I still remember the day, and this is very sad, when my all-time favorite pair of old jeans gave out. I’d had them for years, and we’d gone everywhere together. I loved those super-faded, five-pocket, button-fly jeans, and, you know, I think they loved me, too. We were perfect together.
And then one day I sensed the tear beginning in the right knee. I started bending with more care, but soon, whoosh, a three-corner tear split open the fabric and my whole knee cap burst through a hole the size of a doggie door. I looked in the mirror, hoping the tear wasn’t too noticeable. And a word my mother used to use when referring to some of my inferior wardrobe choices sprang to mind: disreputable.
Just like that great set of sheets or — oh, heck, let’s just say it, that great partner who’s become all broken in, comfortable and, even, I swear, understanding — well-loved jeans are hard to part with even when they’re beyond repair.
And so it is with sheets. Over the past weeks, I have written about our beds, specifically creating a heavenly sleep haven and selecting perfect sheets.
What I didn’t come right out and tell you is that good sheets are expensive. A really good set can run in the three-digit range, with the leading digit a one or two. (I know — breathe.) But listen. These sheets are the very things you crawl between at night and spend one-third of your life next to. So it pays to get them right.
Once you’ve found those perfect sheets that engulf you like a breath, and then paid for them, you’ll want to make sure they last so you won’t have to buy them again for 10 years at least.
“Great sheets should not get rougher or fall apart after many washings,” said Missy Tannen, owner of Boll & Branch, a New Jersey-based maker of 100 percent organic cotton luxury bed linens. “A,nd they won’t if you start with the right sheets and wash them correctly.”
“Correctly?” I echoed.
Never mind that I am a so-called national home design expert who has been doing her own laundry for three decades. Apparently, I have been washing my sheets all wrong.
I confirmed this with Eileen Mockus, chief officer for Coyuchi, a luxury organic bed linen maker based in northern California. Then these two experts shared the following relationship-changing tips on how to handle sheets with care.
Of the following seven tips, I was doing five wrong. See how you do.
1 Never use softener. Adding fabric softener or using dryer sheets coats sheets, reducing their absorbency and breathability. In short, it makes them feel icky. Don’t do it. Sheets should never feel slippery, slick or waxy. (I got this right.)
2 Wash in cool on gentle. Oops. I’ve always washed sheets in hot water on a regular cycle. Mockus recommends machine washing sheets on gentle or delicate in cold water and with natural, plant-based laundry detergent. “Cotton is a natural product,” agreed Tannen. “Treat it gently.”
3 Avoid chlorine bleach. Bleaching agents can dull colors and break down cotton fibers, said Mockus and Tannen. If you must use bleach, use the non-chlorine type. I’ve always been a sucker for whiter whites — apparently, to my sheets’ undoing.
4 Wash towels separately. Raise your hand if you wash your sheets and towels together. (If you never wash either, you don’t get credit here.) Towel lint can stick to sheets in the dryer, which means those sheets come out coated with lint balls, Tannen said. Plus, towels are rough and can create friction in the washer and dryer. That can literally wear out your sheets.
5 Shake ’em up. A few brisk shakes of the sheets between wash and dry cycles reduce wrinkles. If you put a crumpled ball of wet sheets right into the dryer, the creases bake in, said Tannen. (I got this right.)
6Don’t over-dry. Heat is a fabric destroyer. While it’s not always practical, line drying is the actually best way to prolong the life of your sheets, said Mockus. You can always toss them in the dryer for a couple minutes after they come off the line so they lose any brittleness. If you machine dry, remove sheets from the dryer when they’re still warm and slightly damp, then lay them flat on the bed to dry, said Tannen. “It’s the next best thing to ironing.”
7 Iron to taste. Pure cotton wrinkles, but will wrinkle less if you follow tips five and six. Avoid going to a commercial cleaners to launder sheets. (Guilty again.) Yes, the sheets come back pristine and pressed, but the heavy-duty presses will degrade the delicate cotton faster than home care. Here’s a shortcut to get that pressed look: Iron only the top 12 inches of top the sheet — which you see when it’s turned down over a blanket — and the pillowcases. The rest stays under cover.
Now you can thank me for making a good relationship last. Sleep well.
Syndicated columnist Marni Jameson is the author of two home and lifestyle books, and the forthcoming “Downsizing the Family Home: What to Keep, What to Let Go” (Sterling Press). Contact her through .
