How to reduce wrinkles in bed sheets without ironing

Clean, fresh, 100% cotton sheets are the perfect end to any long day. But pure cotton sheets do tend to get wrinkles, especially when new. Hotel often use sheets made of cotton and polyester, which makes them less wrinkly, but they just don’t feel as nice as smooth, soft, cotton percale sheets. So, what to do?

If you can get past the unsightly look, you could do nothing. Your body will place tension on the sheets as you sleep and they’ll be a little less wrinkly the next day.

You could, of course, iron them. But, let’s face it, few of us enjoy the task, and who even has the time?

Or you can follow our tips below to get your crisp cotton sheets looking less wrinkled, without an iron in sight.

Prevention is better than cure

Best way to wrinkle free sheets is to prevent them wrinkling much in the first place.

- untangle your sheets before placing in the machine.

- don’t overload the machine or the dryer. When they get squashed, they get wrinkly! One sheet at a time would be best, but then you’d be doing laundry forever. A more practical option is one sheet set at a time.

- remove promptly at the end of the cycle and dry.

- use low temperatures for washing and drying to prevent wrinkles setting in.

Wash regularly

Fresh, clean sheets are the best. Ideally, you should be washing sheets every week or so because they accumulate body oils and dust at a lightning fast rate. But washing has another benefit – it helps to reduce wrinkles. This is because pure cotton sheets such as ours are made from very fine, long-staple fibres which can be a little stiff when new, but relax with repeated washing. So not only your sheets get softer but also less prone to wrinkling with time. Win-win!

Dry

The way you dry your sheets will definitely impact how wrinkled they look afterwards. We always recommend air drying if possible, and not just because there’s nothing better than the feel and smell of air dried sheets. Hanging sheets on the line lets them hang smooth and flat and the weight of the water in them means gravity does much of the wrinkle removing work for you.

If air drying is not an option, then tumble dry on low heat. For best results, remove them from the dryer while they’re still a little bit damp and put them straight back on the bed. They will dry quickly and almost wrinkle free! And if you’ve left them in the dryer too long, just pop a wet facewasher or two in there and give it another few minutes.

And of course it goes without saying, no matter which way you dry them, just make sure you do it as soon as the washing is finished. Nothing sets in wrinkles better than leaving your sheets to sit in a crumpled, wet heap.

Steam

The clothes steamer has the unbeatable combination of heat and water that wrinkles just can’t survive. If you have one of these, you’re in luck. Sheets of course are much larger than clothes, so folding them once or twice will be required to hang them so that they are nice and flat and easy to run the steamer wand over them. Then watch the wrinkles disappear from your sheets in almost no time.

Spray

No steamer? It’s ok. Put the fitted sheet on the bed and make sure it’s nice and taut. The tension combined with plain water is what helps to get the wrinkles out. Grab a spray bottle, set it to mist and give the entire sheet a light spray, sides included. The idea is to dampen the sheet slightly, not to soak the bed, so don’t overdo it. Run your hand firmly across the creases, smoothing them out and leave the sheet to dry. Then do the same with a tucked in flat sheet on top. It helps to do this in the morning so there’s plenty of time for the sheets to dry. This method might not be as effective as a steam treatment but you should see a noticeable reduction in wrinkles and creases.

“Hot” tip

If you have a dryer, you could try popping some freshly washed wet towels in there for up to 10 minutes and then laying them hot and still steaming on your made-up bed for a few minutes. Then give the bedding a bit of a shake and voila! Wrinkles be gone. The dampness will evaporate in no time.

And there you go. Iron free ways to remove wrinkles from your sheets. For more tips on how to properly care for your bedding, head to our Care Guide.

View our Stonewashed Cotton Percale sheets
Stonewashed for a special super soft finish and best of all, they do not require ironing! Enjoy that lived-in feel from the very first night.