Why do sheets get stale?

Factual Questions
1

You know, how if you leave them around they smell funky. I put the flannel sheets on the bed last night, and I’d had them in plastic bins in the closet - mind you, the kind of plastic bins with holes in them so there was ventilation. I sniffed them before I put them on the bed and they seemed fine, but when we laid down on them we were all <sniff sniff> “Er, do these pillowcases smell like crayons to you?” Yes. Yes, they did.

So, what is that smell? I’m washing them again now. Just the bacteria living on our oils and all that didn’t get adequately taken care of when I washed them before I put them away? Why exactly do you have to air out sheets?

2

I toss them into the dryer with a partly used dryer sheet to refresh them.

I always figured it was the remains of something organic in the soap residue letting a few bacteria or mold cells grow.

I suppose it could be something in the container you are storing your sheets in? Maybe gassing off some petrochemical fractionals?

3

If the sheets were new and only had been washed a few times, I’d suspect something in the fabric dyes. Seems like most of our stuff comes from China these days, and GAWD knows what they use to make the goods.

If they are sheets you’ve used for a few years, I’d say the things were not completely dry when you folded them up and put them away. All it takes is a little bit of moisture to futz everything up. Even though your container has ventilation holes, there isn’t completely free air circulation.

Or…when you last washed them, they might have stayed in the washer overnight, maybe, before you put them in the dryer? OMG, evil little trolls sneak into the washer and sprinkle bad smells all over clothes left there overnight. You don’t find the bad smells until you put your face against the sheets and try to fall asleep.

Wash the sheets in HOT water, rinse thoroughly, and make absolutely sure they are completely dry before you tuck them away until next winter. And put a couple of dryer sheets in the bins with them when you store them.
~VOW

4

I just want to thank you for identifying the smell as “crayon,” as it’s very distinctive and I never realized that it was THAT smell until now.

It’s definitely different from the musty smell of something wet. Maybe it’s the fabric softener? I may need to do a vinegar vs. downy experiment.

5

Fascinating. I’ve always noticed the same thing with cotton fabrics – careful to make sure were fully dry before putting in a closet, always a musty, nasty smell. Now I have roughly one hundred and fifty hangers and everything stays there in its place. Doesn’t matter what – T-shirts (primary culprit – I’m a bachelor and don’t change my bedsheets ever), towels, socks, everything must go. ETA those dryer sheets don’t help – and I don’t sweat obsessively – so it’s got to be something in there. I like the residue from detergent theory, but I’m not going to experiment right this second.

6

Fabric softener does leave a light waxy coating on fabric, which can make towels less absorbent. That may well be the source of the smell.

7

I never, ever use fabric softener.