Can You Wash Bedding With Clothes? Is it a Good Idea?

Can you wash bedding with clothes? Whether you should separate your laundry before washing depends on what type of results you want.

If you want to achieve better overall results and prevent damage to your delicate items, then sorting your laundry is the best option.

To avoid the risk of tearing your beddings, separate your sheets and clothes when they are being washed; this will keep them secure during the wash cycle.

Although it can be convenient to wash sheets and towels at the same time, there are many reasons why this is a bad idea. It’s better to clean them on their own because they’re huge and will cover an entire load of clothes.

Plus, they'll clog up a bag of clothes, and the water won't be able to move through them properly to clean them.

Reasons You Shouldn’t Wash Beddings with Clothes

A washing machine is used to wash a variety of different fabrics. Doing laundry is much more than just turning on the washing machine.

You must load the washer and dryer or even see what kind of detergent you should use.

Here are the main reasons why you should never wash beddings with clothes:

Removing Stains

If you are wondering, “Can I wash my sheets with my clothes?”, the main reason why you shouldn’t is because of stains.

Take out clothes that have colors on them before washing them. Wash the clothes with tough colors by either soaking or applying detergent directly to the spot.

Washing clothes with stains and beddings will spill the colors onto the beddings, which might take longer to remove.

Pre-Treatment

To pre-treat stains, you’ll need to use an appropriate mixture depending on the type.

Some stains are so strong you need to pre-treat the clothes or beddings before washing them in a washing machine.

For instance, with blood stains, you should use cold water. Warm water can’t work well with these stains and inhibit removal.

For strong stains, you must always separate the beddings from the clothes to get sparking clean beddings and clothes.

Use vinegar or other pre-treatment solutions, then soak your clothes or bedding for some time.

Note: Sorting your laundry before washing can save time overall

Sorting Clothes and Beddings by Color

Here’s how to separate clothes and beddings into three categories before washing:

• White clothes
• Light colored clothes
• Dark colored clothes

To keep your whites bright, it is often essential to keep your darker clothes or beddings from rubbing off on them.

When the dark clothes or beddings fade and are mixed with the bright colored clothes, you’ll end up with colorful garments stained with the faded color.

New Washing Machines

Some new washing machines and dryers have eliminated the need to sort different colored laundry separately.

The latest washing machines use complex technology that can remove light and dark colors from clothes.

It’s important to note that they may not be as efficient as simply sorting out laundry on your own, a task that won’t take much of your time.

It’s also important to carefully follow instructions on what products should or should not be used for specific bedding or clothes.

Note: Choosing the best detergents is as important as sorting out the clothes. Avoid the too-strong detergents that can make your laundry fade.

Delicate Fabrics

Not all laundry is made from the same fabric. To keep your clothes and beddings at their best even after washing, you should always be mindful of the material.

This is important because there are six types of laundry you want to keep separate:

• Delicates
• Sheets
• Denim
• Blankets and Duvets
• Towels
• Everything else

The answer to can you wash bed sheets with clothes is a resounding NO, simply because the sheets and denim sometimes have to be cleaned with different detergents.

Delicates include silk, satin, lace, and netting. These clothes need to be hand-washed or washed on a gentle cycle.

All denim items and others in this category should be washed separately from other clothes; these cause too much of a burden when wet and can develop stains if not cleaned independently.

Lint will stick to your clothes if you don’t separate towels when washing whites and kinds of cotton.

It would be best if you usually washed towels with other clothing as they usually don't scratch clothing.

Drying Laundry

Some laundry like denim and thick heavy duvets will simply take forever to dry.

You merely can’t bundle them all together because subjecting lighter laundry to long drying sessions will simply damage them.

Linens dry faster than heavier items like towels, so consider that when using your dryer.

To be safe, it’s important to invest in a dryer with different settings and not use the same amount of time for both types of fabric or else risk your linens drying too quickly or your towels drying too slowly.

Balancing the Drying Times

Drying beddings and clothes together may seem like it shouldn’t be a problem, but the truth is that you shouldn’t mix dark or colored clothes because of colorfastness or color bleeding.

Even damp clothes can transfer dye to white or light-colored beddings in the dryer, just as they might in a washing machine, even if they’ve been washed several times.

It’s important to balance your sheets and towels by simply separating them in the dryer to also prevent tangling.

You will experience longer drying times of linen if you do not separate them.

 Avoid the Lint Problem

You’d be surprised when you have to deal with lint when you least expected it. It’s a major reason why ‘can you wash bedding with clothes’ is a NO.

You may switch to a cotton towel that produces less lint, or you can periodically wash your clothes or swap out your linen for new ones.

Fluffy Towels

A fluffy towel thrown in with your clothes during the washing or dry cycle is a common culprit.

To minimize lint, dry lint-prone garments inside out and separate light and dark colors.

But the best way to deal with lint is to simply separate the clothes from the beddings.

Fluffy towels, for example, can leave lint on your sheets and damage the fabric.

New towels often produce a lot of lint, so be aware of the amount of lint produced by the towel you choose.

Hand Washing

Washing laundry separately by hand with gentle cycles will eliminate the worst cases of lint.

But if you wish to prevent any chance of their clothes collecting lint during the wash or drying cycles, alternative drying methods are required.

Note: Soaking your clothes in mixtures containing vinegar, which contains an acid that can break down protein molecules, as well as other ingredients like lemon juice or salt, can help dissolve and prevent lint.

Washing Laundry on Hot

It’s no secret that some laundry is best washed when the washing machine is set on HOT.

For example, dirty denim can be washed well in warm or hot water.

However, this isn’t always the case for sheets and beddings washed on hot since the high temperature destroys them.

Hot Water, Color, and Fabric

If you wash both clothes and beddings in hot water, the bright colors might run and fade.

The heat can also shrink certain types of fabric and wrinkle them permanently.

If you wash certain synthetic materials like polyester, nylon, or vinyl in hot water, the heat will break down the fibers and ruin them.

The heat can set stains on these materials and cause them to shrink permanently.

When washing delicate beddings and clothes separately by hand, use a detergent made for delicate clothing instead of using hot water.

Fabric Softeners

While you can use fabric softeners on clothes, you shouldn’t use them on sheets.

Your sheets will feel softer and fluffier if you wash them with distilled white vinegar instead of fabric softener.

This is a major reason why you should separate your bedding and clothing when doing laundry.

Fabric softeners make natural fibers less absorbent and also leave behind a waxy residue that can make your sheets feel stiff and uncomfortable.

Final Thought

So can you wash bedding with clothes?

The short answer is that you can’t. The reasons range from handling different laundry fabrics to different drying needs and everything.

If towels get pulled in sheets, it won’t dry them properly and may result in mold or mildew.

To save time, you may be tempted to ignore sorting and let their laundry fall where it may.

This isn’t recommended, and it’s important to note that washing your clothes and beddings separately helps make them last longer since they are attended to individually.

Therefore, always avoid mixing those jeans and duvets.