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caring for flannel sheets

jewels04
12 years ago

So I picked up some flannel sheets today on clearance at kohls. It still gets really cold here at night so I decided we'll use them for awhile until it starts getting warmer.

I washed them on warm, per the directions, but I never dealt with flannel before so don't know if when I go to wash them next time can I use the sanitary setting on my wash machine or will that shrink the material too much? The instructions say wash in warm but so does my regular white cotton sheets which I wash on sanitary.

Comment (1)

  • liriodendron
    12 years ago

    Buy an extra set of cases with which to do a test. Measure both length and width very carefully before and after washing and drying on the hottest most shrink-inducing cycles you can muster. Repeat the wash and dry test a few times as some cottons will continue to shrink over several cycles.

    That will tell you more about the risks of that particular fabric. Some flannels are pre-washed and pre-shrunk before or even after being sewed. Hot water and drying with all-cotton items is always a possible source of shrinkage.

    I wash my flannel sheets (LL Bean, Land's End and Garnet Hill) at 150-190F. I run them through about 15 min. of a no-heat dryer and then line dry them outdoors. I haven't experienced any noticeable shrinkage, but one never knows. (And I don't happen to have any fitted flannel sheets which is where shrinkage would be the most critical.)

    HTH,

    L.