How to Wash Vintage New Linen?
enduring
8 years ago
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Incredibly OT: How often do you wash your linens?
Comments (16)Well, this is a strange topic for any forum so why am I compelled to answer? Will I regret it? I change the sheets every Saturday when the family are home to help. When the kids were little, I told them that they needed a ticket to watch the Saturday morning cartoons. The ticket was their sheets and towels and laundry baskets. And the TV didn't go on til EVERYONE had brought their stuff downstairs. Lots of peer pressure going on but good habits were instilled, so I thought. They left my home with those good laundry habits. Pride goeth before a fall, however. I had the exact same experience as others have posted. Dropping our older son at college, weeping profusely, I made his dorm bed with the brand-new sheets I had so carefully chosen. Oh, the agony of parting. When we picked him up in May at the end of the school year, he informed me that not only had he never made his bed since I had in September, he had never washed the sheets even once. Gag....See MoreVintage Washed Percale Sheets
Comments (75)By the way....a few old-time tips on ironing cotton, including sheets. It is much harder to get good results if the sheet (or other item) has been dried and you rewet it with a mister or use steam. It is best for the item to be uniformly and slightly damp, and then you don't need or want a mister or steam. If your washer spins fast enough to remove most of the water (as most front-loaders now do) you can iron directly from the washer. In the old days washers had a mangle (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangle_(machine) which would press the excess water out before ironing...eventually some mangles were even heated. If you mist you just won't get the fabric evenly wet enough to iron it easily or well, and a steam setting takes much longer and results are not as good. The old timey way, if not ironed directly from washing, was to wet the fabric before ironing by "sprinkling" with water, which added a lot more water than a mister. Search for "vintage cork sprinkler" on ebay and you'll see what was used! I remember that when my mother didn't have time to iron immediately after washing she would roll up the items while damp and place in the freezer in a plastic bag. When she had time to iron, the items would thaw pretty quickly, and they were uniformly wet. When cotton is uniformly wet, you do want to use the highest setting on the iron, which is usually for cotton and linen. But keep the iron moving of course! And of course a bit of MamaPinky's starch will give an ultra smooth finish!...See MoreBest way to wash a vintage wool afghan?
Comments (37)I have learned a lot about enzymes and animal fibers...wool, silk and down.....and the enzymes that "eat" the protein in stains also "eat" the protein in the fabrics.......I made a mess of a doiwn throw that had a pet "accident" by using amn enzyme cleaner. Mamma Pinky is right...Woolite or baby shampoo.. But I suspect not much will fix a color bleed......you might try cold water.....but I suspect it is what it is....See MoreWashing vintage linens
Comments (21)Update! I washed two sets twice on wrinkle free/hot/extended/sensitive and they came out really well. Washed with Persil Universal. These sets weren't the worst of the bunch re: yellowing. But they look good. Here's a pic. I normally don't fold the bottom sheet over the coverlet but they look so pretty! I have another set in the wash now. They are on their third wash. They are pretty yellowed but I'll still use them. Thanks all!...See Moreenduring
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