Here’s Exactly How Often You Should Be Washing Your Sheets
Picture this: You’ve just finished what feels like the longest workday of your life—endless Zoom meetings, tons of deadlines, and one last-minute task that left you totally drained. You barely had time to eat lunch, and what's more, you accidentally burned dinner. Now that the dreaded day is finally O-V-E-R, all you want to do is jump into bed and curl up in your soft sheets. Not so fast. Depending on how often you wash your sheets, you could (and tbh, probably are) leaping into a cesspool of dead skin, mites that love to feast on said skin cells, fungus, and—believe it or not—fecal matter.
Let that sink in (um, figuratively speaking) for a sec.
Done? Even if you’ve never hopped in bed while wearing your "outside clothes," munched on a sandwich while leaning back on your fluffy pillows, or snuggled up for sweaty nap post workout, your sheets will still get grimy—and quickly.
"Skin cells coming off your body on a daily basis and settling into your sheets can breed the growth of certain bacteria and certain mites," explains Oma N. Agbai, MD, dermatologist and assistant clinical professor at the University of California Davis School of Medicine. This collection of day-to-day germs and tiny critters can up your chances of infection, especially if you’re dealing with pre-existing skin conditions, or have chronic wounds, or ulcers. It can even affect your breathing.
Cleaning your bedding regularly plays a major role in routine hygiene practices that will benefit your health. But if you don’t know often you should be washing your sheets, you might be taking risks without even knowing it.
So, now that you're grossed out, here's everything you need to know about how to keep your sleeping zone clean:
How often should you wash your sheets?
At minimum, you should clean your sheets once a week, says Philip M. Tierno, PhD, clinical professor of microbiology and pathology at New York University's Langone Medical Center.
The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) also recommends washing your sheets once a week, but the organization suggests changing your pillow cases two to three times a week, too.
Okay, but why exactly should I be washing my sheets so often?
The second—and I mean, the second—you crawl into your sheets, you’re littering them with skin cells (50 million a day!), sweat, makeup, lotions, hair, and anything else you’ve picked up throughout the day, from pollen and pet dander to fungal mold and dirt particles, says Tierno.
All that comes with a not-so-healthy dose of bacteria—sweat can carry fecal matter and E. coli—which will continue to multiply as you postpone washing your sheets.
Both dead skin cells and sweat are food for dust mites, attracting them to your bed and helping them multiply, explains Tierno. While you probably don't love the idea of cuddling up with some creepy-crawly mites (fair), the bugs themselves are generally harmless. Their poop, on the other hand... that can exacerbate allergies and asthma. Even if you don’t have allergies, it can still cause you to wake up with red eyes and a stuffy nose, he says.
"A lot of people don’t realize that they spend one-third of their life exposed to these allergens," adds Tierno. (And that's not even taking into account the days you spend binge-watching the latest Netflix show in bed.)
How about my skin? Would clean sheets = fewer pimples?
Throwing your sheets in for a wash cycle won't necessarily clear your acne, but it can have an effect on a number of skin conditions you could develop as a result of poor hygiene or might already have. Some of those conditions include eczema, wounds, and ulcers. Dry, scaly, itchy patches, or irritated flesh, are at an increased risk for infection, explains Dr. Agbai, meaning you could develop a secondary infection on top of an initial one. "That can be either a bacterial infection or a viral infection, like herpes," she adds.
Not only that, but these bacterial and fungal infections can then lead to other ailments including folliculitis, when hair follicles become inflamed, and hidradenitis suppurativa, when boils and nodules develop on the skin, which are then again prone to infection, explains Dr. Agbai.
Now, that's not to say skipping out on a wash cycle one week will guarantee you develop one of these conditions. It won't—everyone misses laundry day now and again. But, washing your sheets often enough should be up there with your day-to-day hygiene practices, says Dr. Agbai. "[The practices] should also include regular bathing, washing clothing regularly, and maintaining clean living conditions. It is unlikely that these practices will fully prevent or treat specific skin conditions, however, they are good practices to reduce the risk of infection or infestation."
Are there situations in which I should wash my sheets more often than just once a week?
For sure. "If you sweat a lot at night, you should change your sheets more often than someone who doesn’t," Emmy Graber, MD, dermatologist and President of The Dermatology Institute of Boston explains. The same, she says, goes for people who tend to drool in their sleep or wear makeup and/or heavy moisturizers to bed. And those who are dealing with disorders that cause them to scratch themselves at night might want to switch out their sheets more often too, says Dr. Agbai.
Bottom line: If you're noticing obviously soiled sheets—as in blood, large skin particles, pet dander, yellowing from sweat, or foul order—you should wash your sheets immediately. Otherwise, washing your sheets once a week should be sufficient.
After cleaning your sheets, here's how to fold them Marie Kondo-style. (You're welcome.)
How should you wash your sheets?
Luckily, you don't need to go out and buy a special detergent to clean your sheets, explains Dr. Graber. If it works for your clothes, it'll work for your bedding. But, if you are taking recs, Dr. Agbai suggests hypoallergenic detergents, such as All Free And Clear, and nixing fabric softener because of its super-strong fragrances.
"In dermatology, the main problem I see associated with sheets is not necessarily that patients are not washing their sheets frequently enough leading to significant infections, but that they're washing their sheets and clothing with detergents that are causing itching and irritation of the skin," says Dr. Agbai.
Okay, but what if I really don't have the time to wash my sheets once a week?
"For anyone who isn't able to wash their sheets as frequently because of time or economic reasons," turn your sheets inside out, suggests Dr. Agbai. She warns this isn't something that's been proven by research, but if you're really in a pinch, this might be the best you can do so that it's the freshest part of the sheet that's in contact with your skin. Then, she suggests washing them with hypoallergenic detergent at least every other week after flipping them.
But, even if you wash your sheets once a week, your bed could still be kinda nasty.
Here's why: Over time, gravity takes over, helping these particles and bacteria to seep into your mattress and pillows, says Tierno.
You might be thinking the only solution is to dump your mattress and pillows, but there's a way easier—and cheaper—way to prevent bacteria from accumulating. Tierno recommends buying mattress and pillow covers that are "impermeable" and encase the entire mattress (rather than just cover the top of it). You'll want to wash these every few months to get rid of any buildup.
And, if nothing else, cleaning your sheets every week will help you feel like you have your sh*t together (instead of in your bed).
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