YOUR QUERIES

Catherine Moutet is the President of TISSAGE MOUTET, certainly, but it is also her that everyone at our factory turns to when it comes to keeping our linen in beautiful condition.

So here are her answers to your most common questions.

Washing :

All our fabrics are machine washable, including our coated fabrics, and they should always be washed!

Avoid mixing synthetic and natural fibres; polyester can form lint which can catch on natural fibres.

All natural materials (cotton, linen, rayon, cotton-linen mix) are sensitive to concentrated alkaline solutions and to bleach products.

Beware of detergents that contain optical brighteners, which can seriously alter colours. Optical brighteners are products that absorb invisible UV light, transforming it into visible light: essentially, they are specific colourants that markedly increase the degree of whiteness that we can see, sometimes emitting a blue reflection. However, they also shift pink to purple, yellow to yellow-green and orange to beige. These colour changes are more noticeable in pastel colours and are sometimes wrongly put down to a weakness in the colouring of the linen.

We advise individuals to use detergents made with natural Marseille soap without any additives.

For professional laundering, many detergent manufacturers have products in their range that do not contain optical brighteners. We have tested several detergents and we have selected a formula for synthetics and another for coloured damasks, satins or jacquards. We can share this information with you, for reference.

Use fabric softeners in moderation, and they should be especially avoided for tea towels, as they reduce the absorbency of textiles. Instead, consider putting a “shot” of white vinegar in the fabric softener tray; it’s good for the linen and environmentally friendly.

Bear in mind that all our textiles made with natural fibres (cotton, linen, cotton-linen mix) shrink naturally by 5 to 10%, depending on the fibres. For hotels and restaurants, we take this into account in our dimension calculations.

Drying and ironing : 

We recommend that you remove wet linen from the machine quickly in order to prevent it from creasing and becoming misshapen. Furthermore, it is always important to avoid heavy ironing, especially removing water through high pressure, such as in industrial laundry.

Over time, linen will have fewer wrinkles when washed.

Care for our coated fabrics : 

Do not dry-clean.
They should be machine-washed at 30°C, on a reduced spin and line-dried.
We recommend ironing on the reverse side to reactivate the film.
If there are stains, treat as quickly as possible with a damp sponge and Marseille soap. Never use an abrasive surface.
Remember to also stand bottles of red wine on a coaster.

Concise guide to stains :

Pre-wash stain remover products that can be applied directly (ball or mousse) onto major stains are very often available in shops and generally give very good results. If not, try these good home remedies for :

• WINE : soak in cold salt water or sparkling water.
• FRUIT : if the stain is fresh, sprinkle with salt and liquid soap. Allow to act for a few hours before rinsing.
• TEA or COFFEE : borax solution (1 to 6 parts water) on the stain, then wash quickly.
• FATS : You must act very quickly : apply bicarbonate or Terre de Sommières natural dry stain remover directly to the stain and allow to dry or dab it with tepid water + Marseille soap. Wash as soon as possible. Never iron a stain that hasn’t disappeared during the first wash.
• BLOOD : clean up immediately and rinse with COLD water (hot water will irremediably set the stain). Leave to soak for 24h in cold water with added salt.
• CANDLES : harden the wax with an ice cube. Place the fabric between two sheets of paper towel and press hard with a hot iron. If the wax is coloured, use cold diluted bleach.
• GRASS : dab a mixture of 1/3 white vinegar + 2/3 water. Wash quickly.
• MILDEW and SCORCHES : apply white vinegar or lemon juice before drying in the sun.