“Dear Linen Doctor, we received two sets of beautiful fine linen sheets as a wedding gift. How should I store them to keep them like new?”
Always clean your linens before storing them. Store items in a cool, dry, and preferably dark place after wrapping them in muslin or an old cotton pillow case. For wool items, consider using a cedar chest or moth balls. However, cottons and linens should not be stored in cedar, which will yellow them.
I recommend Linen Wash to our customers to safely remove difficult stains from any of your fine linens.
My 800 thread count sheets have spotted on me. I am not sure what is causing this to happen? I wake up in the morning with white spots on my pillow case and sheets? Please help
I assume that the color of your case and sheet is something other than white (although there are 101 different shades of white). If that is the case, the spots are almost certainly being caused by bleach or a bleaching agent. Many dyes can change color upon contact with an alkali. Customers have reported that they never use bleach but yet bleach is in many products without people necessarily being aware of its presence. Did you notice the spots after washing or after just using.
For example, personal care products, such as hair removers, antiperspirants (as well as the perspiration they block), and many types of soap and toothpaste and can have an “alkaline affinity.” Toothpaste and tooth whitening aids use hydrogen peroxide to clean and brighten. Acne preparations often have benzoyl peroxide and hair colorings might contain hydrogen peroxide. Disinfectants and plain ammonia are also alkaline.
Sink cleaners, mildew removers, laundry stain removers, and brightening detergents will frequently have one of the three most common bleaches as a component. Whenever a label says it will whiten, or brighten or disinfect, bleach may be part of the product, so be suspicious.
There is a non-profit laboratory that tests for this type of thing, the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute http://www.ifi.org for a fee of $32 plus shipping. The IFI sends you a very complete laboratory analysis of the problem they test.