What happens when you don't wash your bed sheets in a week

 What happens when you don't wash your bed sheets in a week

Face it: you're terribly lazy to change your bedding. A habit that you will now internalize after reading everything that can happen to it when it is not clean

One of the things you like least in life is changing the sheets . You usually do it on Sundays, when you are serious about sprucing up your house. However, some weekend you happen to change them. "I just don't have the washing machine full enough", "I don't have time", "they're not dirty" or "I'm lazy" are usually your powerful reasons for sleeping seven more days on the same surface.

- What happens when you don't wash your bed sheets in a week and Bed Sheets Product

Well, friend, we have to tell you that you make a big mistake . When you sleep, bedding comes into contact with your body, filtering your body fluids into each layer of the fabric. These fluids include sweat and other much more unpleasant substances, as Mary Marlowe Leverette , an expert on the subject, details in ' About' .

"It is common to find saliva, urine , genital fluids and even fecal matter between the sheets . The absence of cleaning allows these substances to seep into pillows and mattresses, and these are much more difficult to clean," he says.

Your body comes into contact with bedding, leaking bodily fluids such as sweat, saliva, urine, genital fluids, and even fecal matter.

"Your skin cells, dust mites and microscopic insects" also seep into your sheets, says Leverette, who points out that millions of these bugs "live in your bed, eat your dead skin and can cause respiratory problems such as asthma and allergies. " . In addition, you run the risk of infecting small wounds or scratches that you have on your body.

New York Medical University microbiologist and pathologist Philip Tierno , author of 'The Secret Life of Germs. Observations and Lessons from a Microbe Hunter '(Atria Books), follows Leverette's line: "Human skin is food for dust mites", he recalled in a report published in' The Wall Street Journal '. "A person can perspire a liter of sweat in one night , even more if you sleep under a lot of sheets ”.

Solution: wash the sheets in hot water

The ideal for proper hygiene is to wash the bedding once a week with hot water, something essential to "maintain a clean and healthy space, help prevent allergies and maintain good body hygiene ." If you live in a city with a very hot climate, the expert warns, it is best to do more frequent washing, because it increases your night perspiration. The microbiologist, for his part, also recommends washing the sheets once a week at a temperature between 55 and 65 degrees , and then drying them with a hot water program. We should also pay attention to the mattress and pillows . Here is a short summary:

• Sheets: once a week

Many families change the sheets every two weeks, some even every month, a time that is clearly excessive. Ideally, change the sheets every week and wash them at least 60 degrees, to effectively kill bacteria . It is also advisable to dry them in the open, since sunlight is the most effective in eliminating microorganisms.

• Pillows: every three months

After two years, 10% of the weight of a pillow that has not passed through the washing machine corresponds to dead mites or their droppings. It sucks, right? Unfortunately, it is not the only dirt that accumulates on our pillow: if we have not washed it, up to a third corresponds to mites, bacteria, dead skin and up to 16 species of fungi . Pillows should be washed every three months. The feathers you have to take to the dry cleaner, but if they are synthetic you can put them without fear in the washing machine, at 60 degrees you will kill all the bacteria. It is also very important to dry them well, otherwise mold will appear. Centrifuge the pillows well (if your washing machine is not any wonder, do it twice) and hang them in the sun.

• Mattress: every six months

Like sheets and pillows, the mattress accumulates dust, bacteria and mold that can lead to infections and allergic reactions of all kinds. To thoroughly wash a mattress, you have to take it to the dry cleaner, but it is not necessary to bundle so much. It is enough to vacuum the mattress and air it well every half year. If it has any stains, rub the surface with a cloth dampened in cold water and upholstery soap. Again, it is very important that you dry it well after the operation.

• Pajamas: every other day

The eternal doubt about when we should wash pajamas has even starred in a joke book , but we should not take the matter as a joke. Especially in summer, we sweat a lot, so we would do well to put our pajamas in the washing machine every other night, as we would any other garment. But we don't.