Skip to main content

This ingenious hack for how to wash white sheets is amazing

Here's how to keep white sheets bright and crisp

If you’ve ever spent a night in a fancy hotel, you know the indulgent luxury of clean, pristine, high-quality white sheets. They’re crisp, bright, and incredibly smooth to the touch. Perhaps you’ve already decided to duplicate this elegance in your own bedroom and bought white sheets to add to the modern feel of your sleeping space. It’s definitely a trending look.

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

2 hours

What You Need

  • Distilled white vinegar

  • Baking soda

However, since you likely don’t have access to the same industrial-grade washing machines that hotels have, your white sheets will no longer have that same clean, crisp feeling after a few weeks. Never fear. With this ingenious hack for washing white sheets, you’ll be left with a bedspread that looks and feels amazing after every wash.

Modern bed with white sheets and pillows

What’s the appeal of white sheets?

White sheets can easily be a recipe for disaster. If you eat or drink in bed, sweat at night, or have any pets running around your bedroom room, the sheets will become stained and damaged quite quickly. So, why do white linens remain a popular choice in bedrooms everywhere? It could certainly be because they the classic choice, but there are also a few other benefits you may not have considered.

Elegant, crisp appearance

When white sheets are smooth and crisp, they look and feel amazing. Flat, wrinkle-free sheets give your bed an air of luxury, and slipping between them is like slipping into a cool, smooth cloud.

Easily matched color

Integrating a new color scheme in your bedroom or undertaking an entire remodel is already difficult enough. You shouldn’t also have to worry about buying a matching bedspread. With white sheets, you can match your bed to any decor or color without having to replace your entire set.

Calming color

White is a soothing color that brings about calm and serenity. The neutrality of white bed sheets is not only great for decorating, but it also promotes relaxation, helping you slow down at the end of the day.

mother and daughter snuggling in white bedding

Common problems with white sheets

When you first buy white sheets and stretch them over your comfy bed, they’ll be a dream come true. Several months later though, they simply won’t be the same.

Staining over time

While you sleep, you shed skin cells, release body oils, and sweat throughout the night. All of these unpleasant substances soak into the material of your linens and leave behind a yellow tint. Even your skincare and cosmetic products can rub off and stain your sheets and pillowcases. Unfortunately, washing your sheets with laundry detergent and bleach doesn’t always rid the material of those stains.

Dull or dingy coloring

While bleach can neutralize some of those stains, the harshness of the chemical will take its toll over time. After repeat uses of bleach, your sheets will start looking dull, and the chemical can damage the fabric, making it more susceptible to rips and tears.

Chemical smell

There’s such comfort in fresh-smelling bedsheets. If you’re using bleach, however, they won’t have that lovely just washed aroma. Bleach leaves behind a signature chemical smell that you definitely don’t want to breathe in while you sleep.

Rough texture

You spend approximately eight hours between your sheets, so you want them to be soft, snuggly, and comfortable on your skin. Due to the harshness of bleach, however, the fibers in your sheets can become damaged and they will eventually take on a rough texture that isn’t ideal for snuggling.

feet coming out the bottom of white sheets

How to wash white sheets the right way

It may be hard to believe, but you can have gorgeous white sheets without sacrificing color or softness. This cleaning hack will leave you with linens that are as bright, crisp, soft, and cozy, as they were when you bought them.

Step 1: Grab some distilled white vinegar and baking soda, but do not mix them together. Mixing these two products will result in an ineffective clean since the acid and base combination cancel each other out.

Step 2: Turn on the washing machine and use hot water. Hot water is much more effective at lifting stains than cold or warm water.

Step 3: Add half a cup of baking soda to your washing machine’s drum. This chemical has natural whitening properties that also get rid of odors.

Step 4: In the fabric softener compartment, add vinegar, a natural whitener that also softens fabrics.

Step 5: Put your sheets in the washing machine and wash on a normal cycle.

White bed sheets are classic, elegant, and easy to incorporate into your bedroom decor, so it’s no wonder they are such a popular choice in bedding. Issues with stains and rough texture, though common, can be a thing of the past with the right wash and care routine. With this simple solution, your white sheets will be soft and spotlessly white for years to come.

Editors' Recommendations

Veronica Sparks
Veronica Sparks is a writer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who loves writing about gardening, home décor, and DIY life. She’s…
Be sure to get rid of these 7 items in your spring garage sale
Stuck holding on to that old stuff? This list will help get you started with your garage sale purge
Young couple at a yard sale

Spring is the season for new beginnings; there’s no better time to clear out old clutter and give your home a total refresh. In addition to this year’s spring cleaning, focus on getting rid of belongings you no longer need. And since the temperature’s rising, flowers are blooming, and the sun is shining, it's a great time to plan a garage sale!

Set aside items in good condition to sell and donate the rest. Don’t know where to begin? Here are a few things you should definitely ditch at your spring garage sale.

Read more
How to clean your dishwasher (including the one step everyone forgets)
Remember to do this one step when cleaning your dishwasher
Open dishwasher that is clean inside built into to kitchen cabinets

Did you know that it’s recommended to clean your dishwasher once a month? This is because dishwashers are one of the most used appliances in the home, and over time, they gather a lot of grime and funky smells, which can lead to poorly washed dishes.

Moreover, many homeowners forget one of the most vital steps when it comes to cleaning a dishwasher! So, if your machine needs a little TLC, we have a super simple step-by-step guide on how to clean your dishwasher.

Read more
5 easy ways to spruce up your living room for spring
The sun is shining and the birds are chirping. Here's how to bring that energy into your living room
Living room with warm yellow curtains

Spring is here, and we couldn't be more excited! This means temperatures starting to warm, birds chirping, flowers beginning to bloom, and spring cleaning. There are so many ways to introduce spring into your home, and — as a place where family and friends gather to watch movies, play games, and relax after a long day — the living room is the perfect place to start.

If you're thinking about updating your living room this spring, you may want to start by decluttering. It can help give you a sense of what to keep, donate, or throw away, and will help you see the space more clearly.

Read more