Occasionally something at the Yahoo home page will catch my eye and I’ll click on it. Today, there were two reports on the subject of how often do you clean bed linens and towels. Do you remember when we used to have chores assigned to days? Monday was wash day, I think. Now, it seems as though EVERY day is wash day!
I usually wash sheets and pillowcases once or twice a week. If it’s been very warm, and we have perspired while sleeping, I might change them more frequently. And, if I have had to use ointment on my fingers, I’ll change the bedding more often, so that it doesn’t have a chance to set into the fibers. Apparently, I’m doing fine with the sheets, but I should be washing the mattress pad every two to four weeks, and I probably do it four times a year.
I very rarely wash the quilts on my bed. Quilts were not mentioned specifically, but comforters should be washed monthly, and duvets should be washed weekly. If you share your bed with a pet, you want to wash the bedding frequently to remove pet dander and dead skin cells. Be sure to dry the bedding thoroughly so that you don’t create a habitat for mold spores to thrive.
Pillows should be washed every six months. If you wash a down pillow, dry it with a couple of clean tennis balls to fluff the feathers. A zippered cover for a pillow should be washed weekly.
This is the season of flu and colds, and attending to the laundry more frequently is one step you can take to preserve your health.
As for towels, the article recommended that you have FOUR SETS of towels per person in the house, and that it’s a good idea to color code them so that they are not shared. The reason for four — one in the hamper, one on the towel bar, one in the wash, and a spare. Wash cloths are especially risky breeding grounds for germs, so it’s important that they not be used by more than one person. When you’ve used a towel, spread it out on the towel bar, to help it to dry out.
We have two towels in three shades of green, and two towels in shades of pink to rose. We never share a used bath towel, but I don’t assign one color to Dear Husband and one to me. Actually, we do share one towel. I have one that hangs in the sink area, and we tend to dry hands on that towel. I might need to rethink that this winter. I have to admit I tend to fold my towel neatly, and DH slings his over his towel bar. All this time I’ve been ticked that he doesn’t fold it, and he’s been doing the right thing. I don’t think I’ll tell him about all this…..
Arrrgh!!!
It's just my state of mind!
I do towels and whites on Mondays and bed linens on Wednesdays. Mattress pads get done about every other month and blankets probably 4 times a year.
We have 2 sets of towels per person – one for use and one ready to use (we don’t share towels). I’ve never seen any use to change towels ever day. Plus, since I don’t have a dryer, I would never get that many towels dry (can’t hang them out in summer becuase of WS’s allergies and many days in summer it is so humid that it is a miracle that anything dries).
For some this system may not work for some, but I haven’t been sick in so long I don’t remember when the last time was. WS’s main issue is allergies – he rarely gets sick either.
OMG! This is hilarious reading. The “advice” must have been ginned up by P&G or some other maker of laundry products. If two people are sharing a house and/or a bed, they are so much apt to catch “things” from one another in venues other than the bed; but if something is transmitted in bed, it probably is not using the bedding as a medium. HH and I do not share a bed or a bath and I see no reason to change sheets more than once/week. Pillow cases, I like to change off in mid-week; but, to do that, I just exchange pillows that are on my bed. The same goes for HH’s bedding. Oh! I don’t keep blankets or quilts on my own bed or I would smother to death! I assure that HH’s are washed every few weeks.
As to towels: when I use a towel to dry upon, I am clean in whatever part of me that touches the towel. Since no one uses my towels but me, I am happy if they are changed every 7-10 days. I keep two washcloths out, and alternate use of them so that each has a chance to dry out between uses. I may change out one or both washcloths whenever I feel like it, between towel washings. The only towels I really worry about are guest towels and kitchen towels. Those get changed out upon use/possible use (guest towels) or every couple of days (or as required, if sooner) in the case of kitchen towels.
I find it hilarious that “they” should recommend such frequent washing for several reasons, including the strain on the supply of fresh water.
Just call me a dirty cop car! *giggling*
“Dirty Cop Car,” huh???
I never used to be able to guess how you’d respond to a post like this, but I’m getting better at it. I was pretty sure that you’d have a response like this. It’s not the issue of dirt on bed linens as much as it is allergens, especially when we close up our houses. I think the attitude about wet wash cloths was due to the possibility of creating a happy home for mold spores. Your bathroom and mine, are probably too dry for that to be an issue.
Yeah…..I think most of their ideas are overkill, but a little prevention couldn’t hurt.