This Mother's Day, give the gift of pure linen bedding. It is a natural low-irritant fibre that is soft and luxurious as well as durable.
I Love Linen creative director Lauren Roe has some suggestions to care for your investment and keep your linen looking good.
If possible, have more than one set
Linen sheets are a durable bedding option designed for many years of use. To extend their life, Lauren suggests having more than one set, when possible.
Swap them over when they are due for a wash and a soften.
Use a cool, gentle washing cycle
Linen is best cared for by selecting a cold-water gentle cycle on your washing machine and opting for a mild detergent. Biodegradable liquid detergent is ideal.
A cold-water cycle is gentler on your bed linen than a warm water wash, helping to preserve the colour of your fabric and avoid shrinkage.
Forget fabric softener
Fabric softener often leaves a coating on fabrics, reducing breathability and absorbency. Linen is known for its moisture-wicking abilities so dulling this natural talent is counterintuitive. On top of this, the coating left by fabric softener can reduce your linen's lifespan by breaking down the fabric over time. Overall, linen naturally gets softer with every wash, so there's no reason to potentially damage your fabric's natural abilities by adding a fabric softener.
Be bleach free
Due to it's natural composition, linen fabric is prone to fading and discolouration when exposed to chemicals.
Bleaching agents can be the cause of this chemical reaction, including the bleaching agents that can be found in face creams and ointments.
As with fabric softeners, bleaching agents can weaken linen's natural strength, breaking down the fabric. So it's best to keep your fresh linen away from bleaching agents.
Line dry in the shade
Lauren said it's best to dry your linen in the shade. Sunlight might cause linen fibres to become discoloured or brittle, weakening the fabric's overall strength.
Similarly, the heat and motion of a tumble dry can create wrinkling and weaken the fabric over time.
Of course, there are times when your busy schedule means you have to quickly wash and dry your linen to make-up an extra bed.
If this is the case, use a low heat setting and remove the sheets from the tumble dryer as soon as they are dry, this will help to avoid any set-in wrinkling that could otherwise occur.
