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Original poster

Should you change the beds every time you have guests?

216 replies

homecomingposy · 14/08/2023 09:25

I’ve always thought it is absolutely the case that a guest should have clean bed linen when they come to stay. I’ve been doing it for years. Even tho it means tonnes of washing. So when I stayed over recently at ( very good) friends I found a dirty sock in the bed. Someone had stayed in it before me.
Plus, a month or so ago I stayed at another friend and had to brush out hairs from inside the bed and off the pillow. Which I then turned over. Now to clarify, I said nothing. Got on with it. But for some ( justifiable ?) reason, I feel a bit queasy about this.
am i the only one who changes the sheets each time ???

OP posts:
LuciferRising · 14/08/2023 09:27

Absolutely! I'd not want to sleep there otherwise.

GFB · 14/08/2023 09:28

I always put fresh sheets on for any guests. When I stay at one of my friends I take a pillow case with me as I know the sheets aren't changed between guests!!

merriadock · 14/08/2023 09:28

As soon as a guest leaves, we change the bed so that it is clean for whomever stays next. Bedding and towels all washed straight away so there is no confusion of have we/haven’t we done it. It’s basic hygiene, surely?

Theeternalrocksbeneath · 14/08/2023 09:28

That’s gross! We have lots of guests staying with us, and I always change the bedding. I’m not suggesting any of our guests are dirty or generally minging - I’m sure they all have excellent hygiene habits but no, I would never give a new guest used bedding and I wouldn’t expect it myself when I stay at friends!

BrightYellowDaffodil · 14/08/2023 09:28

God, yes. Who wants to sleep in bed linen that someone else has slept, sweated and goodness knows what else in?

I think I’d sleep on the floor before sleeping in someone else’s used bed sheets.

Againstthegrai · 14/08/2023 09:29

We don’t have guests often, but yes absolutely! And I’d hate to be a guest at someone else’s house and have dirty sheets - urgh

Alloveragain3 · 14/08/2023 09:30

I've found a sock in a bed in a dingy hotel in NYC once. Bleugh.

Absolutely, change sheets every single time.

loudbatperson · 14/08/2023 09:30

Yes! Fresh bedding for every guest. To not do so is very poor hygiene and hosting.

SweetAndSourChick3n · 14/08/2023 09:30

I always change the bedsheets between guests and wouldn't want to sleep in unwashed sheets myself.

Bodyqqqqq · 14/08/2023 09:31

Oh god yes. Of course!!!

Dotcheck · 14/08/2023 09:31

I put fresh sheets on every time. Otherwise… ew

SM4713 · 14/08/2023 09:33

I would have handed them the sock and said 'I found this in the bed, do you know who it belongs to'???

If you don't make it obvious that you know they didn't change the sheets- they never will! Yuck. Imagine going to a hotel and the sheets aren't changed 😖

BaronessEllarawrosaurus · 14/08/2023 09:33

Fresh bedding every time, fresh towels etc. It's the minimum for decent hosting. You wouldn't give a guest a dirty cup so why the hell would you give them a dirty bed.

Toddler101 · 14/08/2023 09:33

Different guests ALWAYS get clean sheets otherwise that's just grim.

The only time I don't change the guest bedding is if the same guests are coming to stay again very soon! Grandparents for example, they stay for one night then 1-1.5 weeks later they stay another night (and noone else in between). Any more than 2 weeks in between and they get clean sheets too 🙂

McOrange · 14/08/2023 09:33

I’m gonna go against the grain. I think it’s ok not to change them absolutely every time.

we have a spare room and occasionally I’ll sleep in there with clean sheets if the baby is having a rough night. If my parents came to stay the next night I won’t put fresh sheets on for them again, but I would switch pillow cases

what’s the harm - I’m not dirty, I sleep in pjs, about 8 hours in the bed and a clean pillow case is absolutely fine

somersaultinsand · 14/08/2023 09:34

Can believe you have to ask! Or that people don't! Only exception to this might be if same guest returning soon after only sleeping for 1-2 nights and you know no one else will use in between. And I'm not very fastidious about weekly (or longer to be honest) changes of our own beds like some on here, but different people always clean sheets!

sunnydayhereandnow · 14/08/2023 09:35

Yes clean sheets every time!

Soconfusedandbroken · 14/08/2023 09:38

This has made me feel a bit queasy

nosepierce · 14/08/2023 09:39

Yes. Always

caringcarer · 14/08/2023 09:40

Toddler101 · 14/08/2023 09:33

Different guests ALWAYS get clean sheets otherwise that's just grim.

The only time I don't change the guest bedding is if the same guests are coming to stay again very soon! Grandparents for example, they stay for one night then 1-1.5 weeks later they stay another night (and noone else in between). Any more than 2 weeks in between and they get clean sheets too 🙂

I do this too. My dS and his gf stay 1 night then no one else in between then DS and gf stay another night. If I know my sister will be staying over the following week I ask DS to strip the bed.

Marsyas · 14/08/2023 09:43

I’m pretty lax. I might use a bed that guest had slept in in my own house without changing the sheets if I was feeling very lazy and it was a guest I was close to and knew was clean. (Eg if I had to swap beds in he night because DH was snoring and I hadn’t yet changed the guest bed). But even I would always always change the sheets for a guest, and I would always assume someone had changed the sheets for me- as far as I know they always have.

Jellybean23 · 14/08/2023 09:50

McOrange · 14/08/2023 09:33

I’m gonna go against the grain. I think it’s ok not to change them absolutely every time.

we have a spare room and occasionally I’ll sleep in there with clean sheets if the baby is having a rough night. If my parents came to stay the next night I won’t put fresh sheets on for them again, but I would switch pillow cases

what’s the harm - I’m not dirty, I sleep in pjs, about 8 hours in the bed and a clean pillow case is absolutely fine

Regardless of how clean the previous occupant of the bed was, people dribble on the pillow in their sleep, their faces and bodies sweat. And loads of people don't sleep in pyjamas. Athlete's foot is contagious can be caught from contaminated bed linen.

porridgeisbae · 14/08/2023 09:52

Eww. Yes.

TenoringBehind · 14/08/2023 09:52

Gosh, yes

Iop · 14/08/2023 10:02

Grim. I always change the sheets between guests. Pretty sure that's normal.
But I have also discovered a (clean) sock stuck by static to my freshly washed and tumble-dried sheets on more than one occasion. Is it possible that the sock was just left in the machine from a previous load and your friend didn't notice it when they were making the bed?