In a scorching summer city, one sees a prosperous person in a simple-looking linen shirt from Loro Piano or Brioni (which can cost as much as a good TV or a mountain bike). He doesn't seem to notice the heat. And in a nearby park, young mothers, dressed in light, spacious linen clothes in the Boho style, probably had a picnic. Yes, linen is back in fashion! This is one of the oldest materials for the production of fabric, linen clothes were made 9000 years ago in India.
No wonder it remains popular to this day, because it has a number of wonderful qualities:
- Flax fibers contain silicon dioxide, which has a bactericidal and antifungal effect.
- Unlike other materials, no allergic reactions have been reported with linen fabrics.
- Linen fabric absorbs and evaporates moisture 50% better than cotton.
- Linennot electrified.
"Superwear" or the biggest problem in the wardrobe?
Despite such amazing properties, many prefer more "simple" materials in choosing clothes. Depending on whether several rules are observed in washing, drying and ironing clothes, two options are possible:
If you know how to wash linen and follow a few simple rules in caring for a thing, you will get "super clothes" that:
- With each wash, the material becomes softer, but does not lose strength.
- After a few years, the socks look like they were just bought.
- Will dilute even a formal suit, giving the image a little emancipation.
You don't know how to wash linen properly and you end up with the biggest problem in your wardrobe:
- Linen clothing behaves unpredictably: either it shrinks after washing so that it can be given to the youngest daughter, or it stretches to indecent sizes after several days of wear.
- All the color was washed off after the first wash. Now the things that were washed with her are in iridescent stains.
- The fabric has become rough, like burlap.
With this option, every time a seller in an expensive store talks about linen clothes as the most unpretentious and easy to care for, only a bitter smile arises, saying "we know this unpretentious clothes of yours." Although everything is actually very simple!
Why do linen items shrink?
One of the most significant problems that linen owners face isreduction of the longitudinal and transverse dimensions of the fabric after washing. In order for further recommendations to prevent such an incident to be logical and understandable, let's look at the mechanism of shrinkage of linen items:
- Flax fibers are strongly stretched in the process of making threads. In water, there are optimal conditions for their slight twisting, in addition, there is a gradual washing off of starch glue, which is used in the fabric production process.
- High temperatures contribute to the swelling of plant fibers. Now they are in close contact with each other. Due to its natural origin, linen threads are like Christmas trees on a microscopic level, which, clinging to each other, are firmly held after drying in a new position.
Knowing this, you can easily explain a number of methods to prevent and combat shrinkage. We will answer one question that interests everyone.
Recommendations
How to wash linen so that it doesn't "sat down":
- Correct temperature regime. At what temperature should linen be washed? No more than 40 degrees for colored and 60 for white things. Thus, flax fibers swell less, do not touch too closely, and as a result, there is less chance of microvilli adhesion with a new, slightly twisted position of the fibers in the aquatic environment.
- Iron items should be until they are completely dry after washing. But why? After all, as mentioned earlier, hot water creates all the conditions for the thing to sit down. In this case, the same process takes place that causes the linen fabricto reduce their size, with the only exception that with a heavy iron we forcibly draw out the twisted fibers, and the process of swelling binds them in a new position. The wedge is kicked out with a wedge!
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Dry clothes on coat hangers or clothespins (for towels, bed linen, etc.). Everything is obvious here: the wet fabric is stretched under the weight of its own weight.
Important to know! When dyeing, flax is boiled in boiling water (decatation occurs - the canvas shrinks to the maximum, almost irrevocably, and simply cannot sit down even more, therefore, shrinkage no longer occurs during household washing). But dyed linen has its own nuances.
Why does the fabric shed?
Because dyes are used for dyeing vegetable fabrics, which dissolve quite well in water (especially in an acidic environment). Therefore, the best solution would be to choose white linen or linen items in natural shades.
How to wash so that things keep their color?
The natural color of the material is dark grey. It is impossible to return the color of an item if it has already been washed off with detergents using other chemicals. There are many methods for restoring the color of brown things with coffee broth, black with tobacco, blue with blueberry juice, and special dyes for fabrics are also produced. All of these methods are effective to varying degrees and take time, so it's best to know how to wash linen.
Colored in the washing machinewashing is not recommended. But if the colors are light or close to the natural color of linen, then you can try. Many experts recommend adding a tablespoon of vinegar when hand washing colored linen, which gives things brightness. It is difficult to explain the essence of this method, because acidic solutions "wash away" the paint of the fabric. Perhaps this gives the effect of brightness - the color becomes lighter, but does not fade. Table vinegar itself, unlike other acids, does not produce a destructive effect on flax fibers.
How to wash linen in the washing machine:
- Delicate wash.
- No spin and dry.
- Linen is washed at 30-40 degrees for colored items and up to 60 degrees for whites.
- The machine should be filled no more than 2/3 of its capacity.
Also give other tips on how to wash linen.
How to remove stains from linen clothes?
Acid-containing and chlorine-containing stain removers damage linen fabrics, so ammonia can be used for stains such as sweat stains, cosmetics, and blood. To remove greasy stains, it is recommended to sprinkle the thing with talcum powder, cover with white paper and leave it for a day under load (dry wash).
How to wash linen?
For linen use powders for delicate washing. Many wash a thing with ordinary laundry soap or with the help of Indian soaps.nuts that have proven themselves as a versatile and completely natural cleanser.
How to bleach linen?
You can whiten linen items with your own hands using soda ash. This is done in a washing machine, the maximum temperature should not exceed 60 degrees.
How to make linen softer with your own hands?
This will happen naturally over time, but if you don't want to wait, you can use the following method (which is of course safer to use on undyed fabrics). This is soaking things overnight in a saline solution (about a glass of s alt per 15 liters of water) followed by washing. As a result, the thing will become softer.
Conclusion
So we figured out how to wash linen properly. As you can see, understanding this issue is quite easy. Knowing all these nuances, you can significantly extend the life of a thing and not spoil it at the first attempt to wash it.
