Always wash before using. Towels at least twice to get the lint out.

Yes. Maybe more than once. I like them soft and that smell out of them.
Mary

"Do you wash new sheets/towels before using them?"
Yes... always.

Sheets always stink of dye so I'd wash them. Always wash towels because they probably have something on them that would keep them from being absorbent. Some towels have lint for a long time. I bought some that I like a lot recently and they had to be washed a bunch before they stopped being "linty" but I liked them because they were not very thick.

I wash almost everything before I use it, especially items that will be next to my bare skin.

Sheets, towels, clothing....anything new gets washed. You just don't know who all handled them.

Yes, no matter what I purchase that can be washed gets washed before use.

I even rewash cotton & flannel sheets that have been in the closet & not used for 6-8 months. I always put towels & sheets that have just been dried on the bottom of the pile.

"You just don't know who all handled them."

AND...
you don't know the conditions they were processed and stored in!
Rats are notorious in warehouses...

Absolutely.

Oh! Absolutely! Gives me the skeeves to just think of not doing so.

Always wash most everything new that I buy!

I usually ask 'em if they're clean ... and uncontaminated ... first.

The answer is usually inaudible/incomprehensible.

Or ... is it just that I don't hear very well?

One of the joys of aging, I guess.

o j

P.S. Don't believe I've bought a sheet/towel in years ... sometimes sourced from church yard sales, and received a legacy of several from step-uncle/aunt when I moved into what had been their home about 8 years ago.

Some worried that they may outlast me ... put a hole into a sheet a short while ago when I pulled it up to my chin, so it looks as though its life expectancy is quite limited ... probably not much beyond the next washday?

o j

I, too, wash everything I buy before using--clothes, towels, sheets. For all the reasons above--you 'don't know where they've been', the chemicals used in processing, and anything else they may be bringing into the house.

I always wash them before using

Yes and towels for sure.
Use vinegar! It is a natural fabric softener, works great and is hypo allergic.
I would run a cycle with a cup of vinegar through the machine if you have never cleaned your machine with vinegar before so you don't end up with ick the vinegar cleaned from the machine.
Just Google vinegar as fabric softener for lots tips.
I add about 1/3 cup in my front loaders dispenser, it really helps the lint problem with towels and flannels and sweats and they come out soft.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vinegar

Abso-posi-lutely! Lots of chemical treatments of various kinds before you get them. Plus, they are likely filthy.

Yes, I always wash them.

I guess not......just purchased Vera Wang bath towels to put on DH's truck seats.....to protect the custom seat covers I made him .....:0) Yeah....like that....

Ummm YES, of course I do.

Moni

Always!
We have some friends own a dry cleaning store. They told me to always wash all clothing & fabric that touches your body before wearing (sleeping on.) The chemicals that are on them can be pretty nasty!

I will make sure to wash the sheets next time, I usually do but figured it wouldn't matter much, thanks for the input!

Always!

I wash new clothes, new towels, new sheets, etc, before using them. I always have. Guess I learned that from my mom.

If it's washable, I wash it before using it -- in hot water if possible. Always.

Picture the fabric and thread being made. Picture the manufacturing process, start to finish. Picture the item being fumigated, being shipped, being unloaded. Picture storage. Picture it being handled by stock clerks and customers. EEEUW!

I never add 'softener' to my wash, I use that compartment for white vinegar.

Definitely. I remember bring my oldest child to her freshman dorm. We had time between meetings (parents were oriented too), and so we made up the bed while her roommate did the same. Oh my goodness, the tiny room smelled awful from the sheets straight out of their packages. So off they went to do their first load of laundry!

Towels are more absorbent once they are washed, and do not use fabric softener with them.

Do you take dry cleanable clothes to the cleaners before wearing them?

I don't think I wear anything that requires dry cleaning next to my body. I don't have much now, other than coats, that requires dry cleaning. IMO people dry clean their clothes too much anyway. Hanging suits out on a line and giving them a good brushing is often enough. (Tip from an executive at a men's clothing maker.)

I don't sleep on anything dry-cleanable, nor do wash/dry my naked skin with anything dry-cleanable.

I think I'm the only person who has never washed sheets or towels before using them.

fran, no you're not. It's just that the people who do are the ones posting. You were brave, and were the first one who doesn't to speak up.

Not everyone washes everything as often as others.

I learned the hard way of the need to wash new sheets before using. One time I didn't and DH had such a severe allergic reaction that we had to go to urgent care.

I do not wash anything before wearing/using it. Except for the t-shirts and jeans that I get from Goodwill. I've honestly never seen the need to wash things straight from the store. The flannel sheets that I get from LLBean are so thick and warm before I wash them...true, when I do wash them, I wash tons of lint out. They are still soft after washing, but really best straight out of the packing.