In this article:

• How the quality of your sleep is impacted by the cleanliness of your sheets

• What makes bed sheets dirty?

• How to clean your bed sheets

• How often should you wash bed sheets

• What’s going to happen if you don’t wash your sheets

Think about it - we spend almost a third of our lives in bed, tucked under the soft embrace of our sheets. Yet, how often do we truly show them the TLC they deserve? It's time to delve into the world of bed hygiene and discover the importance of regularly cleaning your bed sheets.

The average adult sheds about 500 million skin cells per day. Combine this with sweat, oils, and other bodily secretions, and you have a breeding ground for bacteria and allergens - all nestled in your sheets. Not the most pleasant thought, is it?

Maintaining a regular cleaning schedule for your bed sheets is not just about cleanliness; it's about your health and well-being too. Your sleep is one of the most important activities you do every day; it is as important as eating, drinking, and breathing, and it is a main activity that cannot be overlooked. The quality of your sleep has an impact on the quality of your life, so if you want to enjoy healthy and refreshing moments then it’s important to take care of the quality of your sleep.

The quality of your sleep is impacted by many factors. We are going to discuss only one of them in this article, which is the cleanliness of your sheets.

Dirty sheets diminish sleep quality

Sleeping on dirty sheets can actually ruin your sleeping time, because sweat and dirt can block airflow through your bedding, causing your body temperature to raise and making you sweat even more.

When you are too warm you will probably find it hard to sleep smoothly and your sleep will be interrupted. This lowers your quality of sleep and consequently, will negatively impact your quality of life.

What Makes Bed Sheets Dirty?

Bed sheets become dirty because of two main factors: body fluids (namely, sweat & body oils) and dust.

Your body stays in contact with bed sheets for very long periods of time; all its production of sweat and oil goes directly to your bed sheets. As a result, your bed sheets get soaked with these fluids, which mixes with the dust and dirt that the bed sheets collect over time.

Bed sheets collect dust and dirt over time because these allergens flow freely in the air and gather on the sheets. So when both of these substances mix together, they result in blocking the airflow through the bed sheets, leading to warmer and lower-quality sleep.

How to Clean Your Bed Sheets the Proper Way

The first step you need to follow in order to wash your bed sheets properly is to read the care labels, check if there are any special care instructions you need to follow and if it is okay to home wash them. Most sheets can be safely washed at home. Additionally, remember to clean your wood bed frames too to maintain a hygienic sleep environment.

Wash the sheets on the highest temperature possible. Washing in hot water ensures that the sheets are as clean as they can be and kills germs and dust mites, so you can sleep peacefully at night. Use a gentle detergent, preferably one that is free of harsh chemicals and additives. Avoid overloading the washing machine to allow the sheets to be thoroughly cleaned.

Make sure to separate your sheets by color because dark colors could bleed onto lighter colors and ruin them.

Be sure to dry your sheets completely to prevent mold and mildew growth. If it’s possible, hang-dry the sheets outside so they can get exposed to the sun. The sun has lots of benefits: it can kill germs and make old white sheets that have became yellow, white again.

Finally, ironing your sheets enables you to kill any remaining germs on them.

Pro tip: If you’ve just bought your bed sheets, you might want to wash them before using them to remove chemicals and manufacturing odors.

How Often Should You Wash Bed Sheets

In general, if you have no specific skin issues or allergies and you don’t sweat much, you should be washing your sheets at least once every two weeks.

If you don’t use a top sheet, you should wash your sheets at least once a week, according to many MDs.

This might seem too often for you if you are currently washing them once every a couple of months. However, it’s important to wash them more frequently because there’s a creature called a dust mite that cannot be seen with the human eye but is going to share the bed with you in increasing numbers if you don’t wash your bed sheets frequently.

Washing your bed sheets every two weeks on the appropriate settings will ensure that the population of these microscopic insects is kept to a minimum and your sheets are truly clean, allowing you to sleep with no worries.

What’s Happens When You Don’t Wash Your Bed Sheets

If you don’t wash your bed sheets, two things are generally going to happen: airflow through your bed sheets is going to be blocked, and bacteria and dust mites are going to multiply and share the bed with you.

When germs find their way to your bed sheets you will be at a higher risk of health problems than the complications that can result from airflow blocking your bed sheets. In fact, you’ll be at risk of developing skin issues and allergies. In other words, sleeping on sheets that have remained unwashed for weeks and months is not just a matter of sleeping warmer and more uncomfortably, but a matter of how your skin is going to look. Aside from the discomfort, there’s the issue of the impact on you at a psychological level.

It might seem a minor thing to wash your bed sheets, but it can have a significant impact on your sleep, your life, and your look.

About the Author:

Karim Mohamed is the founder of BedsIsland.com. Sleep is a very important subject; it affects our lives in every way possible. That’s why we must care about it so much and that’s why I have founded this blog, to help you enjoy better nights of sleep and live better lives.