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There is no feeling quite like slipping into a bed made up with brand new sheets. Whether it’s the fact that no one else has slept in them or that they’re a little luxury just for you, there’s something very inviting about new sheets.

Picking out new sheets is fun, especially when you try to pick out the softest ones on the shelves or challenge yourself to look beyond the thread count. What’s less fun is having to make the bed or, even worse, washing and drying and maybe even ironing the new sheets and then making the bed. Even if you love your laundry room or know every trick in the book for making it easy to make the bed, it’s still a bit of a drag to have to work for your reward of a comfy bed.

So, the question is whether you can you save yourself a little time and effort and simply slip those brand new sheets out of the package and onto a mattress or do you need to wash new sheets before sleeping in them? To find out, we turned to an expert.

Should You Wash New Sheets?

You absolutely should wash your bedding before using it,” says Laundry Evangelist Patric Richardson. “Many times fabrics are coated with something like very strong starch to make them stay crisp and neat in the store, they could be irritating to your skin. Secondly, someone in the store may have used cleaning chemicals on shelving or fixtures where the linens were stored and gotten on the fabrics.” Richardson continued, “Ultimately you want them to feel great on your bed.”

How To Wash New Sheets

His tips for the most comfortable experience with new sheets is both very practical and very luxurious. “Wash them with a tiny bit of soap or detergent with warm water on the express cycle and then toss them in the dryer with a wool dryer ball that you have sprinkled with a few drops of your favorite essential oil…freshly washed sheets that have a hint of lavender? You may never want to get out of the bed.”

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