# Housekeeping: How do I wash sheets? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 27, 2002, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housekeeping-how-do-i-wash-sheets/125716 "2002-08-27T02:14:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2002, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housekeeping-how-do-i-wash-sheets/125716/21 "2002-08-27T23:12:45Z")
Huh. I’ve been washing sheets with dried semen on them for, lemme see, 28 years now, and I’ve never had to soak them in enzymes. Maybe the Better Half is anemic, I should feed him some oysters, see if my laundry task gets more complicated. Nahhh… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housekeeping-how-do-i-wash-sheets/125716/22 "2002-08-28T00:25:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Now my sheets no longer look like someone gave birth on them, and for that I thank you. Oh my God. I gagged and covered my mouth when I read that. Good show! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housekeeping-how-do-i-wash-sheets/125716/23 "2002-08-28T01:31:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > **Just fold 'em in half, then in half again, then in half again, and keep on folding them in half until they’re the right size to fit in the linen closet. Then just stuff them in there on the shelf.** Wait. This is considered OKAY??? I’ve been folding my fitted sheets like that for YEARS, and feeling horribly guilty because they’re not all neat and square like the other sheets. I hide them underneath and hope no one notices. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housekeeping-how-do-i-wash-sheets/125716/24 "2002-08-28T02:34:35Z")
My aunt insists there’s a right way to fold a fitted sheet. Just folding and folding until it’s about the right size is apparently NOT the right way. There’s a reason I haven’t spoken to her in 22 years. Now if only I could remember what it was. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housekeeping-how-do-i-wash-sheets/125716/25 "2002-08-28T02:38:22Z")
Lifetime Member in Fitted Sheet Folders Anonymous here. Our motto–“Wad it up, stuff it in, messy folding ain’t a sin.” Go in peace. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![IcicleFuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ba8739/32.png) [@IcicleFuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IcicleFuzz)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housekeeping-how-do-i-wash-sheets/125716/26 "2002-08-28T02:39:27Z")
> [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Now my sheets no longer look like someone gave birth on them, and for that I thank you. > > Oh my God. I gagged and covered my mouth when I read that. Good show! > [@](#): > > …dealing with blood… > [@](#): > > …sheets with dried semen… :eek: I think I should come clean. I may have used some poetic licence when I described the conditions of my bed. Jaysus people, they were just a little dirty, not the cradle of filth some of you seem to be thinking. ---
**Author:** ![Kipper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Kipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kipper)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housekeeping-how-do-i-wash-sheets/125716/27 "2002-08-28T05:13:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AskNott \* > \*\*If your sheets have some dried semen, (it’s none of my business how it got there) you can do a 20-minute soak with a couple of tablespoons of meat tenderizer, which will break down the semen’s protein. Agitate at the start and once at 10 minutes, to keep the enzyme from settling. \*\* I’ve always found that soaking overnight does the trick. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housekeeping-how-do-i-wash-sheets/125716.md?page=1)