Sorry To Gross You Out, But This Is How Often You Should Really Be Washing Your Bedsheets

When it comes to life’s chores, washing your bedsheets has to be up there with the most laborious. Aside from the effort of gathering up all the sheets, pillow cases and throws and stuffing them all into the machine, there’s also the added effort of putting them all back on the bed again; a task that usually sees us taggled up in a mess of fabric.

But it turns out we’re probably not washing them anywhere near enough, that is according to Phillip Tierno of the New York School Of Medicine.

He explains to Metro that bacteria, fungi, dead skin cells and, um, other bodily fluids all build up in your bed pretty quickly.

“Stuff like that accumulates to become significant usually between one or two weeks. Bottom line, [your sheets] should be washed probably on the average of once a week.”

But it’s not just your sheets that need a regular wash, you’ll need to toss your pyjamas in there more often too. One study found that women wear there’s for an average of 17 days before putting them in the laundry, which according to Professor Sally Bloomfield of the London School Of Hygiene And Tropical Medicine is nowhere near enough. She explained to the Daily Mail that leaving them too long can lead to cystitis, staph infections and MRSA.

The only upside? There’s nothing quite like the feeling of clean sheets and fresh PJs, so next time you’re stuffing all your bed stuff in for a wash, think of how cosy you’re going to feel and at least know you’re going to have a deadly night’s kip.

• Hygiene