UGH...what am I doing wrong??

[guitarist_147]

I have been using organic jojoba oil (made the switch from something else mainly to avoid sheet stains) and my sheets are STILL stained. I am washing them in HOT water with detergent and a little liquid dish soap. What am I doing wrong? My sheets are made of bamboo fiber, could that be the problem? This is driving me crazy!

 

[sian m]

try washing them in warm water as opposed to hot. i actually heard this recently - i can't remember where but i heard that sometimes certain articles wash better in warm water. also, do not put your sheets on a high setting in the dryer. that will "set" the stain and you will never get it to come out.

good luck. i don't know much about bamboo fiber - maybe that is the problem.

 

[Billy G]

Thanks for the info. I dry them on delicate, so there isn't high heat involved.

 

[Johnny D]

Also try adding a bit of borax or a water softener to your wash when you add the soap. Sometimes the water can be very "hard" especially if you are on a county or city water with a lot of chlorine or other things in it.

 

[H.D.]

Supposedly we have the hardest water in the midwest. Dunno about that, but it's pretty hard. The snow is deep, too.

 

[The White Guinea Pig]

I had the same problem with my sheets, that is until I switched to a laundry service.

The lighter colored your sheets are the better. If you are using dark sheets you will notice stains more easily. When I would wash my own sheets, I would ad some degreaser to the wash, it was called Jungle Jake.

 

[JoHannes(2)]

In the past lots of people have posted adding dish washing liquid to the wash helps.

 

[JoeClyde]

I've never used bamboo sheets, so I can't speak to that. For my flannel cotton sheets, I've had good luck with vinegar. Add 1/2 cup to the wash, and let your sheets pre-soak for 20 minutes before washing. Many washers have a pre-soak option on the dial, making this easy to do. However, my washer's a front-loader, which means soaking's never an option. (Front-loaders use less water and spin the clothes through the water; this saves water, but makes it harder to remove stains). So, I soak my linens in a separate plastic storage tub. I set up a little assembly line in my laundry room each night. First set of sheets go into the plastic "soaking" tub with 1/2 cup vinegar & HOT water. 1/2 hour later, I move those into the washer, and put my next set of sheets in to soak. This has worked well for me. Even strong stains disappear over time.

P.S. Vinegar is a natural degreaser, deodorizer & fabric softener.