Towels | Delicates | For Baby | Ironing | Fragrance | Stains | Important Note

Laundry: The word just spells out drudgery!  I don’t know what happens during the day but I leave in the morning and the hamper is empty and by the time I get home from work it’s overflowing.  It’s not only the work but it’s the complaints too; “You shrunk my shirt, you stretched out my collar”.  Then one day I got together with one of our longstanding suppliers, the Linen Wash people, and they proceeded to tell me the secrets of how to make doing the laundry easier.

Most shrinkage (and stretching) is caused by hot water and the use of caustics.  They deteriorate the fabrics.  Cold or warm water is best! Use a gentle cycle and rinse with cold water.   Many people feel that you must use hot water to get things clean but this is not true.  Hot water can actually set in stains and weaken fibers.  Most times using a good quality wash will get things clean in cold water.  Next try to wash items of similar content together.  Wash cottons with cottons and wash polyesters with polyesters.  When you mix items like polyesters with cottons the polyesters, which tend to be rough, may damage cotton fibers.  (This may be seen as pilling.)  Lastly, do not use detergents or spot removers with caustics.  Many detergents that say things such as “Whitener” or “Color Brightener” contain caustics such as bleach.  We recommend Linen Wash. Linen Wash does not contain bleach, caustics, or phosphates.  It is neutral pH and it is biodegradable. Yet it has been tested to remove the most common stains (see their chart below)

(On a bad day I have to deal with all of these stains, you probably do too.)  Linen wash is so powerful yet gentle that it is recommended for delicate antique linens and will remove the yellow discoloration typical of aged linens.  We also recommend Linen Wash for washing our finest bed and table linens.

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Towels

Today’s towels are special.  Now towels are made thick or thin, textured or flat, they contain fine cotton, even beech wood cellulose.  Towel WashAs with fine bed linens I recommend at least three sets of towels so that one set is being used, one set is being washed and one set is “resting” in the linen closet.  Try to wash towels separately.  Towels washed with clothing may encounter a rough edge that will cause a “pull” or worse yet, a tear.  It’s even better if you wash towels of the same content together, cottons with cottons, etc.  Don’t use anything labeled “color brightener” or “whitener” as they frequently contain caustics such as bleach.  We recommend Towel Wash because it is formulated to clean your fine towels, robes, bathmats and rugs while protecting the fibers from drying out or losing wicking ability. Even after repeated washings with Towel Wash, bath linens will remain luxuriously soft, strong and absorbent.

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But What About Delicates:

Silk & Lingerie Wash was precisely formulated to gently lift tough stains from delicate fabrics while protecting elastic fibers. Even after repeated washings fine fabrics will retain a silky new look.  Silk and Lingerie Wash safely cleans silk, lingerie, cashmere, intimate apparel, clothing, swimsuits, hosiery, sweaters, girdles, active wear, washable rugs and costumes.

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For Baby

We recommend Baby Wash. It's low-sudsing, neutral pH formula makes it ideal for laundering baby's washable bed and bath linens, linen and cotton apparel, quilts, blankets, throws, nightwear, cloth diapers, bibs, pillows, car seat covers and more.  It is tested to remove stains caused by: formula, bedwetting, bowel movements, juices, sickness, spit-up, baby foods and more...

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Ironing

Don’t tell anyone but I don’t iron my sheets.  Of course, line drying is best but our schedules do not always make this practical so I machine dry my bed linens.  Take them out of the washer, untangle them and place them into the dryer as straight as possible.  Set the dryer for a warm, gentle cycle.  Check on them often and when they are just dry or even slightly damp take them out and if damp hang them, if dry pull them flat and fold them neatly.  The fitted sheet is the most difficult to fold but don’t worry because when it goes on the bed it will stretch out any wrinkles.  If wrinkles really bother you iron your shams or better yet get a steamer. The steamer makes it easy to get the wrinkles out.

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Fragrance

I enjoy fragrance.  There is nothing better than freshly laundered items that just smell divine.  Most of the wash items described above contain fragrances.  (Of course we have fragrance-free items as well.) You may, however, prefer to add fragrance to your laundry as you iron or fold it.  In that case I recommend Linen Water.  Linen Water may also be used as a room fragrance as well.

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Stains

There are so many books, guides and articles written about stain removal that I could write a thesis about it.  Rather than do that I tell my customers that the Linen Wash products can be used for most stain and spot removal.   Another great product that I started using personally and I bought to sell in the store is Wine Away.  Wine Away is great for removing red wine, cranberry juice and many other “red” stains from fabrics and carpet.  It contains no caustics and since it is made from fruit and vegetable extracts it is safe to use around children and pets.

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One Last Important Note

Many of us care for our skin with acne medications, skin moisturizers and makeup which frequently contain caustics that may stain, discolor and even break down fibers.  If you use any of these items we recommend you use extra care in not allowing them to come in contact with your fine bed linens and towels.

I hope that this will help you take some of the drudgery out of doing the laundry but more importantly to enjoy your fine linens for many years to come.

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