Starch bed linen in the washing machine

Starch bed linen in the washing machine Relaxing on starched bed linen, creaking from cleanliness, smelling of pleasant coolness - what could be better? And in addition to pleasure, such processing of sleep accessories is fraught with other positive aspects. Let's figure out what the essence of starching is, how the process works, whether it can be done in the washing machine, what the housewife will need.

We use an automatic machine

Many people doubt whether it is possible to properly starch bed linen using a washing machine. Yes, the treatment can also be performed during a standard automatic wash. Starching occurs during the rinsing stage. You should act in accordance with the recommendations.

Prepare starch paste. To do this, stir a quarter teaspoon of starch in a mug of cold water so that there are no lumps. Then boil another 500 ml of water and pour the previously obtained “milk” into it.
Wait until the prepared mixture cools down.
Add regular detergent to the powder compartment, and starch solution to the conditioner compartment (up to the mark).
Load a load of laundry into the drum.
Turn on the machine, select the desired mode corresponding to the type of fabric.
At the end of the cycle, remove the sheets and pillowcases and shake well.
Dry the bedding in the fresh air or in a room with open windows.

After finishing washing with starch, be sure to rinse the powder receptacle, wipe the walls of the drum and the hatch glass from the inside with a damp cloth.

When starching items in an automatic washing machine, do not use any additional rinse aids.Otherwise, the desired effect from the procedure will not be achieved. Today on supermarket shelves you can find special detergents that give a starching effect. In this case, everything is simpler - you don’t need to prepare the paste yourself, you just need to pour the composition into the dispenser and start the wash.

Classic starching method

Previously, our grandmothers and mothers starched bed linen by hand. This treatment gave sheets, pillowcases and duvet covers a sparkling, squeaky clean finish. Surely, many remember how sweet it was to fall asleep on a pillow that smelled of freshness. The algorithm of actions for manual starching of linen is as follows:

Soak clean, washed sets in a basin with a starch composition (the paste should be cooled to a temperature of 25-35°C);
leave the bedding in this position for 20 minutes;
gently wring out the laundry, shake it well - this way you can avoid the appearance of folds and creases on the fabric;
dry your sleeping gear.

You should iron starched items when they are slightly damp. It is necessary to set the iron heat to minimum. This way, the sole of the device will not stick to the material.

If you don’t have time to soak the kits in paste, you can go the other way. Prepare a diluted starch solution and pour it into a spray bottle. Use a spray bottle to spray the bedding before ironing. This method will not require much time and will allow you to quickly process large duvet covers and sheets.

The practical meaning of starching

What else, besides pleasant sensations, does starching linen give? Starch, penetrating into the fabric fibers, creates an invisible, thin, protective film on the surface. Therefore, products soaked in paste become stronger and almost do not wrinkle.

The protective “starch” layer prevents your sleeping accessories from getting dirty quickly. If you constantly starch your sets, it’s easy to notice that your sheets and pillowcases will become dirty much more slowly.

In addition, it is worth mentioning the improvement in the quality of washing starched items. The protective film instantly dissolves upon contact with water, and all contaminants are washed off from the fabric along with the shell.

Starching additionally gives a whitening effect, which is especially important for light-colored bedding sets.

Advice from experienced housewives

Before you starch your sleeping accessories in a washing machine or manually, you should find out which fabrics can and cannot be soaked in paste. It is strictly forbidden to process products made of silk or synthetic materials. Only natural linen, cotton, chintz underwear, as well as items made from calico and satin, are allowed to be starched.

An ideal starch paste, which can be used both for manual processing and for automatic washing, is prepared according to the following rules:

Dissolve half a teaspoon of starch in a liter of cold water. Stir until there are no lumps;
in another saucepan, bring clean water to a boil and pour starch “milk” into it in a thin stream, while stirring the solution;
Reduce the heat on the burner and cook the paste over low heat for another 5-10 minutes. The starch solution will be similar in consistency to jelly;
wait until the paste cools down;
If you find lumps in the solution, strain it using gauze or a strainer.

Before starching, the paste should be diluted with clean water to the desired consistency. If you want to give your bed linen a soft blue tint, you can add a little blue to the starch solution. starch the sheet

A spoonful of salt mixed into a starch solution will give your sleeping accessories a glossy shine. The shine of the bedding will be guaranteed. You can prevent the iron sole from sticking to starched sheets by first pouring 3 drops of turpentine into the paste.

Starch agent

It doesn’t matter what starch you use when preparing the solution for processing, both corn and potato powder will do. The paste cooks equally well in both cases. Here you should be guided by what product is in the kitchen.

Potato starch quickly dissolves in cool water, immediately thickens when steamed with boiling water, and has a crystal white hue. Sometimes the cooked paste gives off a pale blue color. Unfortunately, if you make a mistake when preparing the solution, you can turn the fabric yellow, and this is the only disadvantage of potato powder. Starch

When using corn polysaccharide, you should not be afraid of yellow spots appearing on the material. To make a high-quality paste from it, be sure to “simmer” the solution over low heat for 5-10 minutes.

If you don’t have time to prepare starch paste with your own hands, you can buy a store-bought product with a similar operating principle.

The range of compositions is quite wide, these can be washing gels, conditioners with a starching effect, aerosols for treating fabrics. Some chemicals are poured into the washing machine tray, others are diluted in the basin for additional rinsing, and others are used specifically before ironing. Instructions for use should be found on the product packaging.

The process of starching bed linen does not require excessive effort; any housewife can prepare the paste. But the sheets, duvet covers and pillowcases will remain fresh longer and literally “squeak” with cleanliness. This effect is definitely worth the 10-15 minutes spent on processing.

Housewives reviews

Alena, Novosibirsk

Of course, starch makes the laundry stiffer, but I feel it also has a cooling effect, soothing and smoothing the skin. Therefore, many people enjoy falling asleep on such a bed.

I don’t know how the sheets are starched. I try to use the laundry service. But girls who like to do chores around the house, I think, can easily cope with starching their bedding.

Lyudmila, Orenburg

I don’t understand the rave reviews about starched linen. Since childhood, I have not liked all these hard sheets and pillowcases, pajamas, which are so unpleasant to the body. Even then I decided that I would never suffer like my grandmother. First, she boiled the bedding in a huge saucepan, then washed it with a huge portion of powder, soaked it in a blue solution and rinsed the sets in starch paste.

During my childhood, this was the way it was, and women did not understand how it could be done differently. I definitely won't waste time on this kind of processing.

Svetlana, Saratov

I remember how my mother starched the bed sheets. First, I soaked the sheets, then boiled them on the stove for about an hour, and then washed them in a machine - such an old one, with a mechanical spin cycle. Next came the turn of rinsing in a starch solution, then the centrifuge again.

I do it simpler - I buy a product with a starch effect in the store and sometimes, depending on my mood, I pour it into the machine. The result is the same as in my childhood. But you don’t need to spend 2-3 hours of your time doing laundry, as mom used to have to do.