The subject of sheet washing looks out of touch and unnecessary but when you consider how many hours every day we ensconce ourselves beneath the sheets then it dawns on us to calculate how many days or weeks should pass before the sheets are too soiled to keep on sleeping on them.
Think about it: We spend hours in bed every night, and our sheets collect skin flakes and an assortment of bodily fluids and oils. Then there’s stuff like dust, dust mites, and (if you have a cat or dog) pet hair. All these stuffs accumulate over time, and if the sheets are not changed the perma stains accumulate and other breathing ailments tend to crop up. Never forget dust mites are causative of asthma!
So, timely change of bed sheets is vital in order to maintain our health or obtain and maintain a clean bill of health. Regularly bedsheet washing removes the gunk deposited on our bedsheets over time, and restores the crisp like of the bedsheets ensuring they smell good once the washed sheets apply softener.
Before we soak ourselves in the subject of the frequency of washing bedsheets one has to weave in the following factors: types of jobs one does. If one is involved in jobs that pick plenty of dirty then that will shorten the period of cleaning and changing of the sheets.
On the other hand, if one bathes every day, and wears different clothes like pajamas then the amount of dirt contaminating the bedsheets is significantly reduced, and that factor alone can prolong several days before bedsheets are changed. Therefore the number of days or weeks before bedsheets are changed is dependent on occupation, bathing, wearing different or no clothes when sleeping, how many hours one sleeps and the amount of sweat and oily stuff one releases.
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Most experts advise that weekly change of sheets is on average sufficient to get rid of dirt in the sheets and discourage the growth of bedbugs. A weekly bed change is pretty much universal advice from most expert sources, including five books I consulted: Laundry by Cheryl Mendelson, Simply Clean by Clean Mama founder Becky Rapinchuk, Real Simple Cleaning by Kathleen Squires, Clean My Space by Clean My Space founder Melissa Maker, and Laundry Hints & Tips by Cindy Harris.
If your life is busy, changing the sheets weekly might seem like a hassle, and it’s a task that can be quickly forgotten. But considering that you likely spend one-third of your life in bed, keeping the sheets clean is worth it.
Learn to Work With Stain Removers
Pretreatment of conspicuous stains with washing agents specifically designed to dissolve stubborn stains is the right way to go. There are many varieties of stain removers in the market. Your choices must bargain between cost and quality. A stain remover like Zout will work for most food, dirt, and bodily fluids.
Follow the directions on the bottle, which typically involve saturating the stained area, pinching the fabric on either side of the stain, and rubbing the fabric sides together to help the cleaner penetrate into the sheet fabric. You can also spray the stained area after you strip the sheets off your bed, and then just toss them into your dirty clothes hamper until you’re ready to wash them.
For tougher stains, like blood, coffee, or wine (we’re not above sipping a glass in bed while watching trashy TV), soak the area with OxiClean. Then leave it to penetrate overnight, before putting your sheets in the washing machine. Dish soap works well to remove grease stains from food—use it the same way you would any other spot remover.
Stains don’t set until they get baked through a hot drying cycle. So before you move a load to the dryer, check pretreated stains after every wash, and repeat the spot treatment and cleaning cycle if needed.
Low Temperatures are Best for Washing
The best way to maintain good-looking sheets is to wash them in low-temperature cycles—cold water is ideal. Sometimes, though, you will need to use warmer wash cycles. I recommend using warm water to lift out tough stains, like coffee, because the heat helps loosen and lift out the stain. Also use hot water to disinfect bedding after an illness or potty-training accident, or to get rid of allergens like dust mites.
What About Bleaching?
Logic and commonsense demand that white sheets give the best results after bleaching but if you prefer coloured bedsheets then you may have to dip deep in the pocket because colour-safe bleach such as Jik colours cost a fortune over time.
White sheets are also worth considering if you have problems with discolouration, such as bleaching from benzoyl peroxide in acne cream. Once those stains appear on sheets, they cannot be undone, but on white sheets, they’ll be almost invisible.
In my years of testing dozens and dozens of sets for my guide to the best sheets, this is the reason I’ve opted for white sheets most often. Also, I love not having to worry about the colours fading over time with many trips through the laundry.
Coping With Sensitive Skin
If you or your child has extremely sensitive skin, you may want to take an extra step when washing new sheets. Some resin treatments meant to reduce wrinkling in fabric contain small amounts of formaldehyde, which can cause contact dermatitis.
If you’re concerned about factory finishes, you can remove some of these substances by adding ¼ cup of white vinegar to the wash cycle. Keep in mind that the finishes are what give sheets wrinkle resistance and shrinkage control, so you may not want to be too aggressive in removing them.
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Fabric Softeners are Bad News!
Try to avoid using fabric softeners and dryer sheets, or at least don’t use them for every wash. Softeners leave a residue that decreases the fabric’s breathability and absorbency. And if that residue builds up over time, you may end up feeling overheated in your sheets.
Always dry on low.
Dry your sheets on the lowest setting possible, since doing so will prolong their life. To help prevent shrinkage, use low or medium heat, instead of high heat. This also helps to protect the fibres from heat damage, which can make sheets feel rougher and cause them to tear more easily.
Heat damage can also make cotton fabrics shed more lint. It’s much better to dry your sheets for 45 minutes on low than it is to scorch them on high for 15. If you need to wash your sheets in hot water, we still recommend drying them on a low setting, to reduce wear.
Again, you haven’t answered my question how many days do you normally change the bedsheets?
