Proper hygiene is important in all areas of life. When it comes to our bedding, it may be even more important than you probably think. Without regular cleaning, dirty bedding can contribute to allergies, skin breakouts, asthma, and more. Keeping everything clean is important for your health and quality of sleep. But how often should you change your bedding?
Is there a better feeling than slipping into a bed with fresh linens? But as you lie in bed for hours every night, your sheets collect skin flakes and a range of bodily fluids and oils. There is also dust, dust mites and animal hair if you have a cat or dog. You spend a third of your life in your bed and in close proximity to your bedding. That's more time than you spend on your favorite underwear.
Most people should change their sheets once a week. If you don't sleep on your mattress every day, you might want to expand this to once every two weeks.
When should you change the bedding more often?
Changing sheets can feel like a time-consuming task after a long day, but avoiding it could turn your beloved bed into an unsanitary place to sleep.
That's why there are a few reasons why you should change more frequently. Below are some factors that suggest changing bed linen every 4-5 days.
You have oily skin
If you have oily skin and need to wash your face every few hours, it is recommended for you to change the bedding every three to four days. Wash your bedding with a good detergent to remove oil, dirt and grime. Allow your pillows to dry in a sunny spot before making your bed with freshly laundered linens. We recommend youhigh quality bed linenmade of cotton, especially if you tend to sweat a lot or have oily skin, as it is more breathable and comfortable.
Your pets sleep in your bed
If you have pets and especially if you let them sleep in your bed, changing every 3-4 days is recommended. Your pet is bound to lose hair, which gets caught in your high-quality bedding and, if not cleaned regularly, can cause a number of infections, allergies and also sleep problems.
When you're sick
If you or a member of your family is sick, experts recommend changing the bedding daily if possible or at least cleaning the pillowcase daily, as germs and viruses can survive for several hours and can even survive a wash. Check the care instructions to find out how hot you can wash your pillowcases. Dry them and the sheets in direct sunlight if possible, as UV light is effective at killing microorganisms. Iron the pillowcases with a hot iron on cotton setting (200°C) to kill any remaining bacteria.
What happens if you don't change bedding regularly?
If you don't already change your bedding weekly, now is the time to start. Not only are you sleeping in your own dirt, sweat, body oil and skin cells, but there can also be dust mites in your bed. These collect on your sheets along with other allergens, causing symptoms like sneezing, runny nose, cough, fever, and more. They can multiply extremely quickly and live exclusively on dead skin cells. At any given time there may be tens or even hundreds of thousands ofDust mites in your mattressand your bedding. Even if you're not allergic to dust mites, you probably don't want to share your bed with thousands of them. RegularWashing the bed linencan help.
The best way to wash bed linen
We now know that bedding should be changed weekly, but how should it be washed?
First, read the product label carefully to see if there are any special care instructions.
If there are noticeable stains on the bedding, we recommend pre-treating it with a stain remover. If you want to bleach your sheets to remove stains, we recommend only purchasing white bedding and using color-safe bleach to lighten the fabric.
Try to avoid using fabric softeners and dryer sheets, or at least don't use them with every wash cycle. Fabric softeners leave behind residue that affects the breathability and absorbency of the fabric. And as this residue builds up over time, it can leave you feeling overheated in your bedding.
The best way to keep your bed linen looking good is to wash it at a low temperature, ideally cold water. However, sometimes you need to use warmer wash cycles.
Be sure to use hot water to disinfect after an illness or to eliminate allergens such as dust mites.
Also read:Folding fitted sheets: an impossibility? Not with this trick!
