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December 10, 2019 12:19 pm
How Often Should You Change Your Bed Sheets? It's More Frequently Than You May Think & For Good Reason
Sep 3, 2019
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Autumn is fast approaching, which means your cosy duvet will be making a triumphant return. While there's nothing like curling up in your bed to fend off the crisp fall nights, it also brings up the age-old question — how often should you change your bed sheets? Well, it turns out there's not a simple answer.
As wellness site Self writes, it all comes down to your sleeping preferences like "how much you move in your sleep to your level of clothing when you hop between the sheets". You also need to consider whether you're sleeping by yourself or sharing the bed with a loved one or pet. There's a lot of gunky stuff and contamination that can accumulate in your sheets over an extended period, including dead skin cells, body oils, drool, and of course, dust mites *shudders*.
If you have acne, it could be something to do with your bed sheets. As dermatologist Whitney Bowe, M.D., told Self, not changing your sheets on the regular "can disrupt your skin's ecosystem", otherwise known as your skin microbiome, due to the number of bacteria making itself at home on your pillowcase. Ew.
So what's the optimum amount of time to go by in terms of washing your sheets? Well, according to experts who provided Self with their knowledge, at least once a week is best. But as microbiologist Michael Schmidt, Ph.D., told the wellness site, "[a] myriad of factors determine if you should wash your sheets more often than once a week based on your lifestyle."
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Of course, there are going to be varying suggestions across the web. Good Housekeeping suggests that washing your sheets can be done "at least once every two weeks", but they also note that if you tend to sweat a lot in bed, "you should increase this to once weekly." This also goes for people who have allergies like hayfever, as pollen can accumulate pretty drastically on your sheets throughout the week. As Self notes, dust mites also factor into this as they "can provoke allergy symptoms like a runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, and general discomfort that makes it hard to get good rest at night."
In addition to that, Women's Health notes that the American Academy of Dermatology (ADD) "also suggests changing your pillow cases two to three times a week, too".
If you don't have the time — nor the means — to wash your sheets once a week, you can stretch this timeframe out a little longer. As Dr Bowe advised to Self, you should "always wash your face before bed, even if you only applied a moisturiser or sunscreen during the day." A shower before bed is also a good shout, as it can get rid of some of the skin cells that would have flaked off in between your sheets.
The prospect of putting your sheets through the process of washing and drying once a week can seem tedious and off-putting. But once you realise how much gunky stuff comes off your body every night, you may be wanting to dump those sheets in the machine ASAP.
December 11, 2019 11:18 am
I know I should wash my pillowcases and sheets more than I do but its definitely one of those things that gets put off to the wayside. Reading this article now I just want to go home and wash them lol, but that feeling might be short-lived.
Lindsey Cogan and Lindsey Cogan reacted
December 11, 2019 11:56 am
It's just like washing your face or dare I say... bra ? We all know that we should do it more, but life happens and other things get put at the top of the list. I'm no winner in this category, but I do have a solution that has worked pretty well for me. I have 3 sets of bed sheets. I know, not at all cost friendly. I got them on clearance, I promise. So when I know I don't have time to wash my sheets, on an extra set goes. And if I really don't have time for that, I'll opt for just changing my pillow case. Ok, ok, I'll be honest. Sometimes I just lay the clean pillowcase on top of the dirty one ?
January 27, 2020 11:04 am
I try to change my sheets every week or two because I have the cats in my bed and I sleep on my face most the time lol so I don't want to keep putting my face on a dirty pillow.
January 29, 2020 12:41 pm
I like Lindsey's tips on that sometimes you just don't have time or it's the last thing on your mind at the end of the day and little hacks like those can help.
Topic starter
February 1, 2020 6:46 pm
I do like to wash my sheets for that crisp feeling and knowing they are clean. The pillowcases do get washed 2-3 times per week
I do not like sleeping knowing I have sweat all over my pillowcase and bacteria is there every night
It's easy to not be conscientious about this topic. You can spray the bed down with a disinfectant a couple times a week
April 9, 2023 6:57 pm
I am very consistent about washing my bed sheets and the sheets I sleep on at my boyfriends house. I wash them about twice a week sometimes more but I always sweat a lot when I sleep.
April 9, 2023 7:00 pm
@mikaylaalleniectskin-com Sometimes my cats sleep with me and she is an all white cat which I like to wear dark colors and it causes me to have to lint roll my clothes all the time. It also really bothers me when I am sleeping and I can feel cat hair on me.
April 9, 2023 7:02 pm
@lindseycoganiectskin-com That's a good idea to keep a couple of different sets of clean washed sheets so when you don't have time to wash your sheets and wait for them to dry you can just get some from storage.
April 10, 2023 12:55 pm
I do pretty well at changing my sheets once a week but I know I should be at least changing my pillow cases more often. I have more than one set of sheets so I alternate each wash
April 10, 2023 12:56 pm
@emmamidgettiectskin-com In the summer I will say I do change my sheets more often because I sweat more when I sleep.
April 10, 2023 1:00 pm
@lindseycoganiectskin-com Having extra pairs of sheets can come in handy. I should just start changing my pillow cases more than once a week because I sleep on them every night, but I sometimes just sleep over top of my comforter so I don't even touch my sheets.
August 8, 2024 10:01 am
I do like to wash my sheets weekly, sometimes sooner due to having dogs. They do sleep in the bed. A bad habit I wish I never started because they are labs and love being outside. So at times I can wash my sheets up to 1-3 times a week. I will say I am caught up at times and do slack on it.
August 8, 2024 10:07 am
@madisonmauldiniectskin-com I do think thati need to get in the habit of changing my pillow cases 3 times a week at least I do have 6 pillows on my bed which is ridiculous but it still needs to be done because of the animals.
August 8, 2024 10:09 am
@deborah My favorite part about washing them is the fresh, crisp, clean feeling! I haven't thought about spraying my bed with disinfectant that is something I will defiantly start doing.
September 30, 2024 2:14 pm
@mikaylaalleniectskin-com I also wash my sheets once a week, every Sunday. My animals sleep with me as well so to keep things clean I make sure it is a priority of mine on sundays.
September 30, 2024 2:19 pm
@emmamidgettiectskin-com I am right there with you on making sure to wash my sheets at my house and my boyfriends house, I am well aware that I am the only one to do it.
September 30, 2024 2:21 pm
I am very consistent on washing my sheets, my animals sleep with me so it is just even more of a reason to make sure I wash my sheets every Sunday. If I don't wash my sheets everyday and restart my week with a clean room and empty laundry hamper the rest of my week feels cluttered and stressed.
December 30, 2024 2:58 pm
I have multiple sets of sheets so I normally change them once a week and just alternate each wash. Since my dog sleeps in my bed I occasionally change them sooner if they just don't feel clean. I do change my pillowcases pretty frequently though, like 3 times a week, just because I'm scared a dirty pillowcase will make me breakout.
December 30, 2024 3:04 pm
@alizasaundersiectskin-com I'm the same way, it's refreshing starting the week with a clean room and clean laundry.
December 30, 2024 3:11 pm
@alexisdozieriectskin-com My dog is constantly in and out of my backyard so she definitely brings a little bit of the outside world into my bed so I get the struggle, wouldn't want her sleeping anywhere else though.
January 18, 2025 11:02 pm
So insider secret.... I am a bit of a germ-a-phobe so I quite a bit of the information that was in this article. House rule. DO NOT SIT ON MY BED WITH OUTSIDE CLOTHES ON. Also as a woman of color with hair that changes and has to be maintained with oils and many products, I make sure to wash my pillow cases at least once a week with my bed lines only. For the days in between I do a refresh with (Lysol) disinfectant sprays designed for fabrics. I spray sofas and any materials that cannot be thrown in the washing machine. I have gone as far as getting an Ozone generator to sanitize my space while I am at work throughout the week. God let us pray I don't kill the germs that I actually may need.
