Ways to stop egyptian cotton sheets getting so creased!

[richardc1983]

My previous cheap bedding from local high street stores never needed ironing this egyptian stuff though is so creased after being washed and dried on the line that I have to spend ages ironing it and even then theres still creases in it.

Have tried ironing whilst still damp which makes it a bit easier and have started using fabric conditioner again to help soften it a bit.

Any advice on ironing etc if at all possible I dont want to iron at all.

Would a slower spin help?

Any help greatfully received.

Richard.

 

[appnut]

I have 400 &600 thread count sheets. They're just as bad from the dryer. I jsut live it with. too much work, it's only sheets and ya sleep on them. If I had a maid, it might be a different story.

 

[launderess]

One Assumes You Are Using A Front Loading Washer

High thread count percale sheets often do not compact down in a washing machine, say the way flannel or even muslin sheets will. Indeed swear the b****rds are water resistant!*LOL

Try underloading and or raising the water level (ie: let the machine fill for "soak" or "delicate" cycle, then switch over to the "normal" cycle. You want to give the sheets room to move about.

If you are using hot or boil washes, try switching to warm, or at least make very sure your linens are cooled down before they are spun.

For many types of cotton sheets, except muslin and sateen, one does not use a long final spin, but the "graduated spin" cycle only on the Miele. This is nothing but a series of short (30sec) spins at 900 rpms. It is designed for permanent press items.

After items are spun one either hangs them on the line or often they can go straight to the ironing basket.

Ironing:

Cotton percale can be a bear to iron. Often one has to go very slowly over an area, with a very hot and heavy iron to flatten out creases, wrinkles et al. Whilst one does have such equipment, prefer to use one of my ironers or presses as they can exert more force than one ever could.

 

[richardc1983]

I was thinking one of these from Prisoner Cell Block H:

 

[launderess]

Ouch!

Yes, that is a laundry press "iron" as opposed to a mangle (rotary ironer).

Thing about presses versus mangles is that one has to stand over the former and move items about to get the job done. Unless one has one of those huge presses seen in commercial laundries (some are large enough for the largest tablecloths or bed sheets to be done in one or two movements), it does mean lots of shifting.

Ironers OTOH are easy. One folds whatever one is ironing to fit the width of the roller, and away you go. If the ironer is large enough sheets can be done with only one fold or in quarter folds.

 

[ronhic]

I was thinking one of these from Prisoner Cell Block H:

I remember watching that episode when it first came out....

You have:

Val Lehman - 'Queen Bea' in the front
Collette Mann - watching on
Kerry Armstrong - victim

 

[richardc1983]

I remember watching that episode when it first came out....

Im 26 but I watched the re runs of PCBH when it was repeated over in the Uk about 1998.

I wish they would show it again I really loved it and was gutted when it finished!

 

[hoovermatic]

It took me a while to get this right but not overloading the machine is important. I also don't spin too fast and in dry weather always dry outdoors. On a sunny day I can remove the sheet from the line and fold it IMMEDIATELY and either hang it somewhere to 'air' or I place it at the bottom of the stack in the cupboard, much like the olden days when many homes had a Linen Press (a cupboard for storing linens as opposed to an electrical press).

In wet weather I dry to damp in the dryer and again fold it IMMEDIATELY and hang somewhere warm to finish and again to the bottom of the stack and let the rest of the folded linen do the work.

 

[whirlcool]

All of our sheets are Egyptian cotton, wouldn't have it any other way.

We dry ours completely in the dryer and then fold and put away. Since we use fitted bottom sheets, the wrinkles go away as soon as the sheet is placed on the bed. The top sheet gets tucked in on 3 sides so that removes a lot of wrinkles. Ironing those sheets would be a real pain.

But nothing smells as good as ironed sheets on a bed.

 

[launderess]

Note

It is not the cotton (Egyptian, Sea Island, or whatever), but the weave which is the cause of the woes.

High tread count, indeed even standard thread count percale bed linens share the problem of creases/wrinkles upon laundering. Have sets of vintage Wamsutta "Supercale" percale sheets and took ages to break them in. Good news is that after two years (more or less), they wrinkle less and seemed to have settled down.

Don't get me wrong, the things still have to be ironed to pass muster in my house, but are softer and eaiser to launder.

Ages ago better households would have such linens soaked and or pre-washed as many times as required to soften them up.