Care of bed sheets and fitted bed sheets

Newly purchased sheets should be washed like newly purchased items of clothing before being used for the first time in order to remove any chemical odors and to prevent allergies. At how many degrees the bed sheet can be washed and how you should proceed with the further care of the sheet, you can deduce from the care symbols. The care symbols are usually printed on the packaging of the bed sheet and can usually also be found on a label sewn onto the sheet. Details on the meaning of the individual symbols can be found in the following excursus “What do the care symbols mean?”.

Excursus on the care symbols for textiles

What do the care symbols mean?

So that you know how to properly care for your bed sheet, we briefly explain the meaning of the most important care symbols used in Germany.

Washing
The washing care symbol consists of a wash tub filled with water. If a number is given in the wash tub (30, 40, 60, 90), this indicates the maximum number of degrees at which a textile can be washed.

A bar under the wash tub means that you can select the minimum care or delicate wash cycle. Two bars under the tub or, alternatively, a broken bar indicates particularly sensitive textiles that should only be washed on the delicate or delicate cycle. Often, even with the washing symbols with bar marking, a maximum number of degrees is stored inside the tub.

The hand in the wash tub symbolizes hand washing. If the wash tub is crossed out or crossed out, this means that a textile cannot be washed and usually has to be cleaned.

Important note: There is no separate care symbol for spinning. Use the washing symbol as a guide: As soon as a gentle wash program is required (one or two bars under the tub), you should only spin your washing machine at a very low speed. For very sensitive tissues from z. B. For wool or silk, regardless of the washing symbol, it is advisable to forego spinning completely, to wrap the textile briefly in a terry towel after washing and then to let it dry flat. As a rule, such sensitive materials are already marked with the symbol for hand washing.

Drying
A circle in a square is used as a care symbol for the tumble dryer. If this symbol is present, the textile is suitable for tumble drying. If the symbol is “crossed”, the textile must not be put in the tumble dryer.

Points inside the circle indicate how hot a textile can be dried in the tumble dryer. A point means that drying in the dryer should be done at a low temperature or gently. With two points, drying at high temperatures is possible.

Ironing
The care symbol for ironing is a self-explanatory symbol or pictogram in the form of an iron. If there is a cross over the iron, the textile must not be ironed.

As with the dryer, points inside the iron provide information about the ironing temperature: For one point, the iron should only be lukewarm, for two points, warm ironing is possible, and for three points, hot ironing is allowed. On most irons, the temperature setting will reflect this pattern of dots so that it is easy to select.

Professional cleaning
A circle indicates that a textile is suitable for professional cleaning or has to be cleaned. Letters inside the circle inform about the agents with which a textile may be treated during cleaning: An “A” means that all commonly used solvents including petrol are permitted for stain removal (this symbol is no longer permitted these days). A “P” stands for perchlorethylene. An “F” stands for hydrocarbon solvent. A “W” stands for professional wet cleaning.

As with the symbol for washing, the care symbol for professional cleaning also has bars below the circle when it comes to gentle (one bar) or very gentle (two bars) cleaning. Analogous to the other care symbols, a circle with a cross through it indicates that the textile is not suitable for professional cleaning.

Bleaching
As a care symbol, the triangle indicates that a textile can be bleached. A cross through the triangle expresses the opposite of “bleaching not allowed”. The letters “Cl” in the triangle used to allow bleaching with chlorine, but is no longer permitted today. A hatched triangle means that bleaching is only allowed with oxygen.

Further care tips and information on the care of bed sheets

• Choosing the right temperature for washing
  Basically, you should wash your bed sheets at 60 ° C, as germs and bacteria are reliably killed or eliminated. When choosing and buying your bed sheet, make sure that this is possible. Washing at 30 ° C is not recommended for sheets because it does not allow hygienic cleanliness. Washing at 90 ° C is not necessary and has no advantages over 60 ° C washing. If you have a bed sheet which, according to the care symbol, can only be washed at temperatures below 60 ° C, we recommend using a special hygienic washer. Even at lower temperatures, these agents eliminate almost 100% of all bacteria and germs.
• Should fabric softener be used?
  Whether you wash your sheets with or without fabric softener depends on your personal preferences. Fabric softener refines the feel of textile materials and also gives them a pleasant scent that often lasts for a long time. However, the use of fabric softeners introduces additional substances into the environment, which is why the Federal Environment Agency recommends economical use.
• Ironing – yes or no?
  If the ironing care symbol is on your bed sheet, you can of course iron it. However, many sheets nowadays are of a non-iron quality, so this is not necessary. However, you can use ironing to get the sheet or fitted sheet folded better and ready for the wardrobe. By ironing, you can easily reduce the gaps between the individual layers of the bed sheet and also remove any wrinkles from the material.