@Kendrah is in New York City, right? Then we can rule out hard water.

@Kendrah If you're looking for percale sheets, I highly recommend checking out Red Land Cotton. The cotton is grown in Alabama and the various steps of the process are located in southern states that historically have produced cotton textiles (Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia)... I grew up in Georgia and South Carolina and so while these sheets and towels are pricey I love being able to support industry once again in the very towns and counties I grew up in- places that I saw decline over the years when so many textile mills closed and much of that industry moved overseas.

Additionally, I forgot to mention regarding stain removing- white distilled vinegar is also very good for removing stains in white linens and other 100%cotton items- I've successfully removed red wine, grape juice, and berry stains with vinegar. Peroxide, as mentioned above as a great remover of blood (and dirt), lives not in our medicine cabinet, but our laundry room (children make so many stains)!

WANT THE BEST PERCALE?

LL BEAN 400 ct premium percale.........the absolute best. and best value

Wash beautifully , come out of the dryer beautifully.

Trust me.... I have tried them ALL and these are a client fave, hands down

Regarding ALL FREE &CLEAR, I would like to say that EWG is thought by some to be a little overrated. I am happy that Consumerlab.com rates ALL FREE CLEAR very high.

@Pat Z5or6 SEMich: "I am happy that Consumerlab.com rates ALL FREE CLEAR very high."

This website appears to have nothing to do with laundry detergents and neither "All" nor any other common detergent brand appears on its Brands Reviewed page.

They've expanded their research. Do a search.

@Pat Z5or6 SEMich: "They've expanded their research. Do a search."

1. Browse to http://www.consumerlab.com.
2. Click 'Product Reviews'
3. Check "Filters" list; no "detergent" or "laundry detergent" appears in list.
4. Check "A" list; "ALL" does not appear in list.
5. Search web for "+consumerlab +detergent". No "consumerlab" results appear.

@Pat Z6 SEMich - I too tried to search in many way but couldn't find anything about ALL or other detergents on Consumerlab.com .Can you post a link to the ALL info? I'd love to read more about it?

I think EWG is a really clunky and imperfect site.

1. I don't use their search engine but instead google the product + EWG, because their own search feature can't find things on their site.

2. Some products have ratings that seem incongruent with the ingredents listed and often they are old formulations.

3. When I can tell something is off, I obtain the list of ingredients elsewhere online and then look up the individual ingredients on EWG to make my own judgement instead of counting on their overall grade to guide me. It is a lot of work. I wish they were better but I have not found a good alternative.

We just switched to Tru Earth laundry sheets they are made in Canada I hve done 5 loads of whites now along with my usual oxiclean and the whites look awesome . Totally Eco friendly

CR tested Tru Earth Eco Strips Laundry detergent. It achieved an overall score of 11 out of 100, dead last. It achieved 1/5 scores for Body oil, Dirt, Coffee, and Grass; and 2/5 for all other tests.

I tried the Tru Earth and really wanted to like it, but it just does not clean well. And we aren’t a particularly dirt family. Clothes also smelled dirty after they were washed. Hopefully someone will perfect the laundry sheet idea, because it is potentially good.

For heavens sake. If you truly believe your weekly sheet wash is deeply/tragically impacting the planet? You have had too much blue Kool Aid.

I want brilliant white sheets. That smell good.

Considering India and China populations and pollution? I doubt I am responsible for tragedy.

Get some Dreft, Use the hottest water, and change the sheets TWICE a week. They will probably blind you, your skin won't be irritated.

sheesh

@ JAN, I don't care much what you do. My greatest concern about Deft and other detergents like it are chemicals linked to cancer, developmental/endocrine/reproductive effects, damage to DNA, general systemic/organ effects, respiratory effects, nervous system effects, skin irritation/allergies/damage, and damage to vision. I've already had cancer and I'd like to take steps I can to potentially avoid it again. Who the heck knows if this will make a difference or not, but I'm glad to not roll around in bed each night on chemically washed sheets if possible. My skin and sinuses thank me for staying away from scent too.

Also, it isn't one person's use of any product that is causing pollution but everybody's cumulative use of harmful chemicals and the market's demand for them. Yes, China and India's coal fire power plants are blowing enough noxious chemicals to negate so many of the improvements we as a western society can make as a whole. I'm still glad to keep trying my best and supporting companies that are trying to create a market for products that don't lean so heavily on toxic chemicals. Ultimately, it should not be up to consumers but rather the government to regulate chemicals. European and Canadian companies do a much better job of this. Kudos to them.

@JAN MOYER: "change the sheets TWICE a week. They will probably blind you..."

But what about undies? No way am I changing those just so they stay white!

@Kendrah: "My greatest concern...chemicals linked to cancer, developmental/endocrine/reproductive effects, damage to DNA, general systemic/organ effects, respiratory effects, nervous system effects, skin irritation/allergies/damage, and damage to vision."

A walkin', talkin' Prop. 65!

I apologize for my incorrect comment above about ALL FREE CLEAR. I got my info from Consumer Reports, not Consumerlab. CR was responding to a reader's question on their website about "the safest, eco friendly laundry detergent," and their response is (1) ALL STAINLIFTERS FREE & CLEAR and (2) SEVENTH GENERATION FREE & CLEAR LIQUID SENSITIVE SKIN.

Kendrah, if I get some time later today or tomorrow to find the link, I will post it for you.

Again, I apologize for all the trouble my mistake must have caused you.

You change undies daily for obvious next to the skin reasons?

A lot of how "dirty" sheets get, is dependent on how you sleep. Jammies or naked, cool to cold room and no sweat or a warm cocoon and you wake sweaty, among OTHER things as well.. A second set of sheets? Not a big deal. You expect a daily change in a hotel, right? You probably don't need the stream, rocks, and wash bucket. I change "em twice in the summer.....it feels great TWICE a week. I don't consider a load of wash a big deal. Nor a prompt fold, even an iron job if I'm watching tv.

PS.... of course she had a maid,......Jackie O changed sheets daily - she threw underwear away....lol

I had a sorority sister in college who didn’t like to do laundry. We found out she was bagging up her dirty clothes in contractor bags and storing them in the attic of the sorority house. And buying new clothes, of course. There was another who had a phobia of showering and apparently of cleaning her sheets. Looked like Pig Pen from Peanuts.

My husband brings his own sheets on trips because whatever they use at many hotels gives him terrible contact dermatitis. One time his face swelled so big I didn’t recognize him.

Also read somewhere this week (don't ask me where, I read too much, and I will NOT try to find it) that Tide, Gain, and Arm & Hammer are banned in Europe because they all still contain 1, 4 Dioxane.

I'm with you, Kendra.

Mystery solved about Consumer Reports. No worries, and thanks Pat.

I too have begun to bring my own sheets with me when I travel because of scent, which kicks off my asthma. I actually don't have much problem in hotels - most are very accommodating when I ask for scent free cleaning and sheets. It is more a problem with Air BnB.

Today I purchased Attitude unscented laundry detergent. I really know nothing about how well it works, but it gets high safety marks on EWG. I also purchased ECOS oxy bleach. We will see how the two do together now that I know to only wash whites with whites and to do it on hot. (I have always done light colors, not only whites, together.)

I'm also going to purchase make-up remover to keep in my guest bathroom as a nice little hint to friends. I figure if I can find some in a pretty bottle, people will want to use it!

@Pat Z5or6 SEMich: " I apologize for my incorrect comment above about ALL FREE CLEAR. I got my info from Consumer Reports "

No All-brand laundry detergent including All Free Clear Stainlifter with Odor Relief, All Stainlifters Free & Clear, and All Mighty Pacs Oxi Free & Clear received a recommended rating from Consumer Reports.

@Pat Z5or6 SEMich: "Tide, Gain, and Arm & Hammer are banned in Europe..."

Tide is sold in at least Germany, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Lichtenstein, Switzerland, Portugal, and Slovenia. (https://www.info-pg.com/)

Kendrah, I’m glad it’s not just me with the AirBnB smells! Those & a cabin we’ve stayed in have left all my belongings reeking of noxious air freshener scents. The last one was so bad, we opened the door & I immediately had to go back out. They had FIVE diffusers full of some kind of scented reeds stinking up the whole place, that thank god were removable, or I wouldn’t be able to stay there. We set them outside on the table & even outside I couldn’t breathe with them in vicinity, so had to move them further. When we got back, I had to wash clothes twice & had non-washable stuff airing out for over a month & they still smell. It even left my electronics smelling. I don’t understand how anyone lives with all these overly scented products & I thought everyone knew by now those things cause cancer? So it pisses me off when it’s just expected for us to be okay with it or have it forced upon us. If that stuff doesn’t wash off clothes & things, think what it’s doing in our lungs. Wish all those places would knock it off with that stuff & the freaking Febreze & other plug-ins. >:[

I wish my wife would sleep naked. Inwould gladly change the sheets more often! lol.

@swrite - When I am scheduling an Air BnB I now ask whether or not they use plug ins, scented sticks, or scented candles. If they say yes, I don't book the house. I used to just ask if they used them and if they could remove them before my visit. But the stay lingers so long that it doesn't matter if the actual objects are no longer there, the stench still is.

Wow, I feel your pain about your experience with not being able to get the smell out. We once rented an AirBnB on the ocean in North Beach, Miami. They had removed the glade plug ins but the smell was so horrible and I was coughing so hard I was almost throwing up. We tried moving the mattress on the balcony so I could sleep outside. But even the mattress smelled too much. We drove around until 2 AM looking for a hotel with empty rooms.

It makes you wonder what smell they're trying to hide with the plug-ins. Sometimes I think it is mold - which is horrible to have to sleep with and difficult to cover up. I have also been in the same boat of looking for a hotel late at night because of moldy hotel rooms.

We have toured properties that we are interested in purchasing and some of them I am not able to walk through due to the strong smell of air "fresheners". I see it as a red flag and usually walk out.

• Real estate agent: "So what do you think?"
• Houzz Commenter: "Looks great, great price, nice architecture, plenty of space, great neighborhood, close to work, shops nearby, almost perfect!"
• REA: "So do you want to make an offer?"
• HC: "Sorry, no."
• REA: "Why not?"
• HC: "Scented candle in the kitchen."

I can think of three homes where I turned right back out the front door and left because the scent was so strong in the house I would have had an asthma attrack while touring it. In those cases I had either my husband or agent do a quick run through to confirm I wasnt missing anything. One home both my realtor and husband gave a thumbs up. They removed the glade plug-ins and left the windows open for three days so I could come back. The glade smell was still so horrible I couldnt imagine how long it would take for it to air out of all the woodwork and make it liveable for me. We in fact did tell the realtor that they lost an offer to Glade. My health is not worth it. We found a much better home eventually.

If there is anything WORSE than cheap air fresheners, plug in's, scented candles, REEDS ?I haven't found it.

Try the scent of fresh air and c.l.e.a.n.

Change the filters on your vacuum, frequently.

Get your dog groomed.......

Open a couple windows, the more the merrier.

Cross breeze is a fantastic home feature that

many dont take into consideration. Fresh air IS the best air freshener.

I wondered if you were specifically talking to me when you wrote groom the dog! A big lovable 13 year old with cancer, I can’t bring myself to force him in to the groomer, but I know my DIY grooming is just not cutting it.

When my son was an infant, we went to visit my in-laws. We arrive late at night in winter and find my mother-in-law had gotten one of those automatic “air fresheners” that goes off every few minutes. In addition, the heat was on like 80 degrees. I was coughing, immediately got a headache, the baby starts screaming. I finally got in the car and drove around with the windows down until he fell asleep, while my husband convinced his mom to turn the thing off and open some windows to air it out. I have smelled some pretty awful smells in 25 years in medicine, but hot Glade is top five

I have had white sheets for years and have never had issues keeping them clean. I have always used either Tide or Persil liquid with OxiClean. HOT water always.

I highly recommend OxiClean Laundry Sanitizer as it has a bleach activator and works better than plain OxiClean, and is activated at a majority of temperatures. As someone else has mentioned, Persil Sensitive is a very good unscented and dye free detergent and ranks the highest in Consumer Reports testing for free and clear detergents.

Also, if your machine has a soak option or you can stop the machine for 30 minutes to soak in the OxiClean solution, this is always recommended.

Thanks @doreycrouse - I have a new LG washtower and will check to see if there is a soak feature. I can see how that would help.

Here are the ingredients for Persil Sensitive. Too many health concerns for me and oddly it has fragance.

I think the answer here is buy sheets in a pale gray : ) or a pale blue..or ivory and give up the effort of maintaining blinding white. Sheets OR towels.

Just received my Lands End supima cotton sheets and towels. They are very white. We will see how long it lasts. Perhaps my second set will another color. I'm not hoping for blinding white. I just want them to not be dingy.

Kendrah, the wash tower does not have a soak option or cycle. The recommended cycle would be Sanitize. The towels cycle does a great job too, but does not allow for a true hot wash.

Also, the Persil formulation you have in the link above is an older version. The new one does not have fragrance, sodium borate, or boric acid, which are the top concerning ingredients.

Kendrah - please do not wash those Lands End Supima towels in HOT water. It will ruin them. I spent a fortune on those towels several years ago and after one or two hot washes, they turned scratchy and rough. I bought another set and the same thing happened. I ended up giving them all away to the local animal shelter because I couldn't stand the way they felt after a HOT wash. And they were so soft before they were washed .....

Water temperature doesn't make a towel scratchy, it may shrink a bit - soap residue left in definitely will. Use a second rinse

Sometimes manufacturers apply finishes to the fabric to make it feel smoother and have a sheen, which then gets washed off when you launder it. It is true that detergent residue (or even fabric softener residue) could make it feel scratchy. High heat for drying (or washing) can break down the fibers. Long staple fabric have fewer ends, so they will be softer than short table fibers.

The Washington Post had a recent article, something like "Wisdom from Grandmothers." One tip was washing scratchy towels in a vinegar rinse to make them soft. Worth trying before throwing out. FWIW we used Land's End Supima for years, washing on hot, and they stayed soft and lovely. (Switched recently to waffle-weave towels because the Supimas just don't dry well in damp PNW winters.)

I have white sheets and towels and linen shirts. I’ve used Biokleen powder for about 25 years. My laundry is white. Some of my towels have to be at least 15 years old!

I use warm water, no extra rinse. I make sure to not use too much of the powder. I only wash white things together. Years ago I used bluing from time to time but not lately. I have an LG front load - top of their line when I bought it. When it’s sunny I hang my sheets outside.

UPDATE - About seven washes in, my Lands End supima cotton sheets look great. The are in a guest room so don't get tons of wear. I think the biggest difference is that I wash them separately rather than previously I washed all light color bedding together - light tan mixed with whites. Thanks JAN and others who pointed out to me that this is a no-no!

The truth of all whites, sheets included.

Every care label will say " warm water, no bleach"

It's bullpoopie : ) Not every time, but now and then, you need scalding hot water, a little extra detergent, and yes bleach. Two rinses.

Want to do that and wash yet again in your eco friendly, nonallergic, no scent whatever? Fine!

I'm just telling you what gets you blinding white sheets, and yes...the all whites alone way to w.h.i.t.e

Agreeing with above….and that’s no bullpoopie :-)
White sheets are great!

Got a back yard "line"? Dry in the SUN. Now.....you're a really happy camper- the scent that night will waft you to happy land , there is no mimic you can find in any grocery.

Grams? She knew that. No bull anything.

I wish I could line dry. Alas, I live in a Manhattan apartment building. I do have an incredible British drying rack on which I can drape and dry a king sized comforter. I could dry my sheets on them every once in a while, with the window open and the sun pouring in. This is as close as I can get.

LOL Kendrah.......... was there sun??

For those of you who dry your sheets outside, do you have any issues with bird droppings? I would love to try my sheets outside but I see a lot of birds in my area and I've seen droppings on my lawn. Fortunately I live in a very eco-friendly part of the world so I doubt any of my neighbors would complain.

As for getting sheets dry, I once did a pre-soak of all my sheets in baking soda and hot water. I then washed them like normal except I put vinegar in the fabric softener dish. I did notice my sheets got significantly whiter following that. However the presoak was a major PITA to do with my particular WM. So I won't be doing it often.

I hate white sheets and towels

Tara must loathe fine hotels?

Never saw a "dirt tan" colored towel in one, that's for sure. Ps........ they bleach. You should be thrilled that they do.

I only have white sheets and towels. That way I can bleach and not ruin colors.

I do line dry and only had a bird accident once on sheets. I did a quick wash for that item.