Most women in the post-Soviet space are accustomed to carefully ironing their bed linen.
Such conservatism and desire for order were inherited from our grandmothers, who stubbornly boiled, starched, and ironed sheets and duvet covers.
The actions of the ancestors were dictated by hygiene standards. Today ironing is not an urgent need, and many housewives are wondering whether it is necessary to resort to such manipulations.
Why is it not recommended to iron after washing?
Bed linen is ironed for two reasons: disinfection and aesthetics . Smooth sheets and pillowcases, without a single wrinkle, best decorate the bedroom. This effect can only be achieved by ironing the fabric.
A nice bonus to the aesthetic appearance is cleanliness. It's no secret that high temperatures kill most viruses and bacteria.
If a woman does not strive for ultra-cleanliness and an ideal interior, she can afford to give up boring household procedures.
Why can't you iron your bed linen?
There is a logical reason for refusing ironing:
High temperatures destroy fabric fibers. After several washes followed by ironing, the bedding set becomes faded and the colors lose their saturation.- The ironing process has a bad effect on the ability of the fabric to absorb liquid, reducing its hygroscopicity. This fact is most noticeable in the summer months, when after a long sleep you have to dry sheets and pillowcases wet from sweat.
- Not all fabrics require ironing. Materials such as silk, jacquard, calico and boiled cotton practically do not wrinkle. In order to maintain a neat appearance, it is enough to hang them evenly on the dryer immediately after washing, away from direct sunlight.
If the housewife is accustomed to using fabric softener during washing, it is advisable to abandon the use of a classic iron.
The fact is that when heated, particles of household chemicals remaining in the fabric easily enter the air and, with their pungent odor, can cause allergies. In such cases, it is better to iron the washed clothes with steam.
Ironing rules
If you are sure that ironing is really necessary, follow the simple rules given below. Thanks to them, you will not only facilitate this process, but also significantly speed it up:
- It is better to iron delicate fabrics slightly damp, from the inside out. This will make smoothing out seams and folds easier and faster. Strictly observe the temperature regime of the iron for a particular type of material.
- Cotton fabric is not afraid of heat, so feel free to set the maximum mode, ironing the fabric from the front side. A household appliance with a steaming function will allow you to carry out the procedure more efficiently.
- It is not recommended to immediately put still hot laundry into the closet. It needs to be allowed to cool to room temperature, waiting 15-20 minutes.
- For your own comfort, iron your duvet covers, pillowcases and sheets every time you fold them in half.
Important: special attention should be paid to textiles made from terry cloth - ironing it is strictly prohibited. It will be enough to simply level the material and wait until it is completely dry. Turning on the “easy iron” mode when washing will significantly reduce the likelihood of creases or wrinkles.
What do folk signs say?
Every thing in the house has its own energy, the bed especially . A person spends more than 1/3 of his life in it, so there are quite a lot of folk signs associated with bedding.
There is a popular opinion that bedding must be ironed. Regular sleep on crumpled sheets attracts difficulties and failures to a person, darkening his life.
Our ancestors believed that wrinkled linen was the favorite habitat of evil spirits, who sucked energy and vitality out of a person during sleep.
We conducted a survey among residents of Karelia and found out
Alena: I don’t iron underwear, I iron what needs to be ironed from my underwear before putting it on. I never iron bed linen, because since childhood my mother taught me to straighten out the linen while drying, and that suits me.
Nadezhda: I don’t iron at all, I don’t see the point. You just hang everything up correctly after washing so it doesn’t wrinkle, and that’s enough. And everything dries without being wrinkled. I don’t iron my bed sheets either. I read that in America they don’t iron at all; nothing wrinkles in modern dryers. And now there are special sprays for smoothing: you spray and the laundry dries without wrinkles, you can order them on the Internet.
Nastya: I don’t iron underwear, neither underwear nor bed linen. I rarely iron regular clothes; I prefer fabrics that don’t wrinkle. I don't like ironing, really. I'm thinking about buying a handheld steamer.
Julia: My husband likes everything to be ironed, it’s more pleasant to wear. I haven’t ironed before, but after I got married, I, of course, feel sorry for time, but I put on the series on my tablet and it even gives me some kind of relaxation, because at that moment no one is bothering me. I iron everything for a child, without options. I can iron the bedding superficially, just spray it with hot steam, well, except for the pillowcases, I still have my face on them, I iron them thoroughly.
Nina: I don’t iron bed linen, for me it’s a waste of time. Nowadays, when you don’t have time to do anything, there are more important things to do. I iron clothes only when absolutely necessary. In general, I dream of buying such a dryer so that things will immediately be more or less normal.
Julia: I only iron pillowcases from bed linen, I iron children’s clothes - a habit since my daughter’s childhood. This happens once a month. Yesterday a miracle happened - I sorted out a pile of laundry and ironed something.
Svetlana: I iron all the linen, I never thought about it, my parents had a custom: wash the linen, iron it. On Friday evening I wash, on Saturday morning I iron everything that was washed.
Alla: I know those who iron clothes and bedding only for children (little ones). Because, like, microbes are killed. I iron it myself only on occasion, if I see that something is wrinkled and there is no choice.
Maria: I only iron dresses and shirts for going out, but in general I try to buy clothes that don’t wrinkle. The story of ironing your duvet cover seems like a strange waste of time to me.
Valentina: I iron only those things that cannot be used without ironing. I don’t iron the bedding, I dry it carefully, and fold it evenly into piles. I think this is a waste of energy and rapid wear of the fabric.
Vera: I iron only for children going to school, I iron them in the evening so that they put everything on neatly in the morning. But I don’t iron the bedding.
Ekaterina: My mother always ironed all her clothes, no matter what it was: underwear, towels, sweaters, blouses, jeans. Apparently, she is old school + experience of motherhood = she had to do this all her life. I was not forced to do this, so I was not accustomed to caring for things. Except for those things that really need to be ironed to look neat. And three months ago, I myself started ironing underwear and bedding, and along with them all other things, this happened after I received a comment from one of the doctors that heat treatment of things, especially bedding, underwear, and underwear, is necessary! It's all about those microorganisms, bacteria that remain inside the washing machine, where we wash everything: from dirty socks to panties. These organisms can only be “neutralized” by heat treatment.
Julia: I’m ironing the linen, I tried to turn it down, but my man insists on ironing. I say: if only one lived? He: symbolically would still iron it to fold it. What it means symbolically is a mystery. Ironed laundry will still look different. Better yet, take everything to the laundromat.
Dina: The need for ironing, it seems to me, also depends on the washing machine. My husband and I, for example, don’t iron anything. We only use a vertical steamer if necessary, it does its job well and there is no need to take out a board, etc. But my parents still iron, because the washing machine is already 16 years old and things after washing are like one snowball.
If not an iron, then what?
There are many alternative ways to iron laundry. For these purposes, it is not necessary to use a classic iron with a heating surface .
How to make your bedding look neat:
- If, due to the delicate composition of the fabric, it is not possible to iron it, you should use a non-contact method of smoothing the surface using hot steam. This method does not dry out the laundry, as a result of which the made bed will not irritate the skin or become electrified.
- You can also iron things in a washing machine. This is made possible thanks to the easy ironing function. The principle of operation is that the laundry is spun at low drum speeds, as a result of which the fabric does not wrinkle and there are no creases left on it. Items washed in this way do not need to be ironed - just hang them on the clothesline immediately after removing them from the machine.
- Adding fabric softener will soften the fabric fibers and make them more elastic. By hanging it to dry while wet, you can save yourself the ironing process.
How to iron faster?
If you want to iron clothes, but you don’t have much time, then there are a few tips that will help you understand how to iron correctly with the least amount of time and effort.
Large items, such as duvet covers and sheets, are best placed on the table. If you use an ironing board, be sure to ensure that the fabric does not touch the floor and does not get dirty. To do this, you can, for example, lay a bedding or oilcloth.
- Of course, ideally, each item should be ironed unfolded. But duvet covers and sheets are too large in size and ironing them can take a lot of time. Therefore, to make the process faster and easier, fold the sheets several times and iron them on all sides.
- Remember: you need to iron on each side. Once you iron one section, flip and iron the next one.
- After ironing the edge of the duvet cover is finished, you need to unroll the product. The unironed side should now be facing up. Align the product along the folds and corners. Iron them, then fold the linen and iron it again in this form.
- After ironing, you should not immediately lay the linen on the bed. Place it in a stack and let it stand for several hours: it needs to cool and be saturated with air.
When is this absolutely necessary?
to iron bed linen only in two cases:
- if a person with skin diseases lives in the house;
- if a newborn child appears in the family.
The skin of a newborn baby cannot always withstand an aggressive external environment. This is especially true for the period when the umbilical wound has not completely healed.
At this moment, ironing the baby’s bedding, from a pediatric point of view, is a mandatory procedure. Moreover, it is advisable to iron the fabric both from the outside and from the wrong side .
Heat treatment protects against infection by fungi and bacteria that were found in a sick roommate.
If one of the family members has been diagnosed with scabies, it is necessary to iron not only bedding, but also bath towels.
Reactions to ironing different types of fabrics
If you choose a temperature setting for ironing, consider the material.
Cotton and linen fabrics should be ironed at +200°C. Wool products should be ironed at +150°C.
Synthetic and silk materials do not require ironing. Exposure to high temperatures can damage their structure.
Now you know why you need to iron your clothes after washing. However, the choice is up to you. If you do not like to use an iron for a long time, try to buy linen from wrinkle-resistant materials, or use other ironing methods: hanging, drying in a washing machine or treating with a steam generator.
You can also hang your laundry in the bathroom after running hot water into the bath. The steam will act on the fabric and smooth it out.
Yes or no?
There is no exact answer to this question . Each housewife makes a decision based on her own beliefs. However, most European women have given up ironing bed linen.
Of course, an ironed bedding set looks great on the bed. But the neat effect disappears after the first use.
If it is fundamentally important for your family to go to bed in a perfectly ironed bed, you should give preference to products made from wrinkle-resistant fabrics .
Why iron clothes?
Many people are interested in the question of why ironing clothes. After all, if you dry it properly after washing, it will not need ironing. There are several reasons why ironing is important.
The first reason is medical . It is believed that after ironing the laundry will be safer for health. Under the influence of high temperatures, harmful microorganisms are destroyed on things. These could be bacteria, microbes, mite larvae or bedbugs.
All of them are securely attached to the fibers of the fabric, so they remain on clothes even after washing. If your family has allergies or people with weak immune systems, ironing should be a mandatory procedure.
The second reason is aesthetic . It is more comfortable to sleep if the linen is clean, ironed, and with a pleasant aroma. If you iron your laundry, it will be more pleasant to the touch and also more comfortable to use.
Women who don't like ironing will be happy to lie down in an ironed bed.
What do they say on the forums?
If we analyze the most popular women's forums that discuss the issue of mandatory ironing, we can conclude that most housewives will part with their iron without hesitation.
This discussion clearly confirms the above. Almost all participants in the discussion answered that they do not iron bed linen, and at the same time do not experience discomfort during sleep.
In their opinion, in order to give the fabric a neat look, it is enough to hang it on a clothesline in a wet state, aligning the corners .
Bed linen that does not need ironing
And if you don’t have time or don’t want to iron your bed, but at the same time you like it when the bed looks neat and attractive, then the best option is wrinkle-resistant sets. They are made from 100% bamboo fiber and can maintain their original appearance for up to 500 washes. You can purchase them in our store: The product is always in stock. We have convenient delivery methods and regular promotions!
Now you know whether it is necessary to iron bedding sets after finishing washing. Everyone makes the final decision for themselves, but the most important thing is that you feel comfortable and comfortable while sleeping.
Proper folding
Fabric wrinkles occur not only during drying, but also during improper storage. Before putting the ironed set on the shelf, it must be folded correctly (the rules apply to all items):
- Fold the product in half to form a rectangle.
- Match opposite (small) sides.
- Repeat the steps a few more times until you get a small rectangle.
- Place the folded sheet and duvet cover inside the pillowcase.
Place the resulting “package” on a closet shelf or in a dresser drawer.
