AIBU about changing my sheets?

[CarmineRose1978]

I had a conversation at work this week with a few of my colleagues about how often we change out bedding. I and several of my friends say they should be changed once a week, once a fortnight at least. But a couple of my younger colleagues (I'm talking 28, so not teenagers!) said they change theirs every couple of months to every four or five months. Ditto their towels because "they are clean when they get out of the shower". Were we unreasonable to a) practically boak and b) tell them they're old enough to know better, in no uncertain terms? Should we have held our peace instead of hoiking our judgey pants sky high?

LovelyBoots - bacterial infections such as folliculitis then there are some STDs and if you had the misfortune to catch it, scabies can all be spread by sharing towels. Towels are often warm and damp after use - perfect bacteria breeding conditions - commonsense not to share them when you think about it.

whatthe Really I'm objecting to you saying that I'm BU and unprofessional to talk about them on here - if you think I'm BU to have said anything to them at the time, that's entirely your prerogative.

But you do keep "banging on" about me being unprofessional by talking about it on MN, which I think is frankly ridiculous. And your tone has been so unnecessarily rude that I can only conclude you're being defensive.

I change my bedding every week and wash towels every couple of uses.

And for those environmentally friendly people, I don't drive, I walk to work, we grow a significant proportion of our own fruit and veg, we don't go abroad and we buy local where possible.

Before I got together with my DH he used to go months without changing his sheets or his towels. Now he will voluntarily change the bed if he notices I haven't had time because he loves fresh bedding etc. as much as me now

Apparently when he was a child his brother (aged about 7 I believe) slept in the same sheets for so long he wore holes through them before his mother thought to change them.

How is it unprofessional to talk about colleagues in this context on MN? Who cares?

wowfudge, I'm worried about neither foculitis nor STDs. But, we don't share towels in any case.

OnIlkley, apparently it was more full scale artwork than little doodles in the corner of the page. Our management isn't very strict in general, so it must have stood out as particularly egregious.

Crikey - I wash my bedding at least twice a week! Sometimes, in the hot weather, I wash the sheets and duvet covers more often. I love to get into a fresh bed as often as possible - now I'm thinking that I might do it too often!

Every 2/3 weeks or after sex... Whichever happens first (!) I really want the person who posted on a previous thread saying that they were ok sleeping with rat poo in their sheets to come on this thread now. I'm pretty unjudgy on this stuff (was a proper scuzzy student and never did me any harm) but that post was a good test

I forgot to mention I have a skin condition which is exacerbated by dirty bedding. If I don't have chance to change them and it gets to 2 weeks then by the end of the two weeks I am in agony. I would give up a lot of things before I would give up washing my bedding every week

I really want the person who posted on a previous thread saying that they were ok sleeping with rat poo in their sheets to come on this thread now
[faint]

Saltedcaramel... rat poo? What what? Were they pet rats or wild ones?

whatthe Really I'm objecting to you saying that I'm BU and unprofessional to talk about them on here - if you think I'm BU to have said anything to them at the time, that's entirely your prerogative.

If you had read last post, you would know that was entirely my point. It was unprofessional and more importantly not conducive to good working relationships to 'tell them they were old enough to know better in no uncertain terms'.

We share towels.

In 15 years of doing so I have never caught scabies, STD's (STD'S from towels??? ) or any other bacterial infection.

My son had an eye infection last week, the first one in years. He knew not to touch his face with the towel and no one else got it.

The only time I use my own towel for down below is when I have thrush.

I have never heard of anyone catching an STD from a towel. Except maybe crabs.

That might have been the point of your last post, but it certainly wasn't the entire point of your first posts. But backtrack all you want.

U2 - scabies is a parasite, not a bacterial infection. It burrows under the skin. A friend of mine caught scabies in a student house share many years ago. It is easily treatable but all fabrics have to boil washed and upholstery and carpets cleaned to be sure of getting rid of it. You may not have caught infections from towels, but it's a risk I am happy to eliminate by not sharing them.

I don't understand your comments to me LovelyBoots - you asked what could be spread by sharing towels and I gave the information. You don't share towels as you already stated. You are not worried about catching infections - good for you!

Wow - scabies is much more likely to be transferred by skin to skin contact...can be transferred through clothing/towels etc but much more difficult.
So to be safe I would suggest you don't hug your children or partner - or at least avoid any skin contact ...maybe gloves and a protective suit just in case...
We share towels, don't wash them every day and again had no problems...youngest had conjuctivitis at about 18 months? (typical rubbing snotty nose into eyes stage) - no one in family got it ...etc etc etc
There are germs and parasites all around us ...most (in this country at least) don't actually do us much harm...in fact some are probably good for us...

Have just seen the forecast for this afternoon hot and sunny 27 degrees with gale force winds.

Let me know if you want me to do your sheets

Bedding at least once a week and towels after every use.

I do at least 1 wash a day (I have a dirt magnet DS) summer and winter, but in the summer it's more likely 2/3 washes a day :-/

Sharing towels. I dunno. I'm pretty liberal but I won't be sharing a towel with my husband any time soon. He Is about 18 stone of MAN.

ObfusKate I can only use Fairy washing powder or I get contact dermatitis from freshly washed bedding, so I'm certainly not going to judge anyone who has a medical reason not to change their sheets every week. Changing them once since Christmas because you (a general you, not you, Kate!) can't be arsed, then I'll judge.

Update: my colleague announced today that she had changed her sheets and they felt lovely!

Sheets are a week to a fortnight. Towels are every other day really. I'm lazy and bung everything in the wash. I do about three loads a day too

gamer I use public transport and walk. Start washing your towels every other day.

Kate I once stayed in a very posh hotel in Georgetown, Washington DC, where they changed the sheets every day and I ended up with rough reddened skin for literally weeks afterwards - no amount of moisturiser helped. Itchy itchy itchy.

Now I take a pillowcase with me when I travel, so that if it happens again, at least my face is protected!