One of the best feelings in the world is getting into bed with freshly cleaned sheets. But how often should you get to enjoy that experience? Probably more than you do now, as in you’re probably not laundering your bedding frequently enough.
When was the last time you washed your pillows? If you don’t know, it’s been too long. As you’ve probably heard, we spend about a third of our lives sleeping, which means our bedding gets dirty from all that time in bed and we need to wash it pretty frequently. Otherwise, all those built-up body oils, sweat, dust and such can lead to allergies and skin irritation, which nobody wants from their bedding.
So how often should we be washing our sheets, pillows, comforters and everything on our beds? It depends on details like if you eat in bed, sleep with pets or small kids, have allergies, or sweat a lot while snoozing. This guide can help you know when these items need to hit the laundry:
- Wash sheets once a week - The Sleep Foundation recommends washing sheets and pillowcases at least once a week, but more if you have pets that sleep in your bed. That’s because after just a few days, sheets can accumulate “significant amounts of dirt, dead skin cells, body oils, sweat, and dust mites, including their carcasses and fecal matter.” Gross, right? And if you use a duvet cover without a top sheet, it should be washed weekly, too.
- Wash comforters once a month or a few times a year - If you don’t have a duvet cover on your comforter, wash it once a month because it gets all those body oils, dust and sweat on it. Mulberrys Garment Care says washing it a few times a year is enough, if you use a duvet cover.
- Treat duvet covers like a sheet - If you use a top sheet, wash the cover once a month or so, but if you don’t, wash it weekly since it’s in direct contact with your body.
- Wash pillows twice a year - Not the cases, but the pillows themselves need to be washed at least twice a year, more of you sweat in your sleep. Read the label, but many pillows can go in the washing machine.
- Decorative pillows need laundering, too - Ideally every other month, but if they have removable covers, you can wash those more often.