Truthfully, how often do you change your bedsheets?

[as141]

1. When you were a child?
2. As a university student (or equivalent) ?
3. Now?

Any difference between being single/ sharing a bed with a partner?

The lovely cleaner does ours so they change weekly. No idea how often we'd do it, if not for her. Probably fortnightly it left up to me and weekly if left up to DH?

a) I was a child, so never. My mother changed them weekly.
b) I was never at university. I left school and started working and looking after myself, so bedding changed weekly.
c) weekly, I'm not a skank!

Do people really change their bedding less than this? If it's dirty sooner eg night sweats, then it's changed next day regardless how long it's been on the bed. Sleeping in dirty bedding is disgusting. Have to bath/shower before bed too, can't sleep if I'm dirty.

Yes, I definitely changed my bedsheets at some point during those times. Happy days.

Somewhere between 10 days and two weeks I'd say. I don't do it on a specific day or anything.

As a child - I think my mum did them every 2-3 weeks? We always did pillows and helped with the under sheets and I don’t recall it being more frequent than that.

At uni - every 6-8 weeks? I do not drink and had no boyfriends at uni so no chance of after party vomit/someone else’s sweat getting on my bedsheets.

Now - I try every 4 weeks, it’s normally every 6. I have gone longer and not ashamed to admit it. I’m single, I don’t sweat at night (PJs stay and smell clean for 5-6 days) and I travel a lot for work so out of a month I might only sleep in my own bed for 20 nights. So I forced myself into a 4-6 weekly routine, but they really aren’t dirty by that point. I wash pillowcases every 2 weeks though, because my hair can get a bit greasy.

I only actually do fortnightly because I have a teen boy and do mine when I do his. Then when I was a university student we were in a warmer climate, I also had a young child so was acting the responsible adult. I would do monthly if it was just me.

As a child - hardly ever. My parents didn't do it and when I became responsible for my own washing quite young, I had no idea you were supposed to wash them often.
I was shocked when I went to uni. I lived in halls and we had the option of clean ones every week. I didn't always bother going to get them changed every week,
As an adult, around every 3 weeks. I don't believe in unnecessary washing and wear PJs to bed so they don't get very dirty.

@pancakes22

I'm ashamed to say it can sometimes be months!

What does it feel like getting in to bed with sheets you haven’t changed for 3/4 months and upwards? Presumably you’re clean from bathing so doesn’t that just feel like putting used knickers on?

"I wash pillowcases every 2 weeks though, because my hair can get a bit greasy."

You can also just turn your pillow around so you're head is on the other side.

Once a week. Same day each week. Only way I can keep track - otherwise I would suddenly realise it had been months...

Does the whole process not take you a few days?

No, the washer goes on at 10am and they’re don’t by 12:30. If I wash them on a quick programme then they’re done at 11. I live in a flat so they go on driers or radiators. They have until 10pm to dry, always ready way before that. When I had a garden I’d put them outside during summer and they’d be done in 3 hours max. In winter, radiators. If you have 6 people in your household then yes, it takes longer. In which case you might want to wash them in turns, not all at the same time.

As it's Mumsnet....

I boil wash my bedding every 2 hours.

I change mine every 3 - 4 days. (Waiting for reaction!)

It used to be weekly / fortnightly for most of my adult life.

But now I'm in my 40s, I'm prone to night sweats & poor sleep quality - fresh sheets helps.

Every week, without fail. I love a clean bed.

no idea, when I was a child. Over the last year or so, every two weeks, I have a schedule. Before that, when it occurred to me, probably less frequently.

@Gwenhwyfar

"I wash pillowcases every 2 weeks though, because my hair can get a bit greasy."

You can also just turn your pillow around so you're head is on the other side.

Oh I do that already

My hair can last 2 days before it starts getting greasy but once a week or so I’ll do 3 days and those are the nights that make me need to change the pillowcase!

I too don’t believe in unnecessary washing. Same with clothes - I can easily get 5-6 wears out of a pair of jeans or a bra. If they’re visibly clean and don’t smell, they don’t need washing.

Can’t remember as a child, and never did uni.

Now I do then every 2 weeks on my bed, every week and if they need doing sooner for DC.

I can't remember as a child
Was a mature student not in halls ect so the same as now.
I do it mostly weekly, usually on my Saturday morning clean. If I'm too busy I'll leave it another week but I regret not doing it all week.

Weekly, months is just totally grim

@EileenGC

Does the whole process not take you a few days?

No, the washer goes on at 10am and they’re don’t by 12:30. If I wash them on a quick programme then they’re done at 11. I live in a flat so they go on driers or radiators. They have until 10pm to dry, always ready way before that. When I had a garden I’d put them outside during summer and they’d be done in 3 hours max. In winter, radiators. If you have 6 people in your household then yes, it takes longer. In which case you might want to wash them in turns, not all at the same time.

When I washed mine at home they took at least over night to dry hanging over doors or clothes horses and they made the place look untidy so I definitely wouldn't have wanted to do it every week.

@pancakes22

I'm ashamed to say it can sometimes be months!

Ahh I've found a friend I'm a notoriously non smelly person, all my past dps and dh have commented on it. My bed generally smells of the shower gel and body butter I use and I always shower before bed. Yes, I know I sweat but my bed looks clean and certainly smells clean, so I can't be bothered to do it anymore than I do!

"Same with clothes - I can easily get 5-6 wears out of a pair of jeans or a bra. If they’re visibly clean and don’t smell, they don’t need washing."

5 or 6 wears lol. I don't think we have the same ideas about unnecessary washing :)

1. weekly
2. weekly in the first year (the cleaners did it in halls), dunno in 2nd & 3rd.
3. every 2-4 weeks depending on the weather, whether I've been sweaty, how often I'm sharing the bed, how often I have sex.

Now, once a week.

At university, in residence we got one clean sheet every week, so you swapped out the used top sheet to the bottom and used the clean one on top.

As a child, my memory says once a week.

As a child my mother did the sheets every week, without fail. Everyone's sheets. And as I'm old (!) it was in the days when my mother did them by hand, she didn't have a washing machine...

I have always changed my sheets every week ever since. At uni I did it and never even knew how often everyone else changed their sheets, it never occurred to me to think about it.
When I was married with a family, again, every week.

These days I absolutely love fresh, clean sheets. There's only me and I normally change every week but sometimes even sooner, if I feel like a fresh sheet treat. If I were rich, I'd have fresh sheets every single night!