Washing your sheets once a week can help keep your sleeping environment clean. Dirt, body oils, sweat, and dead skin cells accumulate on your bedding as you sleep. Bacteria, fungi, and dust mites can also build up and affect your health.
Researchers haven’t determined an exact frequency for washing your sheets. Still, because bedding gets dirty so quickly, it’s a good idea to wash your bed sheets every week. At most, you should wash your sheets every two weeks.
You lose about nearly 1/2 teaspoon (1.5 grams) of dead skin cells every day—and a lot of that is left in your bed. Microscopic organisms called dust mites like to snack on dead skin cells. These dust mites will multiply in your bedding and can worsen allergies and asthma.
Dirt and moisture from sweat, oils, and other bodily fluids on your sheets can also create the perfect environment for bacteria and fungi to grow.
Pillowcases also collect buildup from hair products, acne-causing bacteria, and facial oils. If you use a lot of hair products or have sensitive, acne-prone skin, consider changing your pillowcases about twice a week, or flip your pillow to the other side halfway through the week.
Duvet covers and comforters may only need to be washed about once a month, as they don’t directly collect the majority of dirt, oils, and skin cells.
You may need to change your sheets more often due to the following lifestyle and health factors:
- Allergies: Washing your sheets weekly can help remove dust mites that cause allergy symptoms.
- Illness: Viruses and bacteria can linger on sheets for days or weeks. You should change your sheets immediately after recovery or as soon as you’ve soiled the bed with bodily fluids.
- Skin infections: Contagious fungal infections, such as ringworm, and bacterial infections, like impetigo, can linger on fabric. If you have a skin infection, change your sheets more frequently to reduce the spread of germs.
- Night sweats: If you regularly sweat while you sleep, try changing your sheets every few days to prevent bacteria buildup that thrives in excess moisture.
- Sleeping naked: You may want to change your sheets more often if you sleep naked. Being nude transfers more bodily fluids and illness-causing bacteria like E.coli to your sheets.
- Pets: Animals add dander, hair, and dirt into your sheets that may require a weekly or bi-weekly wash to ward off dust mites, grime, and bacteria.
- Skincare and cosmetics: Regularly applying body oils, heavy lotions, or hair products can soak into your sheets, creating a buildup that needs to be washed at least weekly.
If you avoid washing your sheets, you risk turning your bed into an environment full of bacteria, fungi, and dust mites. This can lead to hygiene and health issues like:
- Allergy symptoms: Dust mites can trigger asthma and cause allergy symptoms like sneezing, itching, and coughing.
- Bacterial skin infections: Bacteria, like Staphylococcus aureus, thrive in warm, moist environments like dirty bed sheets. This can lead to skin infections like folliculitis, impetigo, and cellulitis.
- Acne and skin irritation: Dirt, oils, hair care products, and bacteria on dirty sheets can clog pores, leading to acne and rashes. Buildup and dust mites can also worsen sensitive skin conditions like eczema.
- Fungal infections: A mold called Aspergillus can grow on sheets. Aspergillus is life-threatening to people with a weakened immune system.
- Smelly, stained sheets: Bacteria, sweat, body oils, and dirt that accumulate on sheets can make them odorous and yellowed.
