Itchy, scratchy new bedding!

Ok, Phoenix I'll come clean. I only iron sheets and duvet covers when we have visitors staying - and we seem to have had a lot of them lately! But Egyptian cotton is still a pig to iron!

One way to iron sheets (if you must) is to put them on the bed and iron them in situ. As only have a bottom sheet, I don't bother but I do prefer to iron pillow cases.

I have to confess that I take my Egyptian Cotton bedlinen to be ironed! I love it but ironing it is exhausting! It is my one treat - I iron everything else, T-Towels only occasionally and DH underpants very occasionally. I just wash the bedlinen with detergent, no fabric softener and tumble dry until almost fully dry, fold and take to my ironing man! Nice and soft, not scratchy - maybe I'm just lucky!

Ironing tea towels is a must and everything else too in our house, even dusters get ironed and neatly folded.

All this talk of ironing is making me tired. I am looking at two bags of stuff that really needs to be ironed... The ironing board is out and so are the iron and my ironing chair. I just need the will to use them.

I do not have any sort of help at home (apart from Mr Phoenix, and hopefully that will be temporary, as we really need him to be working again, what with the mortgage etc). He is brilliant at batch cooking (within limits) and general kitchen cleaning, and specifically oven cleaning, but ironing is not in his repertoire.

As I work full time, ironing linen is way down on my list of things to do!

On another note, not sure about the Queen, even though I once lived in Windsor Castle, but I do remember reading that Jackie Kennedy insisted on fresh bed linen every time, even if she had just had a short nap.

I had an ironing lady once who even insisted on ironing my dh's underpants!

I have a huge collection of wonderful white linen sheets that belonged to my grandmother (who died in 1969) and mother-in-law (who died in 1992, aged 100). The quality of these sheets is superb and I particularly love the hand-embroidered surnames on the corners, to help the laundrymen/women sort customers' linen. Despite being over 100 years old in some cases, this linen is almost indestructible, loves hot machine washes and modern steam irons and is heaven to sleep on.

Do you think the Queen has clean sheets every day? I would, if I were her - just for the pure pleasure of slipping between freshly-ironed high quality linen, as described above.

I note 'phoenix' has a mother who irons her tea towels. Quite right, I say. But I do have an ironing lady!

artygran Ironing sheets!!!?? I will never ever iron sheets, life's too short. Admitedly we only have bottom sheets, and they are fitted ones, but even if we did have top sheets I would only consider ironing the top bit that folds over.

I take duvet covers, sheets and pillowcases out of the machine, give them a thorough shake, then fold. (I apply this to all household linens, with the exception of washable curtains)

My mother even irons her tea towels!

Always always wash new linen and towels first before using it has what my mother used to call 'dressing' in it probably starch of some kind!

Sorry, wrong link.
bedlinendirect.co.uk

helena If the cotton was not of the long staple yarn you will get this problem.
We are being told that the higher the threadcount the better the quality. This is not true if the cloth is made from short staple ( inferior ) yarn.
www.egyptiancotton.com
Hope this helps.

I bought some Egyptian cotton bottom sheets when we bought our new bed, and even after washing them, I didn't think they felt very nice, and they are a pig to iron. I like cotton percale, and still have, and use, some American sheets I bought from one of their US Forces commissaries forty years ago! They always feel cool and smooth, have never bobbled, and wash like a dream. I have only actually worn out one pair. I have percale sheets which I bought from John Lewis, and although they are very good, they aren't the same quality. Does anyone remember Bri-nylon sheets which were all the rage in the seventies (or was it the eighties)? Thank God we all came to our senses!

The best sheets are to bought in charity shops. Real cotton, a thousand times washed. You wouldn't put bedding straight from the shop on a bed surely?

I like pure cotton bedding and take my own pillowcase on holiday with me.

Def. wash to remove the fabric dressing that they use. I have egyptian cotton fitted bottom sheets from M&S, could never go back to poly cotton mix now, it seems to go "bobbly" in no time!

Aren't washing soda crystals supposed to have a softening effect? Could well be wrong, often am!

Funny you should mention this helena as I was only lying in bed this morning thinking how lovely and soft my very old duvet cover was compared to the expensive new one I bought from John Lewis the other day. I am really disappointed with it. Not only does it rustle when you turn over but the colour is not good either. I bought what I thought was a lovely deep purple (I have soft green walls and curtains) but when it is on the bed it looks dark brown. Not what I wanted at all, but I can't take it back just because I don't like the colour having used it. Will just have to live with it and use my lovely old cream one more often. Rather defeats the object of the exercise!!!

The trick with new bed linen is to put through a regular wash without adding any detergent, soap powder or conditioner. This gets rid of the starch or whatever stiffener it is that the manufacturer has used. After doing this, the sheets can be washed in the normal way.

I bought some Egyptian cotton bedding with a high thread count from Costco and they were like cardboard till I ran them through a wash with lots of conditioner. I dried them in the dryer and not outside in case they went stiff again. They were fine after the wash.

Presuming you washed it before putting it on the bed and used a conditioner for sensitive skin then I'm stumped - maybe a few more washes? I use cotton bedding and haven't found it a problem.