Instructions on How to Care for Your Linens
How to wash, clean and iron your liturgical linens
Linen should be washed in hot water and left to dry naturally, do not use the dryer. Linen can be ironed while it is still a little damp, skim over the linen with a very hot dry iron and leave the linen to dry over a rack, this takes a lot of the hard work out of ironing linen. It should dry nicely the next day and make the final ironing very easy.
If the linen is too creased, spray it with water and place in the fridge overnight, this allows the fibers to relax and it should iron nicely the next day. Always iron linen with the grain as ironing in circles can stretch the fabric, Embroidery should be ironed into a towel. Do not bleach linen it will damage the fiber and turn it either yellow or gray. Linen can become a little dull with age but it can be brightened up with oxiclean.
Wine stains must be removed as soon as possible in the sacristy, it is very difficult to remove this kind of stain once it is set.
There are two methods for wax removal. Placing the linen in the fridge overnight makes the wax very hard and it will scrape off easily the next day. Alternatively, wax can be removed by placing the linen over plain brown paper and then skim over with a hot iron. the wax melts and is absorbed by the paper, the iron soleplate can be cleaned with a damp rag if needed.
Place a fold with your fingertips not the iron, and this will prevent the linen from wearing in one spot. Linen for sacramental use should not be starched.
At the end of it's lifespan linen should be burned and not simply discarded.
If you take care of your linen it will last for a very long time and improve with age, it takes a little work but is a much better investment than cotton or polyester.
Learn more about the Duties & Responsibilities of the Altar Guild.