| Sleeping on synthetic fibers can be an | | | | |
| uncomfortable experience. Synthetic materials | | | | Once you wash your sheets, it is time to dry |
| are usually hot and sticky during the summer | | | | them. Don't wring them out to remove any of |
| months and chilly during the winter. Although | | | | the water still on them, because they are |
| cotton sheets are more comfortable to sleep | | | | just too delicate to handle this. Instead, |
| on than sheets made with man made materials, | | | | you can gently shake the sheets to remove |
| they can be a bit coarse, especially if they | | | | some of the water and then hang them |
| don't have a high thread count and they are | | | | carefully across an indoor clothesline or |
| prone to wrinkling. Silk sheets are the | | | | drying rack until they dry. |
| ultimate luxury for the restless sleeper. | | | | |
| However, since they are a bit more expensive | | | | Using a dryer to dry your sheets is a bad |
| than other types of sheets, caring for silk | | | | idea, since the heat could cause the silk to |
| sheets is an important concern. | | | | shatter. Even if the sheets come out of the |
| | | | dryer looking unharmed, they will not last as |
| Most silk sheets are designed to be machine | | | | long as air dried sheets because the heat |
| washed on the delicate cycle in cold water. | | | | makes the silk threads very brittle. Drying |
| However, you should check for a label with | | | | sheets on a clothesline outdoors is a bad |
| washing instructions on your sheets before | | | | idea for the same reason. After all, the sun |
| you assume they are machine washable. Some | | | | can give off quite a lot of heat. In |
| silk sheets must be hand washed in cold water | | | | addition, sunlight can really damage the |
| instead. | | | | color of your silk sheets. |
| | | | |
| No matter how you wash your sheets, don't use | | | | Finally, if you are overwhelmed at the |
| a traditional laundry detergent or bleach. | | | | thought of caring for your silk sheets, you |
| These chemicals are too strong for silk and | | | | may want to consider having them dry cleaned. |
| can cause the silk to shatter, which is a | | | | Make sure that you let your dry cleaner know |
| condition where the silk fabric literally | | | | that the sheets are made with silk before you |
| breaks apart. Instead, you should use a | | | | hand them over. A good dry cleaner knows |
| special silk safe detergent. In an emergency, | | | | exactly how to clean and iron silk without |
| you can try washing your sheets with Ivory | | | | damaging it. |
| soap, which is extremely mild. | | | | |