Laundry Care
Caring for your new bedding properly will help keep it feeling and looking its best for many years. New sheets, pillowcases and duvet covers should be placed on your bed immediately to ensure that they fit correctly. They should be a bit large; they will shrink over time as they're laundered. Remove new items from the bed and launder before using. Pillows and duvets should be aired out and allowed to regain their original volume before use.
Cotton
Cotton bedding does best when washed and dried at moderate temperatures; generally, warm wash and cold rinse is best. If your bedding is a dark or vibrant hue, we recommend cold wash to help maintain the colour. Additionally, if the warm setting on your washing machine tends to be closer to hot, then it may be preferable to use the cold setting -- it's better to err on the side of caution. As always, separate linens by colour before laundering.
Use a mild detergent. We recommend Caldrea laundry detergent. Ivory and Zero are also acceptable, as are most specialty fabric soaps. There are some environmentally friendly detergents that are good for linens, and others that are not. Unfortunately, you often can't tell if a detergent is too harsh for fine fabrics until it is too late. It is generally a good assumption that you should be using only a fraction of the manufacturer's recommended amount. We advise one-third to one-half the measure advised on the bottle. Make sure your linens are thoroughly rinsed out; if there appears to be any detergent residue on the linens, run them through a second rinse cycle. Never use liquid fabric softener, bleach or any detergent containing bleach. Don't use colour-safe bleach or regular bleach for unbleachables.
Wash bedding on its own without any other articles, and don't overload the machine. Full-size machines can usually accommodate a king-size sheet set (one flat sheet, one fitted sheet and one pair of pillowcases) or a duvet cover set (duvet cover and two shams). With compact machines, we recommend washing each set in two loads: for example, one sheet and one pillowcase per load. This allows the fabric enough room to move properly in the machine so that it will be thoroughly cleaned and rinsed. Do not use water-saving or low-water settings; when water is limited, the fabric will scrub against itself, causing premature wear.
Never wash your bed linens with fabrics like towels or jeans. These articles can abrade the surface of your bedding and cause damage. Laundering sheets and towels together is a frequent cause of pilling.
When drying, use the low heat, damp dry or less dry settings. Do not over-dry your linens; remove them from the machine promptly at the end of the cycle, while they still feel slightly damp to the touch. Spread them smooth on a flat surface or hang them for a few minutes in order to release wrinkles without an iron. If you like your sheets pressed, iron them while they are damp, using the cotton setting, or bring them to us to have them pressed in-store.
In some areas, due to minerals in the water, white cotton may become yellowish over time. The best way to refresh white sheets is to wash them occasionally in hot (rather than warm) water, and hang them to dry in direct sun. Using bleach may yellow fabrics further.
To help keep your bedding in good condition for as long as possible, we recommend resting it after laundering. There's an old saying which goes: “One for the bed, one for the wash and one for the closet.” Having three sets will ensure that your sheets always look and feel great. However, if having three isn't possible, two is perfectly acceptable. Your sheets will last longer if they don't go straight from the laundry to the bed. Your sheets take a beating on the bed, so give them a break after laundering and you'll be able to enjoy them for many years.
Linen
Linen care varies, so when in doubt, follow the label. This is how we care for linen:
Machine wash cold with cold rinse. Don't overload the machine or wash with other articles. Don't use water saver settings. Use a gentle detergent such as Caldrea, Ivory or Zero. Never use bleach, or detergents with optical brightening agents. Don't use fabric softeners. Remove the linen from the washing machine promptly. Reshape and stretch the damp bedding to its natural size.
Line-dry your linen if you can; it will give you the best results. If line drying isn't possible, set your dryer to the low heat, damp dry or less dry settings for 15-20 minutes, and remove the bedding while it is still damp to the touch. Hang the bedding over a shower curtain rod or spread flat over a dining table to finish. Depending on the humidity and the size of the bedding, it may take from 30 minutes to one hour for the fabric to finish drying. When folding linen for the closet, try to fold it in a different direction each time. Linen is heavy and can sometimes become permanently creased by being folded in the same way over and over again.
Silk
Silk can be washable or dry-clean-only; always check the label. When in doubt, dry-clean with a good cleaner.
We recommend never washing silk in a top-loading machine. The risk of snags and damage is high, so hand washing or dry cleaning is preferable.
In a front-loading machine, silk marked as washable can be laundered using the gentle cycle in cold or lukewarm water. Always wash silk by itself, and don't overload the machine. Split the load into two or more smaller ones, if necessary. Turn the items inside out, if possible, and wash in a mesh laundry bag. Use a gentle detergent specially formulated for silk. Never use enzyme detergents, Woolite, Persil, bleach, bleach for unbleachables, or detergents which contain bleach. Le Blanc Silk Wash is an excellent option.
If line drying is not possible, you can put silk in the dryer set to its lowest temperature for only a few minutes. Silk dries very quickly and is easily damaged by over-drying.
Pillows and duvets filled with silk must always be dry cleaned. Be sure to allow the bedding to air out in a shady place after dry cleaning and before use.
Down
Most manufacturers mark down duvets and pillows as dry clean only. Machine washing can void manufacturer warranties, but is sometimes preferable to dry cleaning, and, with great care, can produce good results. Only 100% down-filled products should be machine washed; machine washing is not acceptable for goods filled with feathers or a blend of down and feathers. It is very important to use a full- or oversized front-loading washer to launder down products. The agitators in top-loading machines can badly damage pillows and duvets, as can any machine that doesn't have a large enough capacity.
Duvets – whether machine washing or dry cleaning, duvets should only be cleaned when absolutely necessary. If your duvet is always protected by a cover and periodically aired out, it may never need to be cleaned. The best thing you can do to maintain a duvet of any kind (down, feather, wool, silk or even synthetic) is to place the uncovered duvet in indirect sunlight for a few hours every other month or so. Airing it out will freshen it and sunlight will help to burn off any oil from hair or skin that has accumulated over time.
If the duvet has become soiled in one or more specific areas, it is preferable to spot clean rather than laundering the entire duvet. Knock or brush the fill away from the area to be cleaned, and spot wash with a mild soap. Avoid scrubbing the fabric more than you need to. Rinse the affected area thoroughly with water and dry completely. Make sure the down fill is totally dry. Any clumps of down should be pulled apart and dried again. Drying can be done either outside; using a hairdryer on medium heat; or in a large capacity dryer on medium heat. Never use high heat.
To launder the duvet, you will need to use a large-capacity, front-loading washing machine. Prior to starting the process, check the drum of the machine for scratches by running your palm along the entire surface of the drum. If you can feel any snags or unusual rough spots, you'll need to find another machine. Check that the machine is large enough by placing the duvet inside. You should be able to load the duvet easily without using force, and it should have room to move without being balled up or twisted. Wash the duvet using the machine's gentle cycle, warm wash and cold rinse, and a small amount of mild detergent. When the cycle is complete, remove the duvet, gently shake it out, place it back in the machine and repeat the warm/cold gentle cycle without using detergent. You can then place the duvet in a large dryer (again checking for scratches and damage) on medium/warm heat until completely dry. Periodically remove the duvet and reshape it before returning it to the dryer, to avoid overdrying some spots while others remain damp. Do not put tennis balls, dryer balls or any other foreign objects in the dryer with your duvet! While they may help the duvet dry faster, they will crush the down in the duvet and damage the fabric ticking, allowing down to escape. No tennis balls. Ever!
Pillows may be cleaned similarly to duvets. Only 100% down pillows should be laundered; feather or feather-blend pillows must be dry cleaned. Pillow protectors will reduce the need for laundering, as they may be removed and laundered separately.
After checking the washer for scratches, place a pair of pillows in the washing machine. Wash using the machine's gentle cycle, warm water, cold rinse, and a small amount of mild detergent. Remove the pillows and fluff them up before replacing them in the washer, then repeat the warm/cold gentle cycle without any detergent. Place the pillows in the dryer on medium/low heat until dry. Remove them from the dryer periodically to fluff them, and change their positions to help them dry evenly. Avoid washing a single pillow, as it may unbalance the washing machine.
Please use a highly recommended professional cleaner if you are dry-cleaning your bedding. Once your bedding has been dry cleaned, we recommend letting it air out before use. Hang bedding or lay it flat outdoors in indirect sunlight if possible, or in a well-ventilated room.
