Each and every week, most of us spend approximately 49 to 60+ hours sleeping in our beds. That’s a lot of time to get the rest our bodies need to thrive, but it’s also ample time to build up dirt, sweat, oil, and other gunk on our sheets and bedding.

Proper hygiene is important in all areas of life. When it comes to our bedding, it’s perhaps more important than you might think. Without regular cleaning, dirty sheets can contribute to allergies, skin breakouts, asthma, and more. For your health and sleep quality, it’s important to keep things clean – but how often should you wash your sheets?

Pillows and quilts: they need to be changed every 3-6 months. Fiber and down pillows can be washed by hand or machine in warm water; silk pillows can be dried in a ventilated place; latex pillows can be covered with water The pillow is then pressed to clean, lay flat and drain the water.

Do not expose to the sun, the latex material is easy to harden. Pillows should be replaced every 1-2 years, and bedding should be replaced every 3-5 years.

Sheets, quilt covers, and pillowcases: they should be changed and washed every 2-3 weeks. In summer, the amount of perspiration is greater, so they need to be washed more frequently. To remove mites, it needs to be washed at high temperature or exposed to the sun. You can also dissolve it in water with baking soda, toilet water, and white vinegar from time to time, and wipe it with a clean rag dipped in water to help kill the mites attached to the surface.

If there are traces of yellowing, you can try soaking in rice water + orange peel or salt + baking soda for half an hour before machine washing. Bedding kits generally need to be replaced every 1-2 years

Why it’s important to wash your sheets

Washing sheets and making your bed once a week may seem excessive, but it’s well worth your time. Even after a few days, bed sheets can accumulate significant amounts of:

• Dirt
• Dead skin cells
• Body oils
• Sweat
• Dust mites, including their carcasses and fecal matter

While most of us can reconcile sleeping in our own dirt and sweat to a degree, it’s this last item that concerns many of us the most.

Dust mites are microscopic creatures that are very common in most households. They do not bite, but they can lead to skin rashes and irritation and may worsen allergy symptoms for many people.

Dust mites can reproduce at prolific rates and can live solely off of dead skin cells. At any given time, there can be tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of dust mites living in your mattress and bedding. Even if you’re not allergic to dust mites, you probably don’t want to be sharing your bed with thousands of them. Washing sheets regularly can help.

Always check the manufacturer’s care instructions, if possible. While these guidelines are generally applicable, occasionally a piece of bedding will have a unique design that requires specific care and washing.

Additionally, you should clean your mattress once every 6 months or so. Cleaning can help extend the useful lifespan of your mattress and bedding while improving sleep quality and your health. With that said, it’s still important to replace your mattress every 6-8 years or so, to ensure you’re getting the best sleep possible.