What type of fabric are they? Percale, cotton, flannel, fleece? Any polyester content? Colors or white?

Royal Sateen 600 thread from JCP. I have their the 4XX series Royal Velvet. it did not come in the colors I wanted so I opted for the 600. Also got a order in from Brooklinen Luxe. No stink on the BK. I did wash one set from the JCP. Stink gone. I know it's chems.....figuered the forum consensus knew right away what it would be.

india coo on jcp

israel on brooklinen

In all honesty, people buy these for ~comfort and that good warm feeling~ ya know. I would not have expected this ~smell~ for something considered comfort. Unfortunately, it is a global market these days.

Last year I purchased Macy's Hotel Collection 800 thread count Cal King sheets, and they also had a strong smell (made in India). I washed them on Cold first with detergent and baking soda, rinse twice, then Warm washed with only detergent, fabric softener, and an extra rinse. After drying there was no more smell.

I don't mix any of my soaps. The only time I -mix- is when I add sodium precarb or a splash of borax. I'll have to read some of the older GW threads for clarity . My approach is the guys that engineer these soaps - they surely must be smarter than me when it comes to soap ***engineering*** so I'm not going to add to the mix to change that formula

I wasn't talking mixing soaps. Just that I added some Baking Soda to the detergent with cold water for the initial wash. After that I rinsed it twice, and then washed again in warm water with detergent, then fabric softener.

hi Fau - no flame intended. I was just saying I don't know what ill effects chem wise or NOT does BS change the ---designed characteristics--- of the detergent that was designed by full team of R&D

mamaP or others -

Should I wash the other stinky sheet set or leave it alone till of use. I'm leaning on putting the other NEW stinky sheet set in the same box that the Brooklinen came in (bought 2 sets from each vendor).....and it may come out a couple years from now. These 2 being discussed are just extras. Even if I wash them now, I will be washing them when I take them out of storage.

Hi a1an, yes I would wash them. Just to be on the safe side. The stench came out of the set you washed but if it doesn't on the other set than the time frame won't allow you to make a return. Besides the stink may affect other things in the area.

Since your planning to store these sheets over a few years be sure to rinse them extra well. Carbonate residue over time can cause yellowing. I also wouldn't store them in the plastic covers that they probably came in. Remove the label on the plastic cover and save with the sheets so a few years from now your not wondering where you got these sheets from..lol....than wrap the sheets in blue tissue paper. You could even call a local dry cleaners and ask if they could sell you some of the special tissue paper they wrap wedding gowns in for storage..it should be cheap. Are you storing them in the linen cubbord with your other sheets??

The smell comes from the finishing process. It is done with chemicals. There is no way to know what they are using as there is no need for them to disclose.

I wash all new sheets in hot with a good detergent. I never found baking soda did anything and I don't mix (just me).

Instead of putting sheets away, why not wash them all and rotate sets every week. That keeps the wear down and should prevent one set from getting more wear than others.

That will require about 4 sets total. My sheets last for years and years with rotation.

Excellent replies. ~Carbonate residue"

Going to have to google this one. Was not sure to keep the extra sets or not, as the yellow of textiles over time has always been on my radar but did not know what caused it

Powder detergent is made up of a lot of Sodium carbonate. That's what can cause the yellowing if not rinsed well.

Also....as for the blue tissue paper. ..I mention getting it from a dry cleaners because they will use acid free paper. The stuff you buy at gift wrapping centers won't be acid free.

I bought a brand new unopened set of Northern Nights 100% COTTON wrinkle free sheets at a yard sale. Used them for a year. I decided to dye them one day with Rit and it did not change to color one bit! So that sould tell you about the chemicals in those wrinkle free sheets!