Shopping for bedding can be tricky.
You have to think about your comfort, your budget, and your needs, with little information to go on about why one option might be better than another.
There's also plenty of misconceptions about what you should buy that seem to stem from the industry itself, not actual knowledge.
We're busting three of the most common myths we hear from our customers.
A higher thread count means its better Here’s the thing—thread count can have a lot of different variables and because it isn’t a standardized measure of quality, there’s a lot of room for misconceptions, and the bedding makers of the world love that. If they can lead you to think that a certain thread count is better than another, they can charge you more for it. The best bed sheets always seem to brag about how much cotton they’ve packed into their fabric, and the best thread count on sheets might not be so high after all. We all have that friend that won’t sleep on anything less than an 800 thread count sheet, or maybe that’s just Tom Haverford.
So what’s the truth?
Well, like anything worth knowing, it’s complicated.
Thread count is mostly arbitrary, to be frank, but when it comes to identifying honest marketing, knowing the basics can help. Thread count is determined by the number of horizontal and vertical threads in a square inch of fabric—so a sheet that has 125 vertical threads and 125 horizontal threads would have a 250 thread-count. Where things get a little tricky, however, is if a manufacturer uses higher-ply yarn and counts each ply as an additional thread. So a cheaper, weaker thread can sometimes triple, or even quadruple, a thread count without adding any quality to the performance of a product.
Even more interesting? Higher thread count sheets can often perform worse when it comes to heat retention and longevity. Their thread count might be high, but what the threads are actually made of determines the quality of the product.
How is a lower thread count better? Simple. Using high-quality, long-staple length cotton means you have to use less of it to make a softer, more durable product. Check out the T&N Percale Sheets here.
Egyptian cotton is the only way to go For basically as long as people have cared about cotton, Egyptian stays top of mind. We don’t really know why we care but we know that we’re supposed to, right?
Once upon a time, Egyptian cotton was certainly something to splurge for. The climate and heritage crops made for long, luscious plants and created the best fabrics. A lot of the appeal is the hand-picked nature of Egyptian cotton, leaving more of the fibers intact when compared to machine-harvesting plants. While true that genuine Egyptian cotton is superior to low-quality crops, the trouble lies within the regulation of the name.
Any cotton grown in Egypt can be labeled as pure Egyptian cotton, no matter the quality. Another issue comes when reading packaging versus the actual labels of products. If a sheet contains even 1% of Egyptian cotton, the packaging can boast the name. Check every label before you spend extra bucks on the name.
Pima cotton, grown in the US, has the same extra-long staple length of it’s sister in Egypt. The only difference is where it’s grown, so many US companies have made the switch, but kept the luxurious quality.
You should make your bed as soon as you get up We all know that making the bed first thing in the morning is supposed to be great for your mental health and setting the tone for your day-to-day life, but science is now saying that it might not be so great.
It’s gross, but it’s reality—millions of dust mites sleep right along with you every night. They also thrive in warm, moist environments. If you pop out of bed and tuck them in right away, they have a higher chance of surviving until you return. Leaving your bed unmade for a few hours in the morning has a better chance of shifting the environment of your bed and causing the dust mites to either die off, or find elsewhere to live.
Why does this matter? Mites cause all sorts of issues—allergies and asthma being two of the most common. If you cut into their comfort, they might just vacate and leave you to breathe a lot easier.
Also, who doesn’t want an excuse to leave their bed unmade a little longer?
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