When buying cosy new bedding for your bedroom, it's easy to imagine it to be perfectly fresh and ready to immediately throw on your bed, but this apparently isn't the case.
According to a cleaning expert, it's 'absolutely necessary' to make sure you wash brand-new bedding straight out of the packaging before you get comfy under it, even if it looks perfectly pristine.
Christian Alexander, the president and CEO of mattress and bedding company Nest Bedding, has now explained that giving bedding a good clean helps to remove any dust and dirt that may have accumulated in the factory or shop shelf.
As previously reported by the Daily Express, Christian stated that this measure is especially important for those with sensitive skin who could suffer an allergic reaction or irritation from residual chemicals used during the manufacturing process.
Cleanliness aside, skipping the cleaning process could also affect the way sheets feel to the touch, meaning you could be missing out on sinking into heavenly soft sheets.
As reported by the Express, a laundry expert at In The Wash stated: "One culprit of this is a starch known as 'sizing'. This starch is used to keep sheets smooth in their packaging to maintain that attractive, fresh look. This starch is what can make some bed sheets feel scratchy when they are first taken out of the packet."
This same laundry expert added that cleaning new bed sheets also helps you to check for any potential design defects, for example, small tears or stitching snags which may only become apparent after a good wash.
Advising people how to get the best results from washing their bedding, the expert continued: "To get the most out of your new sheets and remove that stiff feeling, give them a thorough wash by adding a cup of baking soda to the machine.
"When washed with warm water, the bicarbonate of soda will loosen up the sheets and get rid of any smells that remained from the production process."
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