The question of whether bed linen should be ironed after washing is controversial to this day. And although this is a rather labor-intensive process that takes a lot of effort and free time, it has supporters. Also, according to recent studies, it has been established that iron and starch have a negative effect not only on the fabric from which sleepwear is made, but also on the health of the person using it.
Therefore, everyone will have to decide for themselves whether it is worth ironing washed bedding. Let us further consider the existing pros and cons of this process so that you can make a final decision.
Reasons why you need to iron your bed linen after washing
Housewives still prefer to always use an iron for some household items, and there are several reasons for this:
- Processing products at high temperatures allows you to destroy dust mites and their larvae, as well as many microbes and bacteria. When washing at temperatures up to 60°C, this task is impossible.
- After ironing, the wear resistance of cotton fabric increases due to the straightening of its fibers.
- Clean, wrinkle-free bed linen looks fresh and tidy.
- Ironed bedding can be rolled up more compactly, and thanks to this, it can be easily laid out on shelves in the closet, while saving space.
- During the process of hot ironing, the fabric becomes softer, which allows a person to experience the pleasure of improved tactile sensations during a night's sleep. After all, lying in a clean bed after a hard day of work is considered true pleasure for many.
Advice: it never hurts to have a spare set of bed linen on hand, then you can always offer it to dear guests who suddenly decide to spend the night with you.
Useful recommendations regarding the process of ironing and storing bed linen:
- To make the process more fun, you can simultaneously turn on an interesting movie or listen to music.
- Some housewives claim that after ironing, the slight smell of the detergent evaporates. To ensure that the laundry continues to exude a pleasant aroma for you, you can sprinkle several clean sheets of paper with perfume and place them between sets in the closet.
- It is more convenient to store the set by placing it completely in a pillowcase. Thus, all the parts of the set will be in one “bag”, which will ensure neatness of folded laundry for storage and make it easier to find the necessary parts of the set.
- For those who are tired of constant ironing, but would like to have ironed pillowcases, sheets and duvet covers, you can stack the dried items and place them under a heavy object. This way the fabric will iron itself.
- A steam generator can effectively handle bulky items like duvet covers.
- Today you can buy sets made from crinkled fabric, and thus make your life easier to some extent, because such underwear does not wrinkle and does not require ironing.
Reasons why it can be used immediately after drying
Even taking into account the advantages described above, it should be noted that the ironing process is fraught with several disadvantages, namely:
- The procedure is very tiring and takes a lot of time, effort, and electrical energy.
- The pleasant aroma that appears after washing with fabric softener instantly disappears under the influence of high temperatures.
- A number of tests conducted by American scientists have shown that ironing reduces the hygroscopic properties of fabric (especially satin or silk). The material begins to poorly absorb the liquid that the human body naturally releases at night. This can lead to serious health problems.
- Certain materials from which bedding is made accumulate static electricity when ironed with a hot iron. This property can contribute to the appearance of unpleasant sensations (restlessness or increased fatigue) during sleep.
This is interesting: psychologists from Europe conducted several experiments, during which it was found that people who prefer to sleep on ironed sheets are very vindictive, conflict-ridden, and do not take criticism well. In addition, their intimate life is more boring and monotonous than that of those who do not iron their clothes.
Ironing tricks for different types of fabric
In order not to spoil your clothes during ironing, be sure to pay attention to the type of fabric from which they are made, otherwise you can permanently damage the item.
Ironing cotton and linen . Before starting, be sure to spray things with water from a spray bottle. This will make them much easier to iron. Otherwise, you will spend a lot of effort ironing dry clothes. These types of fabrics can be ironed at temperatures not exceeding 200 degrees.
Ironing wool . It is not recommended to wet this type of fabric before ironing. It is best to set the iron to 150 degrees and not exceed this setting. The item must be turned inside out and ironed only on the wrong side. During ironing, it is better to move the device from one place to another, and not to drag it, as this can cause the item to become deformed and stretch.
Natural silk . It is best to iron when not dried. Dry fabric can also be ironed perfectly at a temperature of 60-80 degrees. It is best to iron clothes from the wrong side. If you need to iron on the front side, be sure to use a piece of dry cotton cloth.
Artificial silk . Iron only when dry. If you spray it with water, stains will appear on the fabric and the item will need to be washed.
When ironing, be sure to pay attention to the labels that are sewn on the clothes. It says on them at what temperature they can be washed and ironed.
When you can’t do without using an iron
There are a few exceptions when the procedure is necessary:
- Bedding for children under 3 months of age. Experts strongly recommend that you pay attention to this process, because even the slightest folds in the sheet can seriously injure the baby’s delicate skin.
- People suffering from various skin diseases (lichen, dermatitis or fungus) must have a separate set of bed linen and towels, which must be washed frequently, and then ironed and steamed.
Advice: it is better to discuss the question of whether there is a need to iron a newborn’s linen with a pediatrician.
“Ironing... Who would stroke me!”: 10 ways to simplify and speed up the ironing process by half
Why iron clothes if they don't meow? If this is not an argument for you, read our selection of tips that will simplify and speed up this tedious procedure several times.
Trick 1. The size of the board matters: the wider it is, the easier and faster the process goes.
The most common ironing board size is 37-38 cm. For example, these are the boards sold in Ikea. There are even narrower boards - 32-33 cm. These options come in handy when there is very little space in the apartment. And yet, even in this case, it is worth taking a wider board - from 45 centimeters. With it, in one “run” you can iron more, which means faster. For example, a children's or women's T-shirt on a wide board can be ironed in just one pass.
Trick 2. For the laziest
This life hack is suitable for bed linen, T-shirts, pants, jumpers, children's clothing and all those things that have a simple cut and do not require creases. Unfortunately, the trick won't work with viscose items.
- It's simple:
immediately after washing (!), take the damp items out of the washing machine and stack them on top of each other, and then leave it for an hour. After an hour, hang things as usual - you will see that things will look great.
Trick 3. The steam generator is better than a regular iron and steamer combined
The speed and ease of working with a steam generator is off the charts and cannot be compared with a conventional iron or steamer. With it you can iron both jeans and silk blouses without adjusting the temperature and risking burning the fabric. In addition, the steam generator is capable of ironing fabric folded in several layers (which significantly saves time and effort when ironing, say, bed linen).
For example, ironing 10 shirts, 13 children's T-shirts, 2 pairs of ribbed trousers and 5 adult T-shirts with a steam generator takes only 15 minutes including warming up. With a regular iron, you can spend at least an hour on so many things.
- A steamer is also good and can be an effective part of the system for some families. For example, it is ideal for ironing knitted items, synthetic materials, and jackets. But still, it cannot replace an iron, since it does not cope well with cotton and linen clothes/linen, your hand gets tired quickly with it, which means you won’t be able to do much ironing with it.
- Ideally, you should choose a professional tailor's steam generator. For example, Silter with a silicone removable sole. You can use tap water in it, as it has a self-cleaning function for descaling, and the device is relatively inexpensive, powerful and lightweight. Despite the fact that this steam generator is designed for the needs of a studio, it is also perfect for home use.
Trick 4. Don’t even try to iron the dry fabric.
Ironing completely dry clothes is a futile task, unless we are talking about non-capricious synthetic fabrics. Therefore, always dampen wrinkled items or use the steam function. This way the result will be better, and the process will go much faster. How to wet the cloth? To do this, you can spray the item, then fold it and let it sit for 5 minutes. The old proven method of ironing through damp gauze will also work.
Trick 5. Wash and dry things correctly
Many things don’t need to be ironed if you wash and hang them correctly.
- Washed items should be hung immediately and done carefully, straightening them out;
- To prevent wrinkles from dryer bars on T-shirts and other clothes, purchase a dryer with thick wires. For example, made of wood, like the Borstad series dryer from Ikea (see photo).
- When washing, add fabric softener to soften fabrics;
- Do not “overdry” things, try to iron them slightly damp (this will make things go much faster).
Trick 6. The dryer really changes your life
The trick is to pull out warm, dry clothes immediately after drying. Then you need to cool it in a smoothed form - on hangers or on a plane (you can on top of each other, the main thing is to straighten things out). That's all: 10-15 minutes and you don't need to iron anything, just put it in the closet.
Trick 7. If possible, use more technologically advanced boards and other devices
Today there are many devices for easy ironing in stores.
