How Often Should You Wash Your Bedding?

There’s no better feeling than getting all tucked up in a crisp, freshly made bed. No really... there’s not. A survey commissioned by the healthcare group Bupa has found that for 62% of us, there’s nothing better than sleeping in a freshly made bed.

However, the results obtained from a recent YouGov poll has found that almost a third of us leave our bedding on for more than 3 weeks between washes. Not only that, but almost a third of us don’t actually consider our bedding to be ‘unhygienic’ until it’s been on for at least 3 weeks!

In this guide we discuss how often bed linen should be washed and take a look at some of the possible consequences of leaving your bedding too long between washes.

How often should you wash your bedding?

You should wash your bedding once every week generally. If you shower before bed and you sleep in pyjamas, you can get away with once every two weeks. That's according to

Chartered Environmental Health Practitioner Dr Lisa Ackerley. Research also suggests that we should make sure we’re washing our duvet inners and pillows every 6 months too, as dust mites, sweat and bacteria can build up in these overtime.

Does it really matter if I don’t wash my bedding regularly?

According to Dr Ackerley, dangerous bacteria and fungi can grow in our beds, which - if left unwashed - can cause us to unknowingly pick up nasty viruses and even infections from our bedding while we sleep.

Other than the risk of illness, there are a range of other problems that can be associated with leaving bedding on for too long between washes. One of which is dust mites. The average person sheds a whopping 454 grams of dead skin in bed each year. Dust mites love to feed on these dead skin cells, meaning that the less we wash our bed sheets, the more likely we’ll be to be joined by these little pests during the night.

The average person spends around a third of their lifetime in bed, so taking the time to do that dreaded bedding wash is really worthwhile, even if it does feel like a chore!

If you’re also wondering how long you should keep your bedding before throwing it out, head to our blog post on ‘How Long Should Bedding Last’ to find out more.