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Short answer: the laundry decides how long your linen lasts. Before you order, ask how they wash, dry and iron, and pass the answers to your supplier. Linen chosen without that conversation is chosen for the showroom, not for the wash.
Seven questions for your laundry
| Ask | Why the supplier needs to know |
|---|---|
| What wash temperature do you use? | Fibre, dyes, thread and labels must all take it |
| Do you use chlorine bleach or oxygen bleach? | Chlorine rules out most colours and some trims |
| Tunnel washer or washer-extractors? | Tunnel washers and presses are harder on hems and pile |
| How do you dry towels, and how hot? | Heavy towels need long drying, and overdrying hardens cotton |
| Do you iron sheets on a flatwork ironer? | Sheet width, hem style and fabric blend affect how they feed |
| Do you bill by piece or by weight? | A heavier towel costs more every wash if you pay by weight |
| What do you reject most, and why? | The reject list is a ready-made spec improvement list |
How the answers change the spec
- Hot wash with chlorine: stay with white, 100 percent cotton, and trims rated for the same treatment.
- Tunnel washer and press: ask for strong hems, secure loops and a towel that does not shed under pressure.
- Billed by weight: a 500 GSM towel may be the better buy than a 650 GSM one. Over 200 washes the laundry bill is larger than the purchase price.
- Slow dryers: lighter towels come back faster, so you need less stock.
- Flatwork ironer: poly-cotton sheets come off flatter and dry faster. Pure cotton feels better and needs more ironing.
Shrinkage: agree it before the first wash
All cotton shrinks a little in the first washes. Your laundry needs to know how much to expect, and your supplier needs to cut for it. Put the finished size after wash on the spec, with a stated maximum shrinkage. Otherwise a sheet that fitted the bed in week one does not tuck in by week six.
A one-page laundry brief
Send your supplier this with the quote request:
- Wash temperature and typical cycle
- Bleach type
- Machine type
- Dryer and ironer details
- Billing basis: per piece or per kg
- Top three reject reasons from the last quarter
If the laundry is outsourced
Ask the same questions. A commercial laundry will know its answers by heart. If it also rents linen to others, it will have strong views on what lasts, and they are worth hearing.
If you are the laundry
Linen-hire and commercial laundries buy on wash-life and consistency, not showroom feel. Our page for commercial laundries is written for that. UK operators can also read how to spec towels that survive tunnel washers.
For care issues, see the care problems guide. When you have the laundry's answers, send them with your enquiry and we'll quote a spec built around them.
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Written by
Dr Abin Babu
Founder & Chairman, Anabyn Global Ventures
Anabyn exports hotel and home linen from Kerala, India. These guides come from the questions buyers ask our desk. About the team
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