The Great Mumsnet Laundry Debate, Part I. £300 Love2Shop voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

[PoppyMumsnet]

To celebrate Fairy Non Bio’s sponsorship of the Mumsnet Talk App, we’re launching the Great Mumsnet Laundry Debate – as with all great series, it's a three-parter. Part I is about how often you wash your bed sheets (as we know, always a hot topic on Mumsnet).

We all know that washing bed sheets can be total faff: there’s stripping the bed, then there’s putting the wash on (are you a warm 40C or a hot 90C type?) Then there’s hanging it out and the struggle for drying space (unless you use the dryer ?) After that there’s folding - and, for the super-keen, perhaps even ironing. Finally, there’s getting the darn things back on the bed.

So - how often do you wash your bed sheets? And how often do you wash your DC’s bed sheets? Do you have a specific process? Perhaps you change pillow cases weekly, but sheets and duvet covers every two weeks? How often do you change your mattress protector ( again)? Do you use softener?

Whatever your bed sheet-washing process, do share it with Fairy Non Bio in the thread below, and maybe even give us a live update from the Mumsnet Talk App as you're waiting for the load to finish .

Everyone who posts will be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

T&Cs apply

I don't know how often I wash the sheets. My daughter is away at university, so her bedding will only get done during the holiday periods. In warm weather I'll do bed linen more often. It's also good being able to hang it out on the line to dry. We don't have a tumble dryer. The new washing machine seems a lot more efficient than the old one - which is good.

This is my system:

Our double bed - bottom sheet gets washed once a week. Top pillow goes to bottom, bottom pillowcase off with new one on top. Duvet cover gets washed every 2 weeks with duvet flipped in between.

Still following?

Kids beds get changed alternate weeks (they shower every night & wear PJs). Pillow & duvet flipped over between.

All our bedlinen is organic cotton & washed at 30 degrees in Ecover. Dried on washing line outside (weather permitting), or inside next to range cooker. Very rarely use tumble drier - only for double duvet cover or sheets in appalling weather.

furthermore ... never use fabric softener & never iron the bedlinen.

Also never wash the mattress or pillow protectors. Unlesss, you know.

All bedding gets washed on a Saturday. That's 3 single quilts 1 double, four bottom sheets, 4 mattress protectors, 10 pillow cases, 10 pillows (yes I wash the pillows too!) 4 blankies (DC have one each and DD has two and trust me they need washing ) while all this is on we put new ones on (apart from
Blankies dear God that's a battle i don't want) and let it all out to dry then to iron it all, obviously not the pillows! When it's all put away. It's the most hectic day of the week!

All pillowcases, fitted bottom sheets, under sheet (brushed soft cotton sheet between mattress protector and fitted sheet)and duvet covers from both our double bed and DS double bed are washed every Thursday at 40c on a long Eco wash. I always use fabric softener in the wash.
After I strip the beds they are remade straight away with fresh linens and then I put the wash on. Usually I dry them on the line, weather permitting. I iron the pillow cases and duvet covers but not the bottom sheets.
I wash the mattress protectors every few months - I Hoover and flip the mattress's at the same time.

every week, tumble dry and then fold to save ironing

I wash all the bedding weekly. It takes time because it's for hubby and I and nine children. I have one chronically sick teenager (16) who I wash his bedding much more regularly 3-4 times a week as he spends a lot of time in his bed and it gets a bit stale if I don't change the sheets more often for him. I use washing liquid detergent on a 40c program and add a couple of capfuls of disinfectant in every wash. I put disinfectant in every single wash I do as I think it's much more hygenic with kids. I usually only wash at 40 for bedding (as it is usually the upper limit on the wash labels), but I do put all towels through at 60C for hygiene.
I dry all towels and sheets over doors, the upper floor bannister rail and over radiators with a dehumidifier running in Winter and on the line outside if the weather is good.

I wash the sheets for our bed and DC beds twice a week, usually Wednesday & Sunday, duvet covers every other week. I wash them at 30 degrees and dry them outside if possible.

Every week and when I can they are hung out on a washing line so that they smell fresh but I don't generally iron them (use a pretty bedspread over each bed) apart from when we have guests.

Once a week, if not more during the Summer.

Every fortnight but if I have more time and weather is good so I can them dry I do them weekly😀

Ours get changed every couple of weeks, however, my oldest is going through a nosebleed phase at the moment so hers are getting done nearly every day at the moment.

I wash them every two weeks. I would do it every week if I had the time.

I change my bed sheets every weekend - nothing better than fresh sheets on the bed

I wash , my bed sheets every four to five days, there is nothing better than slipping into those fresh, clean sheets the first night.

I wash our sheets on 30 every week and the children's every two weeks - always in Fairy Non-Bio with Fairy conditioner.

We only have our bed and little girl's cot bed to change, which we try and do fortnightly over one of the weekend days as normally the best weather and it gets the bedding dry quick. Normally wash it on Eco wash on a 40 heat and then hang out to dry naturally.

It is every 2 weeks for me, and weekly in the summer, when I can get them dried outside. But as my youngest has hay fever, outside hanging is out of the question, so the tumble drier is on for him. I think that clean bedding gives a better nights sleep, as my son can smell the 'washed with love' (fairy to you and me) as he calls it smell, and this makes his bed a safe comfy place to be.

Every Sunday the beds get stripped and washed on a 40 degree wash cycle with my fairy liquid capsules and comfort fabric conditioner then it's goes in to the dryer so when I take it out it's lovely and soft and smells gorgeous then it's a quick iron over before putting it back on the beds.

Big washes are done fortnightly at home in Winter and weekly in Summer !

I aim to wash ours once a fortnight. I wait for a sunny day on the weekend to get it all done. I'd rather line dry sheets than tumble. In the winter, they do get tumbled.

The kids beds used to be done more regularly, but they are clean before they go to bed and every 10 days ish seems to be OK.

I don't iron them, although I did once when i had a guest coming who likes her sheets ironed. She did notice and it is much nicer, but I never bother. Clean sheets at bedtime is a good feeling.

I would love to say everyweek but with four kids that can never happen - my machine would never be off! When I do I wash on a hot wash and line dry for freshness!

I do them about once a week to once a fortnight depending on the weather. I feel they need doing more often when it's hot and of course the bedding is easier to dry then. I just use a non-bio powder and no softener.

I wash religiously every two weeks and strip the bed completely. We use detergent and conditioner on a medium wash.
However I clean for someone on the village who has been known to leave there sheets for 5 months!