Care Information
Wash
Linen increases in strength
when wet, which is why it stands up well to the rough and tumble of repeated
laundering. The more you wash your linen, the softer it gets, making the fabric
ever more beautiful. Select a gentle wash at 85°F for burlap. White and natural
linen without special finishes can be washed at 110°F. Choose a moderate spin
cycle, especially if the linen or burlap has a special finish such as fringed
edges.
Dry
Air drying your linen is always
recommended. We discourage tumble drying as this can over dry the fibres and
make ironing more difficult. Linen fibres are hollow and for this reason it
naturally dries quickly anyway. However, if necessary you can light tumble dry
in low head, but remove whilst still slightly damp and follow the ironing
instructions below. We don’t recommend tumble drying our burlap collections.
Air dried linens can be simply folded and put away.
Iron
Pure linen doesn’t have to be
ironed, we personally like the attractive crumpled look of relaxed linen. If
you enjoy a crisper finish, try ironing whist it’s still damp, first iron on
the wrong side first, then on the right side to bring out the natural linen
sheen. Iron burlap on the wrong side and low temperature only. If your linen
has already dried out before ironing, use a water spray to re-dampen it. A good steam iron will work best on linen.
Stains
Try to deal with stains quickly
and wash the item soon afterwards. Never pour neat detergent or chlorine bleach
onto linens and avoid using salt which will set the stain.
Red Wine: Rub immediately with
sparkling water or white wine.
Candle wax: Scratch off dried
wax, absorb residue with blotting paper and warm iron.
Fruit, coffee, tea and
chocolate: Rub with alcohol, white vinegar and ammonia.
A note on cleaning products
Only oxygen-type bleaches
should be used for linen laundering, chlorine bleaches can damage to the fibre.
Avoid bleach completely when washing linen or burlap as it can lead to
discolouration or spotting. Use only bleach-free detergents, avoiding ones
which contain Optical Brightening Agents (O.B.A) as they are particularly
deleterious to natural unbleached linens, and are often hidden in ‘stain
busting’ treatments.
Soap works best in soft water
and it is a good idea to add a softening agent if the water you use is hard. Do
not overload the machine, linen items have to be thoroughly rinsed in plenty of
water to remove all soap, detergent and residual soil and prevent the formation
of the so-called age spots due to the oxidation effect.
