To replace our bedding with 100% cotton

[cadburyegg]

We bought new bedding from ikea a couple of weeks ago and put it on this week. I don’t like the feel of it and I just looked at it says 50% cotton 50% lytocell.

I just hate it! Ugh I hate the feel of it and it’s all scratchy and hard. I really want to replace it with 100% cotton. My dh can’t understand what my problem is and thinks I’m being ridiculous and wasteful. AIBU?

I have 100% cotton sheets and just don't iron them. Ironed would be nicer, I know, but life is too short frankly.

I also put new sheets straight on the bed from the package and have survived the experience multiple times unscathed.

Asda do some lovely 100 percent cotton bedding, a king is about £30.00- £35.00.
I always wash bedding that I have just bought, to me there’s nothing nicer than getting into clean sheets and if I’m going to change a superking quilt I want it to smell nice when I get in it. I never wash new clothes or stuff though. I just genuinely love getting into a just washed bed.

Are people seriously suggesting you bring back bedding you have slept in??? You say you put it on the bed this week....

Put you are right to only buy 100% cotton.

100% cotton for sure. Higher thread count the better.

Also placemarking to be nosy and find out if OP comes back to confirm if she put unwashed new bedding on 😱😂

It is lovely to slip into a bed made up of freshly ironed pure cotton sheets. I hate ironing but make an exception for sheets. In the winter I tightly fold them and stack them on the aga unironed which works quite well but does not give that OOOOooooh an ironed sheet gives

For me, the most exciting part of buying new bedlinen is being able to have clean sheets without washing them first. It's literally never occurred to me that people bother to wash them before using the first time. Bonkers.

That's not laziness though. Its intentionally giving yourself a rash/bad nights sleep etc. Easier to wash it and put it on all nice then leave it on for weekend you're lazy. Put it all crunchy and new and you surely must want to change it after 1 night in that sweaty rashy bed? If not fair play to You but honestly my tiny mind is blown.

Genuinely, your mind is blown at the discovery that not everyone washes new bedding before using it ? Everyday life must be a regular rollercoaster for you, eh?

I've never washed new stuff (bedding or clothes) before putting it on, and have never had a skin reaction or been bothered by a 'chemical' smell.

Plus lol at those who would wash it and then put fabric conditioner on it. Stops the bedding from being able to absorb sweat just as it stops bath towels from drying you properly. It is like lying all night in a pure synthetic fabric.

This. I never use fabric softener on sheets or any of my clothes but my husband likes it for his stuff. He once washed the sheets using it, yuck, they felt slippy. Nasty stuff.

Those of you with 100% cotton sheets though, don’t they look really crumpled all the time?

No but I iron mine. They never look crumpled even when it's time to change them. I guess it depends on the quality. Love my cotton bedding.

I wouldn't dream of washing bedding before first use. I like to live on the edge, and keep my neuroses under control.

But YANBU, OP, 100% cotton in the only way to go.

I admire your devil may care attitude, Quintella. Something tells me you may even use a towel more than once before washing it, my sister-in-filth.

No we didn’t wash it before putting it on. Our tumble dryer died last year and we haven’t yet replaced it so washing bedding is a faff this time of year. Will definitely wash it though before considering replacing. But yes we have already slept in the bed so definitely can’t take the bedding back now! Thanks for the suggestions.

Isitmybathtimeyet, I have been known to dice with death by only washing my towels on a weekly basis.

Judging by the stonewashed linen ads all over my Instagram, the crumpled look is all the rage. Coffee stains can't be far behind in the trend stakes. I expect a call from Elle Deco shortly. I'll have the time to answer on account of not spending my life reading the packaging for SHEETS.

Lol at the amazement people don’t read the instructions for sheets.

I'm not a fan of very high thread count bedding. It's a pain to wash and dry, even with a dryer, and it wears out just as fast, just in different places.

Plus lol at those who would wash it and then put fabric conditioner on it. Stops the bedding from being able to absorb sweat just as it stops bath towels from drying you properly.

If you use too much fabric conditioner, or use it every time you wash your bed linen, it can make it feel less crisp and make towels seem less absorbent.

But most washing machines have at least one plain water rinse before the end of the cycle to rinse off the softener. It's a bit like putting conditioner on your hair, which will of course feel slightly slippery if you put on too much or don't rinse it off properly.

Being on MN really is an education! I have lived 50 years never knowing that people wash new sheets! Or that they read the packet. Why would you? I’m another one who has never suffered any ill effects from putting unwashed new sheets on my bed. I never used to think I was a slattern until I joined MN but have learnt otherwise!

Am I the only person whose bed linen never “wears out”? The linen my mother gave me when I left home in about 1990 is still perfectly good, if not as crisp as it once was.

I love putting new bedding in straight from the packet, has the ironed look with absolutely no effort- amazing!

@burritofan I've never had fabric conditioner make anything feel slimy, but I have opened a packet of new bedding and recoiled at the smell. It stinks.

When you recoil do you stagger dramatically backwards or is it just a little gasp of horror?

I love the first night with fresh out the package bed linen! I would go mad if dp washed the stiffness out of it, you only get one chance per new set!