Summer is the Season for Linen Clothing
Ah, summertime. The living is easy, and the linen is seemingly everywhere. You may have noticed that many department stores carry linen wardrobe items: everything from linen tops to linen shorts, linen dresses and linen pants.
Why linen?
Linen is a natural fiber material that has been keeping many who have worn it cool and dry for thousands of years. Ancient civilizations like the Mesopotamians and Egyptians produced linen for clothing. For example, examine the Tarkan Dress, discovered some 30 miles south of Cairo in Egypt. It is believed to be over 5,000 years old!
Caring for Linen is Surprisingly Easy to Do
Ever noticed how linen garments have a subtle shine when they're brand new but after just one or two washes they've lost that luster? This can be avoided or at least slowed down greatly, and it is surprisingly easy to do. No special laundry products are required, and you don't even have to hand wash (unless you really want to).
What You Need for Cleaning Linen Clothes
All you need is a mild laundry detergent and ample water. Avoid packing the washer densely—in other words make sure the load that includes your linen garments isn't a big heavy load. The goal is to reduce the amount of friction your linen garments will be exposed to in the wash. Proper sorting and loading can achieve this.
Washing Linen Clothes
Wash your linen laundry on a delicate cycle in cold or lukewarm water. Avoid fabric softener as it coats linen fibers causing them to lose their breathable quality. And avoid bleach; it’s not needed.
Drying Linen Clothes
As for drying linen garments, you can tumble dry them on low but line drying is much more preferred. If your linens after washing and drying are a little wrinkly it's OK to hit them up with a low to medium heat iron.
And that's it. Taking care of linen laundry, er, laundry made of linen made from flax, isn’t as delicate as unearthing an ancient garment at an archeological site. With just a little specialized care at home your linens can last for many a summer maybe even as long as the Tarkan dress.
Specialized Linen Laundry Care with Rinse & Roll
If you would like for Rinse & Roll's wash and fold service (available with pickup and delivery) to handle your linen garments, just let us know when you drop off your laundry or schedule a pickup online. We'll be happy to adjust our wash process for any linen garments that may be in your order.
If you are a business in need of linen cleaning for table linens, bath linens, or bed linens (you know, the kind that may not necessarily be made of flax linen), we can help there, too. Check out our commercial laundry services and ask us for your custom quote.
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