Our bed linen is performance tested to 100 commercial cycles under the recommended care guidelines found on each product’s care label. Our primary bed linen products have all been in the market for over 10 years, and we have examined multiple samples that were still in daily use after 2-3 years when laundered properly. These products showed minimal wear and were fully functional.
Excessive heat, excessive chemical exposure, overloading of washers and dryers, and friction all contribute to the accelerated degradation of textile fabrics.
External factors, such as stains originating from makeup, skin care creams, sunscreen oils, food, shoe polish, and other contaminants, reduce the lifespan of the product artificially before the fabric degrades removing them from service. Given the external soiling and abuse of the product, the actual lifecycle of bed linens usually ends while the fabric is still functional.
Typical Trends in properly cared for bed linen:
Flat sheets-longest life cycle: if you assume 100 cycles based on industry averages, then….
Fitted sheets- next longest life cycle and can be retired at the 75-80 cycle level on average due to friction around the feet and areas where the body stresses the fabric most.
Pillowcases - lowest life cycle due to stains: typically, 50 - 60 cycles. Often, laundries run temperatures too high and load pillowcases into roller ironing machines in the same direction. This promotes differential shrinkage causing pillowcases to be removed more frequently.
There are durability differences from lower to higher thread counts in some cases, but that opens a different set of circumstances based on the quality of the production and fiber used in the sheets.
Note: These cycle counts are not stated as actual, but to give you a sense of how the different products come out of service with each other.