French Linen R&D
Trial and Error
Though pure linen is known for being stronger than cotton, the number of fibers are far fewer. And, while French or Belgian Linen benefit greatly from being washed and dried — growing more comfortable each time — there is a need for much greater care. This fact is one of the largest reasons that Egyptian Cotton has remained so popular in the United States. We pried ourselves with washers and dryers, including the HE models, that beat the crap out of our laundry.
Because of this, all types of pure linen are at higher risk of showing off such abuse. That being said, washing “with care” and a dash of responsibility is more than enough to ensure that your linen bedding lasts for years.
During our first durability test, we broke all of the rules.
1.
Be Gentle
100% Pure Linen needs to be washed and dried on the most gentle cycle available. In regards to drying, dry on the lowest setting, and make sure to empty the lint trap a couple of times. French Linen will have quite a bit of lint for the first few wash cycles.
2.
Separate the Duvet Cover
The duvet cover and sheet set should not be washed and dried together. The duvet should be washed and dried alone, with the cover unbuttoned, so as to ensure the fabric avoids any tension points during both washing and drying.
Durability Test
Pretty good rules to follow. But, for the sake of expediting the durability test, we instead went with the following conditions…
1.
Go Hard
While we left out the bleach, we used not only the “heaviest” wash options, but the fastest spin cycle. When it came to drying, we turned the heat all the way up.
2.
Mix It All Together
Instead of separating the duvet cover, we washed and dried the entire bedding set in the same load. Therefore the entire load included four (king) pillow cases, a fitted sheet, a top sheet and, of course, the duvet cover. For good measure we left the duvet cover buttoned. Just to up the stress a bit.
And what happened? Surprisingly nothing. At least, the first couple wash cycles. While the pillow cases and sheets held up just fine, the duvet cover began to “shred” by the third cycle. The only conclusion being that the duvet cover must be given special care in regards to washing and drying. Keeping the cover separate, washing on gentle, and drying on low heat allowed the fabric to remain healthy after repeat wash cycles.
To further test durability — of the duvet, as we couldn’t get the sheets to fray — we pulled apart a spot that had torn. With the intention of seeing how durable the fabric could be on areas that were frayed or showing holes. If you needed further convincing to wash on gentle…
