for decades.
If you’ve accidentally damaged your sheets, consider upcycling or recycling them in creative ways. And choose safe, sustainable sheets that better fit your approach to caring for bedding.