Care tips for your Sheets, Dohars, Duvet Covers and Quilts

A run through the washing machine and remake the bed…viola…you are done!...while care for your bedlinen is largely as simple as that, there’s more to it if you would like to get that extra mile out of your sheets and covers.

How often should I wash the sheets and Dohars? After all, we spend one third of our life in bed, leaving behind sweat, body oil and dead skin. To keep dust mites and allergens at bay, we must wash the sheets and covers at least once in two weeks. “Keep multiple sets of sheets and covers at hand so that you can alternate between them to maintain that fresh and clean feeling in your beds” Do I need to wash sheets and dohars before use?While the new sheets and dohars look fresh, crisp and neatly folded, they are not pre-washed and may contain stray fibres and feel scratchy. The dohars may also smell a bit of starch used to make the fabric straight and easy for hand block printing. Unfold the sheets completely and wash them in the washing machine in cold cycle. Tip : Use one cap of Baking Soda along with small amount of detergent to wash the sheets for the first time. Baking soda gently cleans the fabric, removes odours of the packaging and makes the sheets soft. You can further use one cap of white vinegar or plant based softener in the softener compartment if you like. At what temperature should I wash the sheets and dohars?Our fitted sheets and dohars are made of 100% cotton. Cotton fibre is very delicate and may break down with twisting and turning in hot water. In addition, certain colour dyes like red and blue colour tend to fade faster in hot water. Hence it is always advisable to wash sheets and dohars in cold water. Can I dry my sheets and dohars in the dryer? Extreme temperature is always an enemy of any fabric. And cotton sheets and covers are no exception. While an occasional spin in the dryer at low temperature is ok, we would highly recommend drying the sheets and covers naturally either in shade or turn them inside out and dry them in sun. Do I need to use a softener for my sheets? Cotton sheets and dohars get softer and smoother with every wash. But, if we are unable to wait until a few washes and would like to make them softer sooner, we would have to resort to softeners. White Vinegar and Baking soda are natural and gentle cleaners and softeners. You could add a cap of baking soda along with detergent or add a cap of white vinegar in softener compartment or both to make the sheets soft naturally. But if you would like to use a commercial softener instead, would strongly recommend using plant based softeners. Do I need to iron my sheets and dohars? We promise you that our sheets and dohars look absolutely gorgeous when ironed. But that is absolutely not necessary. Since they are made of cotton, expect them to look wrinkled when they are out of the washing machine and when you make your bed. But with stretching and body warmth, these wrinkles smooth out in a night or two. So if you are not very anal or don’t have time on your hand, its ok not to iron them. We all lead imperfect lives! But if you wish to iron them, then would recommend ironing on the reverse side. How to I remove strong odours from my sheets or dohars? We all have our bad days when we accidentally spill something on the bed or our little ones might be sick and throw up in the bed. While washing the sheets take care of most of the smells, some of the odours can be really strong and might need a bit more work. You might be tired of seeing the words Baking Soda and White Vinegar by now, but trust me they are your best friends when taking care of your bedlinen (No, we don’t own a manufacturing unit of Baking soda or white vinegar...they just happen to be the cheapest and most practical household chemicals to use J ) Depending upon the PH level of the stuff that has caused the odour, we would use either Baking soda or white vinegar to neutralise the smell. So if it’s a vomit smell, or smell of perspiration that we want to get rid of, we will soak the sheets in water and 2 caps of baking soda for atleast 4-6 hours before washing them normally. On the other hand, if we are trying to get rid of the smells of body lotion, oils or plastic packaging etc, we would soak the sheets in water with 2 caps of white vinegar for atleast 4-6 hours before washing them normally.

How often should I wash my Sheets and Dohars?

After all, we spend one third of our life in bed, leaving behind sweat, body oil and dead skin. To keep dust mites and allergens at bay, we must wash the sheets and covers at least once in two weeks.

“Keep multiple sets of sheets and covers at hand so that you can alternate between them to maintain that fresh and clean feeling in your beds”

Do I need to wash the Sheets and Dohars before use?

While the new sheets and dohars look fresh, crisp and neatly folded, they are not pre-washed and may contain stray fibres and feel scratchy.The dohars may also smell a bit of starch used to make the fabric straight and easy for hand block printing. Unfold the sheets completely and wash them in thewashing machine in cold cycle.

Tip : Use one cap of Baking Soda along with small amount of detergent to wash the sheets for the first time. Baking soda gently cleans the fabric, removes odours of the packaging and makes the sheets soft. You can further use one cap of white vinegar or plant based softener in the softener compartment if you like.

At what temperature should I wash my Sheets and Dohars?

Our fitted sheets and dohars are made of 100% cotton. Cotton fibre is very delicate and may break down with twisting and turning in hot water. In addition, certain colour dyes like red and blue colour tend to fade faster in hot water. Hence it is always advisable to wash sheets and dohars in cold water or at 30 degree celsius.

Can I dry my Sheets and Dohars in the dryer?

Extreme temperature is always an enemy of any fabric. And cotton sheets and covers are no exception. While an occasional spin in the dryer at low temperature is ok, we would highly recommend drying the sheets and covers naturally either in shade or turn them inside out and dry them in sun.

Do I need to use softener for my Sheets and Dohars?

Cotton sheets and dohars get softer and smoother with every wash. But, if we are unable to wait until a few washes and would like to make them softer sooner, then use of softeners is recommended

Tip : White Vinegar and Baking soda are natural and gentle cleaners and softeners. You could add a cap of baking soda along with detergent in the detergent compartment or add a cap of white vinegar in softener compartment or both to make the sheets soft naturally. But if you would like to use a commercial softenerinstead, would strongly recommend using plant based softeners.

Do I need to iron my Sheets and Dohars?

We promise you that our sheets and dohars look absolutely gorgeous when ironed. But that is absolutely not necessary. Since they are made of cotton, expect them to look wrinkled when they are out of the washing machine and when you make your bed. But with stretching and body warmth, these wrinkles smooth out in a night or two. So if you are not very anal or don’t have time on your hand, its ok not to iron them. We all lead imperfect lives! But if you wish to iron them, then would recommend ironing on the reverse side.

How to remove strong odours from my Sheets and Dohars?

We all have our bad days when we accidentally spill something on the bed or our little ones might be sick and throw up in the bed. While washing the sheets take care of most of the smells, some of the odours can be really strong and might need a bit more work.

Depending upon the PH level of the stuff that has caused the odour, we would use either Baking soda or white vinegar to neutralise the smell. So if it’s a vomit smell, or smell of perspiration that we want to get rid of, we will soak the sheets in water and 2 caps of baking soda for at least 4-6 hours before washing them normally. On the other hand, if we are trying to get rid of the smells of body lotion, oils or plastic packaging etc., we would soak the sheets in water with 2 caps of white vinegar for at least 4-6 hours before washing them normally.

Care for Duvet Covers

While all the care tips mentioned above for sheets apply to duvet covers also, there is just a little extra precaution to be mentioned with regards to the zippers and ties. In order that the ties don’t get struck with other clothing inside the washing machine, do not turn the duvet covers inside out while washing. In addition, it would be better to zip up the duvet covers before tossing them in the washing machine so that some stray threads do not jam up the zippers.

Care for Quilts or Jaipuri Razais

Quilts or Jaipuri Razais are made of fine muslin, filled with cotton and hand quilted to keep the cotton filling in place. They are the most delicate piece of bedlinen that one can own. Hence they require a lot more care and precaution while washing them.

To start, our quilts are machine washable. Yet, because of the delicate cotton filling, we cannot toss them in washing machine every other week. If we want them to last longer, it is advisable to air dry them or sun them every week and wash them once a month or in 45 days. When washing the quilts, the following care instructions should be followed: 1. Make sure the washing machine is able to take the load, especially for double quilts, recommend a load capacity of 7.5 kgs or more. Always wash quilt in a separate load. Do not add other laundry. 2. Wash in cold water. Hot water spoils the cotton. 3. Wash in gentle or delicate cycle in washing machine. Always use gentle liquid soap 4. Lie it flat to dry naturally. Hanging the quilts to dry is not a good idea as this would break the cotton filling. 5. If you like you can use 1 cup of white vinegar in softener compartment. Vinegar pulls out all the dirt very quickly and also makes the cotton soft.