Jumping into bed with freshly washed linens is one of the best feelings after a long day. Clean sheets may make you never want to leave your bed again. That being said, cleaning your bedsheets is a chore that is often overlooked. Who wants to go through the hassle of stripping the bed and having to struggle to put a fitted sheet back on?

However, cleaning your bedsheets is actually quite important and can contribute to good hygiene! The average person spends over 50 hours a week in their beds, which means it's bound to get dirty.

How Often To Wash Bed Sheets

Now, you might be asking how often you should wash your sheets. Well, the short answer to this question is quite simple. It's recommended that you wash your bedsheets once a week. However, most people subscribe to cleaning their bed sheets every other week.

Weekly washings are recommended because over the span of those 7 days, your sheets will collect dust, fecal matter, body oils, bacteria, and your own dirt. If your pet sleeps on your bedding, your bedsheets will also likely be full of pet hair and pet dander, as well as drool and other bacteria. If you do have pets, you might want to consider cleaning your bedding every 3-4 days as the sheets and other bedding will likely get dirtier faster.

Another reason why you might wash your sheets more often is if you deal with asthma and allergies. Because sheets and bedding often host dust mites, you may find that you have more asthma attacks throughout the night or wake up with a stuffy nose. Allergy symptoms might flare up if you fail to wash your sheets and pillows regularly.

Do you really want to be sleeping in all that? That's why it's advised that you wash your sheets weekly and get a good and clean night's sleep.

What To Do Between Washes

Even if your dirty sheets are washed weekly, there are still skin cells, dust mites, body oil, and germs that can gather on your bedding and blankets. To minimize the amount of build-up on your sheets, there are a few clean sleep tips that you can take into consideration in between washing sheets.

Wash Up Before You Go to Sleep

A good night's rest is even better when you've washed off the day. Taking a shower and rinsing off the dirt, body oil, and germs from the day will help keep your sheets clean and avoid any fungal contamination.

While you're washing up, you might also consider exfoliating and moisturizing your body. Dust mites feed on dead skin cells, so getting rid of any dead cells and keeping your skin moisturized will help prevent dust mites from taking over. We shed skin all the time while we sleep, so it's important to be as clean as we can before getting into bed. Showering before you go to sleep can also have health benefits and keep your mattress and bedding cleaner.

Avoid Naps When Sweaty

Jumping into bed after the gym or a long day while nice at first can lead to dirty bedding. Even though you often sweat through the night while you sleep, you don't want to add more sweat to the mess. In the days between washing your sheets, avoid leaving all your sweat on the sheets.

Instead, opt for a quick rinse before laying down and getting some sleep!

No Snacks Allowed

If one of your go-to pastimes is eating snacks in bed, you might want to avoid doing so. Crumbs get everywhere and can make your linens dirty. You might even leave a stain or two and have to get new sheets.

Crumbs can not only leave a mess, but they can also bring bugs into your mattress. To avoid this, opt to have the snacks somewhere else.

Take Off Your Makeup

Lastly, you will want to take off your makeup before going to bed. This is especially helpful when it comes to your pillows. Even if you have a pillow protector, it's great for your skin and for your bedding when you wipe off your makeup before your head hits the pillow.

Other Types of Bedding

So now we know that cleaning sheets once a week is the way to go, it's time to think about the other types of bedding:

• pillowcases - once a week
• duvet covers - every few weeks
• comforters - every 2-3 months
• blankets - every 2-3 months
• pillows - every 4-6 months

What About Bamboo Sheets?

Bamboo sheets are a great alternative to traditional cotton fabric for a variety of reasons. Not only is bamboo bedding eco-friendly and temperature regulating, but they're also hypoallergenic and antibacterial. This means that your pillowcases and bedsheets will stay cleaner longer.

When it does come time to wash your bedsheets and pillowcases made from bamboo, you will want to let them soak before washing them in cold water on a gentle cycle. Opt-out of fabric softeners and harsh detergents when dealing with bamboo fabrics. You will also want to stay away from the hottest water on the washer and the hottest temperature on the dryer when it comes to bamboo.

The most important thing to look at is the care label when you wash sheets. The label will guide you when it comes to washing your bedding from the temperature and cycle to whether you should throw them in the dryer.