How long does bedding last?

[quixoticgeek]

Slightly strange question. But how long do you expect your bedding to last ?

I noticed that one of the fitted sheets I use in rotation (I have two I alternate between), has lost all of the stretch in the elastic on the corners. I got this sheet from IKEA in 2017, so it's approaching 6 years old.

Is that a good expected usable life ?

Is it reasonable to expect it to last longer? Duve covers, pillow cases, and duvets all show no signs of ending their usable life any time soon.

J

[Clare]

I would expect the elastic to fail first and six years with regular heat damage through washing isn’t bad.Can you just replace the elastic or are Ikea sheets too random for that?

[PaulF]

Think it depends on how good it was to start with; I had a cheap duvet cover wear out after 2 years whilst I’ve got pillowcases last much longer.

[rogerzilla]

I got 9 years out of the last set before it fell apart at the seams.

[Polar Bear]

I have regular nocturnal fights with fitted sheets where the elastic has failed.  They live on for a good few more years though.   I wish that I had the talent to even know how to replace the elastic let alone the means to do so.

I have contemplated buying regular sheets instead.  In fact, I am not sure why I don't.

[Lightning Phil]

Many high streets often have a places that will replace the elastic.  We have a dry cleaners that offers such repairs, if you don’t want or can’t do it for yourself.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I've just ditched a duvet cover that dated from the 20th century. However, duvet covers probably last longer than sheets.

[Paul H]

I have two sheets from when I moved to my current home and changed bed size, 2009, both are fine, neither is fitted, they're the only two, used in rotation.  Both were decent quality but not excessively expensive, M&S and Dunelm.  Disadvantage is they're quite hefty, about four times the weight and drying time compared to the cheap fitted sheet on the guest bed.
Replacing elastic shouldn't be difficult, isn't it just in a hem on the corners?  As long as it isn't broken, it just needs the end stitching undone and a new piece pulled through by the old.  It's a couple of stitches, doesn't even have to be neat, it's hidden anyway.

[Peter]

If you like each other, it can be life-long (for one of you, anyway).

[Jaded]

The thread title is misleading - it seems to be about elastic on fitted sheets.

In answer to the question posed, it depends. Several factors at work. The quality of the sheets initially, what they are made of, how often you change them, how many sets you have (a sheet used for a week every 4 weeks will last twice as long as one used every other week), how clean you are at bedtime, type of mattress, body weight, size of bed compared with size of sleeper, whether you turn them so they aren't always on the bed the same way round. They tend to wear more in the middle, and 'side to middle' was a thing back then... And so on.

We have sheets that are 30 years old, and some a lot newer.

[rogerzilla]

My old fitted sheet was getting rather thin in the middle when I decided it had to go.  The duvet cover developed holes and burst seams at the same time.

Of coiurse, the first thing to go is usually buttons.  Why do big duvet covers have buttons?  They are a PITA.

[Kim]

Elastic on fitted sheets dies, but - depending on how well they fit - that doesn't really stop them working.  The terminal failure mode for sheets is wearing thin and eventually tearing, likely exacerbated if you're in the habit of sitting up in bed.

Buttons/poppers etc on duvet covers can be repaired, given sufficient application of tuits, but I tend to opt for entangling feet in the open end of the duvet cover.

Duvets and pillow covers tend to last forever, especially if you repair stitching in a timely manner and aren't fussy about dyes fading or matching sets.  I think some of our pillow covers are at least 30 years old.

[arabella]

The advantage of flat sheets is you can sides-to-middle them when they wear thin in the middle and get almost as much wear again with a narrower sheet.  Fitted sheets are only good for turning into pillow cases.
So to the OP, no idea.
I think some of my inner pillow covers (I try to have 2 layers of pillow cover, in case) were probably new in or before the 1930s.  Though perhaps not in continuous use.

[rogerzilla]

White bedclothes go distinctly yellow over time and you don't notice until you buy new ones.

(yes, Flatus, even when you wash them)

I think a 9 year life is pretty good and this stuff needs replacing sometimes, or where would I get dust sheets for decorating?

[Cudzoziemiec]

Buttons can be sewn back on. The alternatives seem more fragile. Zips fail and are trickier, not to mention more expensive, to replace. Velcro is cheap but loses its fuzziness. Poppers are okay but probably harder to sew back on than buttons. Probably simple ties are the most durable system, but least effective at retaining the duvet inside its cover.

[Jaded]

Poppers melt if you iron them 

[andrewc]

What does the collective do with redundant bedding ?    I've some fitted sheets, pillow cases & duvet covers that I don't use anymore.  They are currently in a bin bag in the loft.   Will charity shops take them ? 

[Kim]

Old^[1] sheets are always useful for catching the drips when painting things.

Similarly, I have an extensive collection of tatty old towels.  Sure, you wouldn't hang them in the bathroom, but sometimes there's a washing machine disaster or something gets spilled on a carpet.



_{[1] And realistically, in this house bedding is only declared 'old' when it tears, goes mouldy or doesn't fit the bed any more, so it's not like there's an abundance of the stuff.}

[rogerzilla]

Poppers melt if you iron them 

I only iron bedding if I'm on the pull 

[Cudzoziemiec]

What does the collective do with redundant bedding ?    I've some fitted sheets, pillow cases & duvet covers that I don't use anymore.  They are currently in a bin bag in the loft.   Will charity shops take them ?

If they're just unused rather than unusable then yes, take them down the chazzer.

[Soaplady]

Your local vet might thank you for old towels and possibly old sheets. A lot of my deceased mother's towels ended up at our local vets

[Jaded]

Local vets earn a lot more nowadays. 

[sparklyfish]

Charity shops often sell unusable fabric items to commercial recyclers - mark the bags as containing rags, and they get some money per kilo.

If you have duvets which are too holey to be useable but the fabric is mostly okay, then look up if there is a Morsbag group near you: https://morsbags.com/pods/
The idea is that groups turn donated fabric into cloth bags which are then given away. My local group meet once a month to cut fabric and sew bags. The bags are given to the local food bank (who find they are easier to use than plastic bags) and given away at village fetes etc. Our group has been running for nearly ten years now, it's really fun seeing our bags out and about.

[ian]

What does the collective do with redundant bedding ?    I've some fitted sheets, pillow cases & duvet covers that I don't use anymore.  They are currently in a bin bag in the loft.   Will charity shops take them ?

In the dead of night, once you've sawn through the bars with a toothbrush over a three-year period, use them as a make-do rope to escape to the garden. Don't forget to put a pillow in the bed so the guards think you're sleeping.

[Hot Flatus]

Your local vet might thank you for old towels and possibly old sheets. A lot of my deceased mother's towels ended up at our local vets

"Bucket of water, soap, and some of your deceased mother's bedding, please"

"Right you are, Mr Farnon"