Skip to main content

Dirty in bed: Why you need to wash your sheets right now

Sheets are like the jeans of your bed. People feel they can use them over and over without cleaning them; that fine layer of accumulation is just making them more comfortable, right? Not really. There are all sorts of microscopic reasons to throw your sheets in the machine — way, way more often than every three or four months. And sorry, freezing your bedding won’t work any better than it does with jeans.

Recommended Videos

“People should wash their sheets at least once a week, more frequently if they are sick or if they are caring for children, pregnant women, or [the] elderly,” Robin Bechanko, Senior Microbiologist at NSF International, tells Digital Trends. A recent video titled “10 Disgusting Things That Live in Your Bed” highlighted a few reasons why you should be sanitizing your sheets: bed bugs, dust mites, mold. While you can put away the garlic-and-bile mix, as it’s unlikely you have MRSA in your bedroom, the mites are pretty ubiquitous. And that doesn’t even take into account the dead skin, drool, sweat, and pet dander that’s also coalescing in your linens.

Related: Clean your microwave in minutes with this simple, chemical-free technique

To help de-germ your sheets, you should be washing them on the machine’s “hot” cycle. According the NSF’s certification protocols for allergen reduction, the washer’s water temperature has to reach 131 degrees Fahrenheit (55 degrees Celsius) for at least three minutes during the sanitation cycle. That’s just too hot for the dust mites, which are a trigger for many people’s allergies. It’s not just those critters that die off in the hot water, though. “Certification means that NSF scientists have tested the sanitization cycle to ensure they effectively reduce harmful bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa that can potentially build up in bed sheets if they go unwashed for a long period of time,” says Bechanko. Blasting your bedclothes with the highest setting in the dryer also lowers the germ count a bit.

Of course, you should make sure your sheets can withstand the heat by checking the care instructions on the label. If you’re worried about wear and tear, it might be time to invest in another set, so you don’t have to wash them as frequently. Remember that your sheets aren’t a visible force field either, so some of the gunk from your sheets is making its way to your mattress and pillows. Get some covers for them; those you don’t have to wash as often, but aim for something more like quarterly, as opposed to annually.

Also consider what you’re putting into the machine. Color-safe bleach doesn’t have the same disinfecting properties as regular bleach, unfortunately. To kill any bacteria that are hanging around the washer, you can run a cycle without any clothes but with bleach.

So, go home and do a load of laundry tonight. And maybe throw those jeans in, too.

In addition, check out our list of the best laundry sanitizers.

Jenny McGrath
Former Senior Writer, Home
Jenny McGrath is a senior writer at Digital Trends covering the intersection of tech and the arts and the environment. Before…
Topics
Aiper robotic pool cleaners and bundles on sale for Prime Day — up to $750 off
The Aiper Scuba X1 Pro Max cordless robotic pool cleaner at the side of a swimming pool.

Keeping your swimming pool clean is tough work, but you can say goodbye to manual cleaning by taking advantage of Aiper's discounts on its robotic pool cleaners for Prime Day. Up to $800 in savings are up for grabs, and you'll get an additional 5% off these lowered prices by using the code DGTRENDS5OFF during the checkout process. We're going to say it — these Prime Day deals on Aiper robotic pool cleaners are simply amazing.

These offers are scheduled to last until Prime Day ends, but you shouldn't wait until the final minutes of the shopping holiday before you finalize your purchase. That's because there's no assurance that these Aiper robotic pool cleaners and the bundles featuring them will still be available by then. If any of these bargains catch your eye, we highly recommend proceeding with your transaction immediately to make sure that you pocket the savings — just don't forget that checkout code for the extra 5% discount!

Read more
Tineco carpet cleaner at lowest-ever price for Prime Day — here’s how to save more
A man using the Tineco Carpet One Cruiser Smart Carpet Cleaner.

Not all vacuum deals will be able to provide in-depth cleaning for your carpet. You're going to need something more specialized, and we highly recommend the Tineco Carpet One Cruiser. From its original price of $699, it's available from Amazon's Prime Day for its lowest-ever price of $489, but you can get an additional 5% off with the checkout code TIN25PDPR. That means you'll only have to pay $465 for this smart carpet cleaner, for total savings of $234, but you'll need to act fast as we're not sure if the stocks that are up for sale will last until the final minutes of the shopping holiday.

BUY NOW

Read more
Tineco vacuum nearly $300 off for Prime Day — use this code for extra savings
The Tineco Floor One Stretch S6 cordless vacuum cleaner cleaning a spill.

In one of the most attractive vacuum deals that you can shop for Prime Day, Amazon has slashed the Tineco Floor One Stretch S6 to its lowest-ever price of $319 from its sticker price of $599. However, we've got a code for you to be able to get the cordless wet-dry vacuum cleaner with an extra 5% off — just enter TIN25PDPR during the checkout process so that you'll only have to pay $303, for total savings of $296. That's an excellent offer that you wouldn't want to miss, and you better hurry if you want to take advantage of it as it may not remain available until the end of the shopping holiday.

$303 at Amazon

Read more