Evening star., 1942-11-04
Sheets and Cases
Must Be Made
To Last Now
Distribute Wear
As Evenly as
Possible
By the Bureau Of Home
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pillowcases torn up for household
cleaning this year. The reason
the war. The person in the house.
hold who guards the linen closet
knows by this time that sheets and
pillowcases with wear still in them
are on the make 'em last" list. For
textile mills are taxed to the limit
with orders. Homemakers are help
ing to ease the heavy schedules in
these mills when they take extra
good care of the household textiles.
One way to get the best service
from sheet or pillowcase is to dis
tribute the wear as evenly as pos
sible, according to home economists
of the U. S. Department of Agri-
culture.
The Bureau Of Home Economics
has found by test that sheets wear
out most quickly where the sleepers
shoulders normally rest. You can
distribute this wear by reversing the
sheet occasionally, putting the top
part at the bottom of the bed.
Sheets will also last longer if you
let each one rest between working
periods" So put freshly laundered
sheets on the bottom of the pile in
your linen closet. Thus no sheet is
overworked while, others lie idle
If you find snags or tears on the
sides of your sheets, take look at
the springs and bed rails to see
whether they are to blame. Bend
down any loose or sharp ends of wire
on the springs, or sandpaper of any
splinters on the bed rail. And it's
best to mend the snags and tears in
the sheets quickly. If you don't. they
will be even bigger after the sheets
are laundered.
Sheets not large enough for the
bed wear out more quickly than
those the right size. When used as
undersheets, they may get hard pull
ing in the effort to tuck them in.
When used as topsheets, they may
get yanked at the top as the sleeper
tries to cover his shoulders.
If you have such sheets, try piecing
to make them longer. Good material
from old, worn sheets serves this
purpose. II need be. you can even
piece the sides Of a small sheet and
get more tucking-in room.
Life-expectancy Of pillowcases Is
about the same as that Of sheets.
And, you can extend their careers
too. Underslips. the removable COW
erings for pillows, tighten the wear
on pillowcases. Acting as buffer"
between case and pillow, the UNDER
slip keeps the case from rubbing
against the harsher ticking fabric.
A pillowcase may show first signs
of wear where folded. Constant fold
ing makes these place so weak that
in time they may split. Here's how
to avoid this damage, If the pillow
case is made from tubing and has no
side seams: Before the case has seen
very much wear, open the seam end.
Then move the side places where
folds formerly were made over to the
face of the pillowcase. Re-seam
the end.
II you happen to have pillowcases
too narrow for your pillows, you can
piece the sides. It may not lend
to the appearance of the pillowcases,
but 1t is good economy. Pillowcases
too small have shortened careers.
Using a sheet or pillowcase as .
laundry bag is one Of the hardest
uses to which 1t can be put. There
is strain on the sheet where its
knotted to hold in the laundry. If
q rillowcase is used, its seams often
suffer the chief strain. Then. too,
tie fabric, although sturdy, was not
made for this type Of wear and much
damage can be done by rough
handling.
A major goal on laundry day is to
keep sheets and pillowcases white
but not launder them too hard. It's
best to wash sheets and pillowcases
before they become very soiled, and
to avoid using strong bleaches.
beaches containing free chlorine
react with the fiber Of the fabric.
caus.ng 1t to deteriorate. The sun
is . good bleaching agent-you can
depend on 1t to = great extent to
make your laundry white.
However. don't depend on laun-
dering or sunshine to Danish stains
on sheets or pillowcases. It's best to
remove stains before tubing, be-
cause hot water sets some stains, 90
they are more difncult. perhaps even
imroeSible. to ee. out.