There has been a lot in the media recently about how often you should change your bed sheets.

Admit it, there is nothing better than slipping into bed between crisp, clean sheets! So how often should you change them?

Personally I believe you should wash and change your bed sheets once a week, and where you can, line dry them - this will make them nice and crispy for the first few nights sleep! I think after a week sheets really start to smell and get dirty! Humans sweat an average of one litre of fluid a night! That's pretty gross - you wouldn't stay in your t-shirt for two weeks - so don't do it to your sheets!

I recently did an experiment on my own sheets (more out of shear laziness than anything). I'm usually a fastiduis person and change the sheets every Saturday, but this particular Saturday I had been out all day and when I got home I just couldn't be bothered, the same thing happened Sunday too, then I just decided to leave them until the next week. I slept really badly all week, the sheets felt dirty, and the bed didn't feel "made properly". Upon removing the sheets the next week the mattress protector had sweat stains, the pillow protectors weren't nice either and that proved it! To keep your sheets and other bedding layers in the best condition, and give you a decent night's sleep, you MUST wash/change them once a week (including pillow protectors).

It made for a massive task that weekend to wash and dry a mattress protector as well as a set of Super King sheets (typical Auckland weather - it was raining)! I think for mattress protectors, these can be done once every two or so months, as long as you are washing your sheets once a week, I mean let's face it, they are big (if you have a Super King bed) and take ages to wash & dry!

There are articles to back up my claims above, for example the NZ Herald published an article from the Daily Mail, citing fabric expert Mary Marloew Leverette, who says an unclean bed can be detrimental to our health, in an unclean bed you can find saliva, urine, genital fluids and fecal matter in the fibres! She said: "if sheets are not washed regularly, and the occupant has scratches or wounds, they can become infected. Athlete's foot and other fungi can be transferred from fabrics".

She also pointed out not cleaning your sheets regularly, can mean all the gross things above can seep into the other parts of your bedding, like pillows and mattress protectors. She agreed with my theory of once a week washing!

 
The worst part of that article, from a study done in 2014, found that one in 10 people only wash their sheets once a month!!!

Here's a link to the article: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.c...

If you find you are waking up with watery eyes, the sneezes or are having trouble sleeping, and you don't change your sheets once a week - now might be a good time to change your routine, and start washing your sheets on a more regular basis! Unclean sheets and bedding are a perfect environment for dust mites to live in, and regular washing will help kill & keep the critters and your allergies at bay. Also give Drylife branded product a shot as the Mattress Protector, Pillows and Duvet inners are machine washable and tumble dryable and have been accepted by Asthma New Zealand into their "Breathe Easy" programme.

The queenb linen experts have spoken - change your sheets once a week!