Pilling on sheets

Pilling on sheets is driving me crazy. I’ve bought expensive sheets, cheap sheets, microfiber sheets. I wash sheets in a separate load weekly. I’ve tried vinegar instead of fabric softener and color fast bleach. Only thing I have found that works is to use a safety razor to shave the sheets. I thought I was being compulsive until my laid back husband said “honey, I think you really need to shave the sheets again.” Ugh, there has to be a better solution.

Wow!!! 100% cotton sheets?!

I have never had this problem (or even heard of it), but I only use 100% cotton sheets. I can’t imagine having to shave sheets! That sounds tedious and time-consuming. Most of the sheets I buy are decent brands that I get at a discount at places like Marshall’s and Ross.

It’s common and usually the result of 2 interrelated issues: poor quality fabric and improper laundering.

Thread count does not matter as much, but higher thread counts will pill less. Cotton blends will pill more than 100% cotton. Long-staple cotton, like Egyptian, will pill less than short.

Hot water in the washer, particularly if the sheets are excessively laundered, causes the fibers to break down and pill. Don’t wash with rougher fabrics like denim. Use low heat with the dryer and the iron (if ironing is a must). Avoid bleach.

Was also going to say that if you’ve tried all different sheets and the problem persists, its probably the washing machine.

Also a good point. If the washer is older with an enamel-coated drum, the enamel wears over time and can snag fabrics. Similarly the agitator on a top-loader can snag clothes.

Don’t think it the washer because we purchased a new front loader 6 months ago. It’s likely that I’ve been buying poly cotton blends rather than 100% cotton- because I never iron. I’ll also check the heat of the washer & dryer. I never mix the sheets with other clothes. Thanks for your help because I’ll shop for 100% cotton sheets now.

I only have 100% cotton sheets. I haven’t had pilling issues except for one very cheap single sheet I bought as a tourist in Taiwan many decades ago. It pilled like crazy!

I buy my sheets from Ross and sometimes Sam’s Club or Macy’s. I know several folks who have loved their Costco sheets as well.

Poly-cotton sheets will pill! Also, some manufacturers sneak synthetics into their “100% cotton.”

Pilling is a series or, in your case, a plethora of snags. Do you or yours wear any jewelry to bed? Is it occurring on one side of the sheet more than another, mostly on the bottom sheet (assuming your sheets go on the same way every time)? Is it also occurring on the pillow cases? Is it also occurring on other similar fabrics of clothing items? If you have other clothing items exhibiting pilling, it could be your new washer. Did you have the pilling issue with your old washer?

I was the technical adviser for the formalwear industry and have dealt with lots of pilling issues.related to piece goods as well as “faulty” laundry and dry cleaning equipment.

Edit: Wash and dry (since it could also be a dryer problem) a sheet set that is not snagged alone, without any other articles of clothing. Run 5 cycles, each time observing if the pilling increases after each wash and each drying cycle. This way you can eliminate it being your equipment.

My sheets are poly-cotton and I have never even heard of nor seen any pilling.
I looked it up just now out of curiosity and it sounds like high heat–water or dryer–could be the cause.

Pilling could also be caused by overly rough hands or other body parts (elbows, knees)?

One time, we bought two sets of sheets…same brand, same price, same thread count. Both 100% cotton. The navy blue set pilled like crazy within a few months. The tan set is still being used 10 years later as an extra set…with not one single pill. Really amongst our best sheets. Bought on clearance when Linens and Things was closing.

We have 100% cotton sheets that have pilled, and cotton poly that have not.

Same washer, same dryer, same people using them, etc.

I will say, my Company Store 100% cotton sheets have never pilled.

“The navy blue set pilled like crazy within a few months. The tan set is still being used 10 years later as an extra set…with not one single pill.”

My sister shopped for sheets a few years ago and had two different colors–exact same brand, same labeling, same price-- everything. The clerk mentioned that one color was much softer and nicer than the other. So my sister opened them up to check and the clerk was correct.

I bought inexpensive sheets at Marshall’s for the guest room. We had to sleep in there when we painted our bedroom. They sheets were so pilled I couldn’t get to sleep. I had to strip the bed and put on another set. I threw the pilled sheets away.

Wow, have neither heard of this problem nor experienced it. You learn something new every day!

We were just at Bloomingdale’s today looking at linens and towels and the sales person said never to use “regular” detergent on towels or linens! I’ve been using Tide free and clear forever :(. She said something like Seventh Generation or baby detergents only. Never ever bleach, and to use cold water for washing and no more than medium heat to dry. She said it’s the same rule for stuff from Target. Apparently “harsh” detergents will cause the fibers to break down.

@emilybee

I also haven’t seen a correlation between cost and pilling. I have some $90 a set 100% cotton sheets…with pills. Well…I had them until the pilling…then I pitched them.

And I have those tan, no name, probably $15 for the set 100% cotton sheets with no pills.

thumper, The only explanations I would have for why your Navy sheets pilled is because the fabric was piece dyed rather than yarn dyed. Piece dyed goods are mostly solid colors of a darker or brighter hue. Yarn dyed goods would typically be patterns or lighter colored fabrics. On the darker piece dyed fabrics, the dye can coagulate making it look and feel like pilling when it actually is not pilling (defined as a bunch of “mini snags”). The only other explanation I can think of at present is the finish they put on the piece dyed versus yarn dyed goods. A good example of finish is with the Nordstrom Smartcare products. Their 100% cotton men’s cut and sewn shirts, for example, need very little ironing after laundering due to the finish that goes into the manufacturing process. This same finish can also eliminate pilling.

I’ve only seen this happen with poly/cotton sheets, which I never buy.