What Is It With Sheets These Days

[whirlcool]

After the Linden sheet fiasco from JCPenny we are looking for new sheets for our bed.

We are looking for Egyptian Cotton sheets that have a flat finish to them. What we are finding is that most all new sheets have laundry instructions to wash in cold water. We think that washing bed sheets in cold water is unsanitary. Most of our sheets are washed on either very warm or hot water.

It seems that with the crash of the American textile industry the quality of sheets has gone down with prices rising.

What do you all think?

 

[foraloysius]

That they can only be washed in cold water is nonsense ofcourse. Sheets can at least endure a whole night of sleep at body temperature, so I wouldn't know why they can't be washed in at least warm water. I guess it's just laziness of the manufacturer. Or it could be they are made in a country where cold water washing is the standard.

 

[appnut]

I've ignored those instructions on sheets and have no negative impact on the sheet quality. 

 

[launderess]

Depends Upon How The Material Was Woven & Cut

In olden days, when bed linen was routinely washed in hot or boiling water linens off all sorts, from bed to body was not only "pre-shrunk" after the textile was woven, but sized with shrinkage in mind.

Wamsutta, Canon, Fieldcrest,Pequot and other vintage linen makers not only gave numbers for acceptable shrinkage on the package/tag, but the care instructions clearly told the user to go right ahead and use hot/very hot water, bleaches and or a commercial laundry (who would use probably both), and the items were warranted to last regardless.

Today in order to cut costs, and to get more from a bolt of cloth, linens are cut with much tighter margin for shrinkage. To keep that process in check one is advised to launder in cool or cold water. Now you can disregard those care instructions by choice, but if the product shrinks, wears faster, colours bleed, and so forth the manufacturer and or place of purchase may deny any sort of "damage" refund claim.

You now know why one rarely bothers with modern linens. Most everything in my stash consists of vintage linen or cotton bed linens.

 

[launderess]

Quality vs Pricing

To be fair, much as with appliances many Americans (and elsewhere in the world for that matter), no longer look to linens as an "investment" purchase designed to give service and last.

Adjusted for today's money, the quality of bed linen even at lower price points (where once hard wearing cotton muslin dominated), would be much higher than what it is today. Cotton being dear to produce and hard on the environment(one of the reasons much production has moved off US shores), has kept some of the costs down but still. In addition much of the old textile equipment was either sold off overseas, or simply scrapped.

There is also the fact many housewives, both American and all over the world stopped by and large the cult of domestication. By this one means the purchasing of fine linen and doing all that was required for it's up keep. This included but was not limited to proper laundering, drying (line is best), ironing, and where required mending/repairing minor damage.

While one loves vintage linens, "wash and wear" they are not. Mangles and ironers for home use helped lessen laundry day burden, but items that could go from automatic washer, to tumble dryer and right into the cupboard or back onto the bed soon won out.

 

[whirlcool]

If you look at reviews of even premium cotton linens you'll find customers complaining about rough texture, pilling, sheets not sized correctly, and even worse unraveling or ripping.

Last week we had a set of Walmart Sourced SpringMaid 100% Egyptian Cotton sheets on the bed. These sheets are about 6 months old. I turned over in bed and heard a giant riiippppp sound. We got up to find that the fitted sheet had ripped from top to bottom of the bed, right in the middle of the bed.

Our best set of sheets was a set of SpringMaid sheets purchased at Bed, Bath & Beyond around 1993 or so. They were 100% Egyptian Cotton. They were as soft as could be, came out of the dryer with minimal wrinkling, and wore like iron.

Where does one find quality vintage sheets these days?

 

[launderess]

Paying More These Days Does Not Always Translate Into Qualit

Have haerd complaints even into the >$500 per sheet range. Go figure.

As for vintage linens, the TOL in many persons quest would be Wamsutta's "Supercale". However any TOL percale from Canon, Fieldcrest,Dan River, etc can do.

Estate sales, fleaPay, Craigslist, yard sales, vintage linen dealers, are all good sources. Also do not overlook grandma's and or other "older" females in one's own family. Right though the 1960's and perhaps 1970's it was common for new brides to get tons of linens as wedding presents, and also purchased as starting out in married life. To add to this supply was often added from "White Sales" and as gifts. Considering much of this stuff took ages to wear, lots often remained as surplus to requirements.

The last bit is where much of the stock of vintage linens comes from.

 

[supersurgilator]

I agree. I really enjoy Egyptian cotton sheets because of the coolness they give. I have had 2 sets from JCPenny last about 1 1/2 years each, then the fitted sheet would develop rips down the middle like someone mentioned earlier. It was like the cloth literally just started pulling away.
It is frustrating because they aren't cheap and I get tired of having to replace them so often. Right now I am using a Linden Street set I got for Christmas, but they are already pilling after a couple of washes.

 

[3beltwesty]

The cold labeling reduces returns, reduces lawsuits

With cold washing one has way less issues of shrinkage and colors fading.

Today a typical USA buyer often returns stuff, or sues makers. One has this helpless lack of common sense and one is not responsible for ones own actions.

Makers cannot rely on what was common knowledge 50 years ago, that things shrink if washed too hot. A user in Mayberry knew this in 1960, today one as a maker of products sold in the USA today has to assume nothing. Thus today the the disclaimer has to be printed.

What really is WARM on a USA washer anyway? Often in older washer it just means BOTH the COLD and HOT water input solenoids are fired at once.

One has the blend of many hokey other unknowns:

(1) ones ground water temperature

(2) Ones hot water heater's temperature setting

(3) How far it is from the washer to water heater

(4) Whether the hot water heater is fully hot; ie did another take a shower and run it half or fully out?

(5) the duty cycle the maker uses for WARM; ie full 50/50 of cold /hot solenoids

(6) the pressure losses in the hot and cold solenoids, ie if the dishwasher or hot shower is going on; does the washer still get the same number of liters or gallons of hot water?

Practically the label means if you wash those sheets in warm, it may or may not work. Your sheets might shrink so much that they shrink and you want your money back.

 

[xraytech]

I havent so much had issues with my bed sheets falling apart, but my issue is the fitted sheet staying on the mattress.

 

I buy 300-400 thread count JCPenney Percale sheets, my oldest set is about 3 yrs old.

 

I also have two sets of vintage JCPenney muslin sheets I got from a friends mother in laws estate, she had a cupbard full of new sheets . I wish I would have grabbed more sheets

 

[ronhic]

Some of the best....

...sheets we've bought of late have come from ALDI of all places....

 

They're a 50/50 percale blend...wash at 60c and dry beautifully either in the dryer or on the line....and they were only about $30...

 

To top it off, they're lovely to sleep in....

 

*note to self* raid my mothers linen press....

 

[jamiel]

We rotate btwn 2 sets of sheets...a pair of Maroon Alexander Julian Sateen from Target Brian found, and a pair of white Martha Stewart 500 thread count from K-Mart (those are wonderful, although discontinued for 2 years). The Martha Stewart were the best quality K-Mart sold (believe they were $90/set for king) and have worn very well. I found another set on clearance which is stuck away...they're so good. I have found though that Brian's hair gel/pomade really does a number on the pillowcases/fitted sheet/mattress pad so I need to figure out something else to get rid of that yellowing.

 

[drewz]

Today's linens leave alot to be desired, believe it or not I still have some Harmony House & Maid of Honor sheet sets and towels that are regulary used and are not worn out yet. They were wedding gifts for my parents when they got married in 1955, they were sold by Sears.

Then most I seem to get out of the newer $$$ sheet sets is about 2-3years max before something fails and I trash them.

 

[retromania]

Drewz....

Brag, brag, brag! I can related. I used Wamsutta Super-Cal 100% cotton sheet sets for years. They would go on sale each year at Belk's for about half price. I would have them done up at the cleaners and it was a luxury. Now, all I can find that is sorta kinda close is these things I bought called Sateen and they're awful!

Enjoy your vintage sheets and everytime you go night night I just want you to think of those of us out there in slumber land that would kill for a decent set of cotton percale sheets that were spun the old way!!!! LOL

 

[spookiness]

my favorite sheets

Came off a clearance shelf at Target of all places. I don't know what the thread count is, but it was high. What I like about them is that the fabric feels tight and beefy and substantial. When folded up they are notably heavy. I would not call them "soft" or non-soft, however there is something about the thickness and heaviness that I like.

 

[whirlcool]

I don't like satin or sateen sheets at all. I don't like the way they feel. And there seems to be an awful lot of them out there.

I noticed on FleaPay there were quite a few "vintage" sheet sets available. But I think "vintage" is always in the mind of the seller. Some of the "vintage" sheets looked like they were purchased last week.

 

[retromania]

Whirlcool: You're right. On one online auction site an item was termed "vintage" and it was only about six years old. I had to laugh!

 

[DADoES]

 

 

I used a set of 600-tc sheets from Wal-Mart for 5.5 years.  The fitted elastic stretched/weakened over time but the fabric didn't wear or pill.  They were replaced several months ago with a set of Chris Madden (from JCP) 100% cotton (not sateen) in a damask stripe that are quite nice.

 

[retromania]

Ok. I'll keep that in mind.

Thanks.