Most of us certainly use our own bedding for much longer than is good. After all, we sleep in it every night. However, a lot of dirt, skin flakes and body fluids collect in sheets, pillows, etc. over time.
Especially at temperatures like the ones we are currently experiencing. The answer to the question of how often you should change your bed linen is therefore particularly important.
How often do we change our bed linen?
According to a GfK survey commissioned by the online retailer Galaxus, four out of ten German citizens only manage to change and wash their bed linen irregularly or rarely.
About 33 percent do this about once a month. A full six percent of those surveyed even wait two to three months before picking up fresh bedding. At one percent it takes even longer.
On the positive side, this compares to 41 percent who use new covers and sheets every two weeks. About 18 percent do this weekly. Just over one percent even change their bed every day.
A total of 1,500 people between the ages of 16 and 74 were surveyed. The sample was stated to be representative of the population in Germany.
Doctors advise: Wash your bed linen every seven days
But what is the official recommendation? A kind of golden rule is to change the textiles every two weeks. But if science is anything to go by, that’s not enough. Doctors recommend changing and washing bed linen once a week.
The dermatologist and germ expert Dr. Annie Gonzalez, for example, thinks it makes perfect sense Sheets, duvets and pillowcases must be removed every seven days and put it in the washing machine to remove all the dirt it contains as best as possible.
Dr. Philip Tierno, a microbiologist at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, goes even further and does this routine depends on whether there is a mattress cover is available.
If there is no additional barrier between the sheet and the mattress, he believes the weekly routine is essential. In such cases, the mattress accumulates more fluids, fats and dandruff due to unhindered leakage. A cover prevents this and allows the bed linen to only be changed and cleaned every two weeks.
The German Textile Cleaning Association also recommends thoroughly wet cleaning bedding such as blankets and pillows, ideally once or twice a year if possible. Of course, things are significantly different when it comes to sheets and covers. But here too the recommendations differ.
In addition to fat, sweat and mites, everything that accumulates in the bed
It quickly becomes clear that you should clean covers, sheets, etc. regularly when you consider what accumulates in your sleeping area over time.
Within a year, a person loses around 180 liters of liquid that is deposited in the bed and therefore also the bed linen .
Join in Fats and skin flakes from which in turn Mites can eat excellently. Not only do they live in your bedroom, but they also leave their own mess behind. Up to 10,000 of the arachnids can cavort in a dirty bed.
Duvets and pillows are perfect for fungus and bacteria
In addition to house dust mites, other parasites can also be found in your bed. Moisture and warmth create a perfect climate for Bacteria and fungi .
According to a study, researchers at the University Hospital of South Manchester found that feather pillows and synthetic pillows in particular are responsible for the rapid spread. After 1.5 years, an average of four fungal species were already living in the bed linen, and after 20 years there were around 17 species of fungi.
How often to change bed linen? Who should be particularly careful?
This is particularly important for health in the case of small children, sick and elderly people dangerous, as the German Textile Cleaning Association explains.
A house dust allergy can be the result, which becomes noticeable with sneezing and a skin rash. But immunocompromised people and people with respiratory diseases such as asthma can also develop health problems after long-term contact.
Regular cleaning is also recommended for others special groups of people , because they leave more residue than others. These include people:
with skin problems such as rashes or acne with excessive salivation when sleeping taking animals to bed with them not showering before sleeping sleeping naked eating in bed sweating profusely having asthma or allergies smoking a lot
There are three mistakes you can make when washing bed linen
Aside from cleaning your bedding more often, there are also general things you can pay attention to. For example, the following mistakes you might make.
Wash bed linen too hot : It is a fallacy that you have to wash bed linen at at least 60 degrees to kill all germs. Modern washing machines can do this at lower temperatures.
The wrong detergent : Not all bed linen needs the same detergent. For white textiles, for example, we recommend using a heavy-duty detergent to avoid a gray haze. Colorful or patterned fabrics would fade, which is why a colored detergent is a better choice.
Do not use fabric softener : It is important to avoid using fabric softeners, especially for the absorbency of your bed linen. This sticks together sensitive fibers, but it is also not recommended for cotton.
Wash bed linen correctly: What you should pay attention to
Before you start the actual washing process, you can prepare your textiles a little in advance. This ensures good but gentle results.
Manufacturers recommend, for example, bed linen always inside out when washing to rotate. The inside then looks outwards. You should also close the zippers on the covers. In addition, it applies to bed linen and sheets only with similar colors to wash.
All of these precautions are intended to prevent damage to the fabric or abrasion of the printed motif, while at the same time preserving the vibrancy of the colors.
To clean your bed linen thoroughly afterwards, this is enough Temperatures of up to 60 degrees . These are particularly recommended for allergy sufferers because they kill house dust mites in the best possible way. However, this requires more than 30 minutes at 60 degrees.
Optimal temperatures depending on the degree of contamination
Wash bed linen at 30 degrees : Not recommended for hygiene reasons. Bacteria and germs can then even multiply. However, if the bed linen is made of microfiber or printed, 30 degrees is often necessary to avoid color loss.
Wash bed linen at 40 degrees : If the contamination is light to normal, 40 degrees is optimal and sufficient.
Wash bed linen at 60 degrees : In order to really give germs and bacteria no chance, 60 degrees is good. When purchasing, it is best to make sure that these temperatures do not cause damage.
Wash bed linen at 90 degrees : If the textiles are not dyed or made of linen, they can also be easily cleaned at 90 degrees. However, this is not necessary because 60 degrees is already sufficient for hygienic cleanliness.
Different textiles also have different care requirements. For example, there are the following basic rules for the washing routine that concern cotton etc.
Temperatures and detergents depending on the type of textile
Cotton : 60 degrees Celsius and color detergent; White cotton bed linen can also be washed at 95 degrees Celsius
Microfiber : 60 degrees Celsius and special detergent for microfiber or mild detergent
Linen : 40 degrees Celsius with mild detergent; in the gentle program or with a low number of revolutions
Satin : 40 degrees Celsius with mild or heavy-duty detergent
silk : maximum 30 degrees Celsius with mild detergent or silk detergent
Tipp : Always pay attention to the care instructions for sheets etc. before washing. You can also add appropriate disinfectant detergent for germ-free washing.
By Dana Neumann
Sources: Textilreinigungs-Verband eV, Stern, The Healthy, ResearchGate/University Hospital of South Manchester