Washing bed sheets

[MinaPop]

Apologies for the most boring question ever...

I like bed sheets that are patterned, and usually there's a lot of white in the pattern. If I wash them at 40, the white doesn't get clean-looking enough. If I wash them at 60, the colours fade. What's the solution?

I'm using biological washing liquid. I prefer to use the coolest temp I can (everything except sheets and towels goes at 30).

Thanks for any suggestions!

I would suggest washing them at 30 with bio liquid and a colour catcher and with laundry cleanser (that kills bacteria at low temperatures) in the fabric softener drawer.

40 should be plenty but I’d also use a colour catcher, and dry outside in the sun when I can (so prob not again until April!)

Thanks both 😊 Aren't colour catchers just meant to stop colours running though? The colours in my sheets don't run, they just fade with the heat in the 60 wash. How will a colour catcher stop fading?

Use some cleaning vinegar instead of fabric softener. In fact, stop using fabric softener at all as it over time builds up a synthetic layer around your fabrics that makes it harder to wash them completely clean because of that coating. Then hang them outside in the sun to dry. You can also use a detergent with optic brighteners that is safe to use on colours as well.

I don't use softener, and there's not much sun here (particularly soggy part of the Highlands) but I will look for a colour brightening detergent and see if it helps. Thanks!

Use powder instead of liquid. It will keep your whites whiter as they contain bleaches that the liquids dont

Powder is better for the machine, too, apparently, so it's a win-win!

@dementedpixie

Use powder instead of liquid. It will keep your whites whiter as they contain bleaches that the liquids dont

Totally this.

Liquid makes the clothes slimy I feel.

Also when I wash my darks with liquid they sometimes end up a bit smelly, this never happens when using powder, even if it does fade the colours a bit.

Powder with bleach will fade the colours,so will drying in the sun. My duvet covers/pillow cases have a lot of white plus dark and bright colours,think 1960s retro. They get washed at 40 and I am fussy about the whites. I use liquid all in one from Lidl

Biological liquid doesn't clean as effectively at higher temperatures. It's the agitation and the enzymes that make bios effective.

Thanks everyone! We'll get some non-bio powder and try that at 40 😊