How to Wash Flax Linen Duvet Covers

Flax linen is easy to take care of — it is long-lasting and resilient and it only gets softer and suppler with use. Thanks to the long flax fibers you will experience very little pilling (those pesky little fluff balls you get with cotton). And we recommend not bothering with ironing it as that lived-in rumpled look is all part of the charm of washed linen (besides, who has the time).

However, since we are advocates of ditching the top sheet (because, why…?) and sleep the Scandinavian way, you do want to wash your duvet cover every 1–2 weeks. Here are a few tips to get the most out of your flax linen bedding by handling it the right way.

Washing: Flax linen is machine wash safe and in fact will only get softer with repeat washing. Wash on cold to keep the colors vibrant and choose a moderate spin cycle.

Whitening: You will want to avoid using any whitening agents on our colored and printed duvet covers as it will fade the designs. For whitening pure white linen sheets, avoid products with a chlorine base (bleach), which can have a yellowing effect on linens. Instead, use detergents and whitening products with a base of oxygenated agents.

Tumble Drying: After a moderate spin, linen can be dried in a tumble dryer on low heat.

Pro tip! Take your linen bedding out of the dryer while it’s still slightly damp and hang it up to air-dry for a few hours (if you have the space). That will take out most of the wrinkles.

Ironing: Our washed flax linen duvet covers really don’t need ironing as the slightly rustic look is all part of the charm. But if you prefer a smoother finish, linen is very easy to iron as well. We recommend ironing the linen on the reverse side while it is still damp, on low heat with or without steam.

Professional Cleaning: If you want to get your duvet covers professionally cleaned, flax linen can be dry cleaned as well. Just make sure you use one who knows how to take good care of linen.

Originally published in The Modern Dane