Imagine the comfort you’d get from sliding into fresh, soft and fluffy sheets. Imagine how they would feel on your skin. Yes, that level of comfort is possible to achieve. So, If you have sheets that are stiff, I’ve got good news.
There are several easy ways of softening your sheets and we’ll discuss ten of them in this article.
How to Soften Your Sheets
Asides from new sheets that come with a stiff texture that you can easily soften, poor quality sheets are always stiff and itchy.
When you have sheets like this, you may be tempted to use commercial fabric softeners but, as tempting as commercial fabric softeners may sound, you should know, that they do your sheets more harm than softening them.
Fabric softeners take away the natural fibre qualities of your sheets. There are simple household ingredients that you can use to remedy the situation.
1. Use turpentine
Turpentine is a solvent that can help soften your sheets. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to use turpentine below:
Step 1: Put your sheets in a washing machine or a sink with warm water.
Step 2: Add half a cup of turpentine to the water and run a regular wash cycle in the washing machine.
Step 3: Rinse thoroughly with cool water to remove most of the turpentine.
Step 4: Hang the sheets outside on a line to dry.
Note: Do not put the sheets in the dryer after washing with turpentine because turpentine is combustible and can cause a fire.
2. Use Epsom salts
Adding Epsom salts to your laundry water is the perfect way to soften your sheets plus the salt has some cleaning abilities that you might find useful. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to use Epsom salts below:
Step 1: Fill a laundry tub with cold water and add 50g of Epsom salts.
Step 2: Put the sheets in the tub and stir the sheets for about two minutes. You could use a wooden spoon if you don’t want your hands to get cold.
Step 3: After storing, soak the sheets in the salt mixture overnight.
Step 4: Rinse the sheets out thoroughly with cold water and leave to dry outside.
3. Use borax
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to use borax to soften your sheets below:
Step 1: Fill a laundry tub/ sink with cold water and add 6 tablespoons of borax to the tub.
Step 2: Add the sheets to the solution and stir them for about 30 minutes. Then, leave to soak overnight.
Step 3: The next morning, rinse thoroughly and leave to dry.
4. Use salt
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to use salt to soften your sheets below:
Step 1: Fill a laundry tub or sink with cold water and add two handfuls of salt.
Step 2: Add the sheets and leave them to soak overnight.
Step 3: Rinse the sheets thoroughly and leave them to dry.
5. Use Baking Soda
Of course, we can’t forget the magical powers of baking soda powder. Here is a step-by-step guide to using baking soda as a fabric softener:
Step 1: Mix ½ cup of baking soda with washing powder in the washing machine or sink.
Step 2: Put the sheets you want to soften in the solution and soak overnight.
Step 3: Wash the sheets in a regular cycle wash or hand wash them and dry them up completely
Note The more baking soda you use, the stronger softening effect you can get.
6. Use White Vinegar
White vinegar is also a well-known multi-purpose household ingredient that can also be used as a natural fabric softener.
Here is a step-by-step guide to using white vinegar to soften your sheets:
Step 1: Rinse the sheets in the washing machine with ½ cup of pure vinegar.
Step 2: Make a solution of white vinegar and water by mixing ½ cup of vinegar with ½ cup of water.
Step 3: Soak the sheets in the solution for about 30 minutes and wash with laundry detergent.
Step 4: Pour a cup of white vinegar into 1 gallon of water and soak the washed sheets soaking in the solution overnight.
Step 5: Rinse with water and leave to dry.
Note: Soaking the sheets in white vinegar after washing will not only soften the sheets, but l also remove the remaining residue of the washing powder from your laundry.
7. Use Dryer Balls
Are you aware that dryer balls could help soften your sheet? Well, dryer balls work as a substitute for chemical fabric softened and they come in a wide variety of different shapes, colours, and materials such as rubber or plastic. Some of them are made of wool.
Here is a simple guideline on how to go about it below:
Step 1: Wash your sheets regularly with a good quality detergent.
Step 2: Put 2-3 balls in the dryer together with the sheets you want to soften.
Note: The dryer balls help to soften the sheets and also speed up the drying process.
8. Use Table Tennis balls
Table tennis balls can serve as a substitute for dryer balls. So, if you can’t lay your hands on some dryer balls, surely you can find some tennis balls.
Then use the same trick as the dryer balls, just make sure to use new tennis balls so as not to soil your fresh linen.
9. Use Dry Towel
Dry Towels can also help soften your sheets. Here’s how to use a dry towel below:
Step 1: Wash your sheets regularly until they are clean and fresh.
Step 2: Turn on the dryer and be sure to include a clean, dry towel with the wet sheets.
Step 3: Run the regular dryer cycle and watch the towel work wonders!
10. Use Crumpled Aluminium Foil
If you can’t find dryer balls or tennis balls, you can make use of aluminium foil. Here is a step-by-step guide to using aluminium foil as a fabric softener:
Step 1: Crumple a piece of aluminium foil into a ball
Step 2: Throw the foil into your dryer and run a regular dryer cycle as you would with a dryer sheet.
Note: When folding the foil, pay attention to ensuring that no edges of foil stick out because it can damage the fabric.
Do Sheets Become Soft Overtime?
Sheets become soft over time, depending on the fabric your sheets are made from. For instance, linen fabric gets softer with a few washes.
So, to avoid going through the trouble of having to soften your sheets all the time, buy sheets that are already soft. There are ways you can ensure that your sheets get softened with time; here are a couple of them:
Thread count
It is important to know the thread count of sheets before purchasing them, but not all companies provide the thread count of their sheets accurately. In general, linen sheets with a thread count between 400 and 800 are acceptable.
Frequent washing
Consider washing linen sheets more often if you want to keep them soft. The simple fact is that linen becomes softened after washing a few times.