Today, many people prefer clothes made of natural fabrics, such as linen. The advantage of linen fabrics is good moisture absorption, they dry quickly and have excellent air permeability. Linen clothes will save you from the heat in the midst of a hot summer. With proper care and washing of linen clothes, they will delight you with their perfect appearance for many years. Let’s consider the main recommendations on how to wash linen and products made from it.
Secrets of automatic and manual washing
In order for a linen thing to please the eye for a long time, it needs to be washed not only regularly, but also correctly. Here are a number of nuances that are important to remember:
- The first step in washing linen is to choose the right powder. White things can be washed with a simple powder, and for products of iridescent shades, a gel for delicate fabrics is suitable.
- In order to wash linen, you will need a large amount of water, as linen cloths absorb moisture well.
- Do not use hot water – the linen will deform. For hand washing, water should be up to 30 degrees, and for machine washing, up to 40 degrees is allowed.
- The use of air conditioners is allowed.
When yellow or dirty spots are formed, you can use bleach without chlorine and only for white products.
Linen should be washed by hand carefully, do not wring too much. Soak for a couple of minutes, rub particularly dirty places and rinse. After that, you need to rinse thoroughly with a few drops of vinegar. This trick will help the fabric not change its color and make it more saturated.
Washing in the washing machine should be carried out in a gentle mode at a temperature of no more than 40 degrees. Consider the fact that linen crumples terribly when washed. Therefore, it is worth choosing the right spin program, in which there will be no more than 500 revolutions per minute. Also, linen products can be washed in automatic mode using special covers. This way, the shape of the product will not be lost and it will be easier to iron.
Fighting stains
It should be remembered that you will spend less effort on removing a fresh stain than on old stains and contamination. If it is not possible to immediately wash the clothes, then sprinkle the stain with an absorbent, for example, salt, starch, talc, seeing what will be at hand. When you get home, immediately start washing.
It is best to use special products to remove stains from linen:
- Before using the stain remover, do a dye fastness test. On a small area of the product, in an inconspicuous place, apply a couple of drops of the product and leave for 5 minutes. Rinse and inspect the fabric. If you see changes in color, it would be better to stop using the stain remover.
- Do not add stain removers directly to the machine.
- Choose stain removers for colored products, they will have a gentle effect on linen and make it softer.
You can also use folk recipes. For example, here it is indicated how to remove ink, and here – what to do if mold has appeared on a linen item.
After treating stains, do not forget to wash and rinse things. Thus, you will get rid of the remnants of the stain and the product itself.
Additional tips
- linen fabrics tend to shrink in size after washing. But, it is enough to iron them and put them on, as they again acquire their characteristic shape.
- preferably, after washing, do not twist the thing, but simply flatten it with your hands, giving it a shape.
- linen items should be dried in a well-ventilated room, protected from direct sunlight. There is no need to wait for the material to dry completely. Since it can lose its natural moisture and become brittle.
- products are ironed through a damp cotton cloth. This will help the material to take its original form.
Remember that you always have a hint at hand that will save you from wrong actions. Look at the care instructions for a linen item on the clothing label, and you won’t go wrong.