I was stunned. I was assisting caring for a post-surgical, bed-bound patient, and ordered these thinking they'd be easy to wash. I performed the first couple of bedding swaps, but a few days later I was approached by the patient's wife. She is absolutely thrilled. I guess she hadn't noticed the new mattress pads, because we try to be quick about the daily changes, so as not to upset the patient. But she had pulled one of them out of the dryer to fold, and realized how soft the flannel is on the upper side...and the stretch to the pockets...she thanked me profusely for making the hospital bed feel more like real bed and said that these fit better than anything she saw at either of the 2 hospitals where they were admitted. She said they get softer with each wash, and even though we've had to layer the bed with underpass "just in case," she believes these make the protective vinyl cover on the mattress less noticable. They make the bed breathable again, help with the crinkle noises from the vinyl ND underpass, and put a layer of super soft right under the sheets. I guess I made the right purchase.