a. Use daily
Our products are made for everyday use. We would like you to note that your sheets, towels, robes, napkins and tablecloths are textiles made from natural fibers that evolve in both look and feel over time. Fabrics that come into contact with air, water, soaps, heat, light and human bodies will change over time. Generally, fibers relax and soften with washing, drying and time, making them less prone to wrinkling and more pleasing to the touch. Overall sizes, colors and textures will change slowly over time when subjected to wear and care; this is normal, just as the softening and fading of blue jeans is normal and anticipated.
b. Wash day
Speaking of washing and drying: do it often and do it without worry! All cotton, linen and cotton/linen blend fabrics can be safely washed at home. Many customers dry-clean duvet covers due to their unwieldy size and bedskirts must be dry-cleaned to preserve their accurate sizing and because the pleats and folds are a nuisance to iron at home. Please avoid the enemies of fine linens: hot water, bleaches and too much detergent. Cool or lukewarm water is best for washing and we recommend the gentle cycle. Avoid bleach unless you are doing all white (the fibers will be weakened by bleaching), and be sure to verify that your trusted detergent does not contain bleaches or whiteners. And please use just enough detergent to produce about a quarter of an inch of suds on the wash water. The lowest heat setting on the dryer is optimum for your fine linens. You will get the least amount of wrinkling if you dry sheets one at a time. Another trick is to pull sheets from the dryer when barely damp, shake, and hang dry.
c. More Care Notes
All of our linens are come with care instructions on the packaging. Wash bedding with similar colored bedding, and towels with similar colored towels. Combining fabrics of different textures and colors leads to pilling and discoloration. Unless your linens are extremely soiled, use half the detergent recommended; this reduces damage to fibers and cleans your linens just as well. Blankets and throws containing wool and silk should always be dry-cleaned. Linens and towels washed in hot water or dried at hot temperatures will shrink excessively and damage fibers.
d. Towel Care
Washing and drying your new towels before use begins the breaking-in process, making them softer and more absorbent. Several washings are required for Egyptian cotton terry towels to achieve their maximum absorbency, softness and fluff. Launder towels in warm water with a gentle detergent—remember, less soap is better. Again, please don’t use fabric softeners with your new towels, as absorbency is greatly reduced. Your towels may snag from time to time and it is safe to simply clip the extended thread.
e. See Spot Go!
When in doubt, contact your laundry professional; they have all sorts of miraculous potions in their arsenal. We have three favorite potions of our own that we recommend heartily. LeBlanc Linen Wash (linenwash.com) is available in our stores and is a product recommended by many luxury linen manufacturers. It’s great on stain removal and is also appropriate for everyday linen care. Gonzo Stain Remover (gonzocorp.com) is amazing and we use it by the quart. We can’t figure out how something with no scent and no toxicity can work so well, but it does! We also like powdered OxiClean Versatile Stain Remover (oxiclean.com) for bigger, tougher jobs.
f. Attention
Certain skin and hair products that contain oxidizing agents (acne treatments, anti-aging preparations, and products with Retinol) will cause bleaching and spotting of colored bedding and towels. Use white towels and pillowcase if such products are part of your beauty regimen.
Also, while fabric softeners make your sheets and towels smell great, these liquids put a film on the natural fibers which reduces their absorbency.
g. A New Wrinkle
Wrinkling, of course, brings us to the joy of ironing, a subject that comes up often. But don't panic! We steam all of the bedding on display at French Quarter because we want to show the textiles at their finest. Some of our customers iron, others do not; some just iron pillow shams and duvet covers. Generally, the more money that is spent for linens, the higher the quality of yarn and weaving, and this generally results in less wrinkling. In all cases, though, fabrics will “relax” and wrinkle less the more they are washed and dried. You'll probably find yourself touching up some of your linens with an iron and you'll be surprised how easily they look like new.
h. Skinny on Down
Always use a duvet cover on your duvet to protect it and keep it clean. Use pillow protectors and wash them regularly. A washable mattress protector over a featherbed or non-washable pad is highly recommended. Duvets, pillows and featherbeds should be fluffed daily to maintain the loft and fullness of down. Soiled duvets and pillows can be spot-cleaned with a damp cloth and mild soap. Featherbeds and silk duvets should be dry cleaned. Though down products should be cleaned as infrequently as possible, we do recommend laundering over dry cleaning. Laundering rejuvenates the lofting quality of the down, making duvets and pillows full, fluffier and fresh-smelling. Down laundering should only be attempted in a large, front-loading machine using mild soap and warm water. It is critical that the down be thoroughly rinsed of soap. Thorough drying is also critical and can usually be accomplished by multiple drying cycles with a tennis ball or two. Do this on a sunny day so the final drying hours can take place outside. Down products should always be stored in breathable bags. If this all seems like too much work, we highly recommend the laundry services of Blanc Plume (blancplume.com) at 800-307-0229.
i. Matelassé Care
A special note regarding matelassé coverlets and shams: If you want the traditional “puckered” look of old European coverlets, do wash and dry them; otherwise send them to the dry cleaner. Matelassé fabrics are heavy and can be unwieldy when wet and they will shrink from eight to ten percent when washed and dried; this can be a problem for pillow shams and coverlets that need to have a particular size, so do consider dry cleaning.