Considering you spend about eight hours each night in your bed, you’d like to think that the bed is clean. However, many people overlook the importance of cleaning their sheets and bedding on a regular basis. The thing is, your bed is filled with all kinds of unpleasant things including dead skin cells, sweat, oils, and out and out dirt dragged in from your feet.
The less often you wash your sheets the more of this stuff there is in your bed. We’re talking about serious allergens and irritants that are not only yucky but also bad for your health. Not quite the bed partner you dream of we imagine. With this disturbing thought in mind, here is how, why, and how often you should wash your sheets.
Why wash your sheets?
Clean sheets reduce the amount of debris in your bed that can actually make you sick. All that body oil, sweat, and dead skin in hand with the dreaded dust mites, dead and living, are breathed in the night after night while you sleep. It’s pretty sci-fi when you consider your bed is filled with microscopic dust mites that pretty much everyone is allergic to in some way.
While they aren’t biters or even remotely noticeable compared to say bed bugs, they still are living little critters you ideally want to reduce in numbers as much as possible. Plus, along with the multiple hundreds of thousands of dust mites, your dead skin cells – which by the way, are what dust mites eat – can trigger other symptoms like contact dermatitis. So more ew, and ew, which really means one thing: Wash your sheets.
How often should you wash your sheets?
Wait for it – you actually need to wash your sheets once a week. Yep, we thought that might surprise you. And it gets worse. If you have a pet that tends to sleep with you, you’re looking at it twice a week. If you have breathing issues like asthma or allergies, it’s more like every few days if you want to reduce your symptoms. Sweaty nights in the summer? Every day or two. Seasonal allergies? The same. So if you want to have those crisp, clean sheets like mom (or maybe grandma) always had, read on.
How should I wash my sheets?
So since your sheets are clearly gross, you now have an incentive to wash them often. To get the freshest, cleanest sheets possible follow these steps:
- Check for Stains: Sheets can have stains caused by blood, sweat, and let’s throw in tears, along with other things like lotions and makeup if you’re too tired to wash your face before bed. So check for stains and pretreat them with a stain cleaner before you toss them in the washer.
- Follow Instructions: With any luck, you might have a label on your sheets that tells you how to wash them. Different materials need different care. While today most of the sheets you buy will tend to be cotton or a cotton blend, you might have sheets that are polyester blends. These sheets need warm water, while cotton needs hot water. In general though, to kill those dust mites and other possible germs, the hotter the water the better. Just check the label to make sure there isn’t some kind of instruction saying cold.
- Wash with Like Colours: Hopefully, when you do the laundry you separate the colours. Do the same with your sheets to avoid colours running or ‘bleeding’. Darks with darks, lights with lights.
- Respect Your Allergies: If you tend to have sensitive skin or other allergies, keep in mind many detergents and dryer sheets, especially ones with those pretty fragrances can irritate your symptoms. While the idea of those fresh scents like “dreamy breeze” seems cleaner, a fragrance-free detergent and dryer sheet get your sheets just as clean sans irritation.
- Dryer Setting: Living in a condo, chances are you can’t hang your sheets out to dry. Make sure you follow the instructions on the best setting for your sheets when you put them in the dryer.
- Iron them: Yeh, it’s a pain and added step, but an important one. The heat of the iron provides that one-two punch to wipe out any remaining germs that didn’t get taken out in the washer and dryer.
These steps will keep your sheets fresh and clean. A good tip is to invest in at least one other set of sheets so you can rotate them.
How do I wash my other bedding?
Good question, since those comforters, pillow shams and other bedding can get dirty too. The good news is, these layers tend to be exposed to less “soiling”. But you still want to clean them once in a while. We always recommend you invest in a duvet cover because you can easily remove it and toss it in the laundry along with your mattress cover and pillow shams.
Some fancier pillow shams might have special washing instructions so be sure to read the label. Items such as blankets and duvets/comforters should be washed every few months or at least four times a year on the seasons. Thicker duvets or those filled with down require dry cleaning, so again read those labels!
Can I keep my sheets cleaner between cleans?
Yes, there are a few things you can do to keep your sheets fresher for longer including:
- Always remove your makeup at bedtime
- Avoid slathering yourself with lotions and moisturizers at bedtime
- Never eat or drink in bed
- Don’t let your pets sleep on the sheets, instead make them sleep on their own cover
- Brush your feet off before you get into bed to remove crumbs and debris
These little tips will help keep your bed cleaner.
One Last Tip: Mattresses and Pillows
While clean sheets and pillowcases are always nice, don’t forget your mattress and pillows. The smaller debris found on your sheets can shake right through to your mattress. This includes your pillows where things like drool and sweat can also cause issues. First, make sure you use pillow protectors and a mattress cover that you wash along with your sheets. Next, vacuum, yes vacuum your mattress during your cleaning routine to remove debris, allergens, and dust mites.
Looking for residential cleaning services? Contact us!
For more information about residential cleaning in Toronto, call Maid4Condos at (647) 822-0601 or contact us here.
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