To think it’s unhygienic to change bedding every six weeks?

[Lycidas]

Had this discussion with SiL. She insists we can do it fortnightly because we only have one DC (they have three), and it’s too much effort to do it more often with so many beds to change. Pillowcases do get changed weekly. She’s obsessive about cleanliness in most other domestic areas so it’s quite surprising to me...

I must live in another, really disgusting, world as I can’t see the problem with this.

I think I must live there too.

I have three kids so four beds to do and they are charged every week plus extra if needed. I'm not sure why six days would be too soon or eight too long but weekly is just what I do.

Whenever these ridiculous conversations come up I am reminded me of life perhaps 60 years ago together with the fact we are becoming sicker - and possibly living shorter lives - because we are too bloody clean

weekly change here every saturday morning! Anything longer makes me feel dirty

Every six weeks - bleurgh! That is way too long.

I don't really see a problem with this, but then I seem to have lower standards than most on MN. Nobody has complained that any of us smell, so I'm not that bothered.

Can't believe there are people who sleep in the same sheets for 6 weeks Weekly here .

I change mine most weeks, sometimes every two weeks.

When I was a student though I was very different.

I don't recall being a particularly smelly person as a student. Don't think it makes much difference to be honest.

I don't give a shit about how often other people change their sheets. I'd suggest you do the same.

This.

But posters love to pile on and call other people disgusting. I guess it makes them feel superior.

I had 3 children so 4 beds in the house and a bed was stripped and washed every day. I could not lie in sheets that hadn't been washed for weeks

We also have a flat sheet under the duvet cover, sheets and pillowcases washed every week or two and duvet cover every 6-8 weeks, sometimes more often in summer when they hang on the line.

*I must live in another, really disgusting, world as I can’t see the problem with this.

I think I must live there too*

I'm in that world with you. And people are rarely ill in this family because we're not obsessively clean about stuff.

But posters love to pile on and call other people disgusting. I guess it makes them feel superior.

Superior, no. Cleaner, yes

I definitely don’t have a problem with this, it’s probably the same in our house. No one gets sick and no one smells. If you want to do it more frequently then crack on but don’t spare a second worrying about those of us who manage perfectly well doing it way less frequently.

If your children sleep in pyjamas, are they allowed downstairs in them? Do they sit or lie on the sofa in them? How do you wash your sofa covers?

My sofa is wipeable material. Yes I wipe it down weekly with hot soapy water.

We have six children. Bedding is washed whoever there is a gap in laundry! The call goes out and whoever gets their bedding down first washes it-it's like a utility room version of The Hunger Games. No idea how often they're washed, nobody has suffered ill consequences 🤷‍♀️

Cleaner, yes

This obsession with being ‘cleaner’ has tipped over into more detrimental health outcomes, not fewer.

Weekly here. Fortnightly would probably be okay in my book too but every 6 weeks? 🤢

It’s grim but you know when you walk past someone and they have that grimy bacon-y smell? They have no idea they smell that grim 🤢

I’d have a tenner on them not changing sheets, washing etc.

I'm going to put some quotes from a Public Health report.

"Furthermore, as discussed in section
1.2, the underlying cause of reduced exposure
to beneficial microbes is now understood to be
attributed more to lifestyle changes (more C-sections,
less outdoor activity, more antibiotics etc.) than to
hygiene and cleanliness."

Furthermore, a worrying one in four (23%) of those surveyed believed hygiene in the home was not
important, thinking children need to be exposed to harmful germs to build their immune system. This
misconception has likely gained traction from sections of the media frequently posing the question:
‘are we too clean?’

These results suggest the public may
have a poor understanding of the factors
reducing diversity of the microbiome and, of
particular concern, may believe that decent
household hygiene is actively harmful to the
microbiome and children’s health.

To think the human race survived quite well before duvets, washing machines, daily showers etc.

Fairly sure people of my generation and okder might remember the weekly bath.
Sunday night, dad first, always dad first. If you were last in the water was really deep.

Back in the day we had blankets. Was such a pallaver washing them all that it'd get done on a schedule.. mum's special 'WICBA' schedule.

Clothing, household linens, toilets, sink and bath
surfaces can also contribute to establishing a chain of
infection, although risks associated with these surfaces
are normally somewhat lower as they rely on other
‘chain links’ such as hands to transfer the microbes
from the fabric or sink surface to a susceptible person.
Advising people how often to launder clothing or clean
bathroom and toilet surfaces is extremely difficult,
but regular cleaning and laundering can contribute to
preventing spread of infection particularly where there
is someone who is infected (e.g. with norovirus, cold
virus or food poisoning) or who is more vulnerable
to infection. For infections such as the cold, flu, and
norovirus, spread of infection may also be airborne and
so good ventilation is important.
Cleanliness achieved by routine (non-targeted) daily or
weekly cleaning of floors and furniture may contribute
to preventing exposure to harmful microbes, but
there is little data to suggest that its contribution is
significant relative to hygienic cleaning at critical
points at key times

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