It is known for being durable, absorbent, lightweight, and long lasting with the right care.

Heres everything you better know about how to wash and care for linen.

Linen should be washed in cold or lukewarm water with a mild detergent to preserve its texture and fibers.

Linen clothes hanging on clothes hangers.

Javier Zayas Photography / Getty Images

Natural detergents or detergents designed for delicate fabrics are both appropriate options.

This fabric becomes softer with each wash so fabric softeners are unnecessary and should also be avoided.

Linen can be safely machine-washed or hand-washed depending on your preference.

Linen bed sheet folded over bed

The Spruce / Jacob Fox

If you plan to machine wash your linen items its best to wash them alongside other delicate garments.

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Avoid adding heavy items like towels and jeans to the same load.

hand-washing linen clothing

The Spruce / Letícia Almeida

Tumble dry on low or no heat immediately after washing.

Heres what you better know about properly drying, ironing, storing, and removing stains from linen.

Drying Linen

People often assume linen cannot be machine-dried, but this is not the case.

using a pressing cloth to iron a linen shirt

The Spruce / Letícia Almeida

Just like with machine-washing, it is the high heat parameters that can destroy linen fibers over time.

These harsh chemicals can damage the fibers over time.

However, tough stains may require the use of bleach or whiteners to remove if nothing else works.

Tackle the stain as soon as it happens to prevent it from soaking deep into the fibers.

For tougher stains, a diluted bleach and water solution is ideal.

Ironing

Linen is notorious for wrinkling and creasing, particularly after its been worn or machine-washed.

As a result, ironing is best done partway through the drying process.

Alternatively, using aclothes steameris a great option for getting wrinkles and creases out of linen clothing.

Steamers wont give the same crisp look as an iron, but will smooth out the most aggressive wrinkles.

Linen clothes should always be hung on hangers rather than folded in drawers.

Hanging linen items ensures they dont accumulate fold lines.

This is why cold or lukewarm water is best.

Most high-quality linens have been pre-washed and shouldnt shrink much, even at higher temperatures.

It is not necessary to dry clean 100% linen.

Treat the garment as a delicate and wash in cold or lukewarm water with a mild detergent.