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 do mine every couple of weeks, as there's only me sleeping in them. They're out on the line if it's dry enough, or otherwise on my old fashioned pulley airer in the kitchen. The teenager, I force him to change his bed when I can smell his room from the landing! My favourite bedding is a white cotton set from Primani, and I do iron that as it makes it feel so gorgeous when I get in bed (after a bath and shaving my legs, the best feeling in the world).

Do them every week or fortnightly at most. Wash on 60 degrees. Do iron them, albeit not very well. Sheets are ok, duvet covers on the other hand are much harder work. Have no tumble dryer so changing bed in winter - or very wet summer - is a bit of a pain.

Every 2 weeks for us. Baby is only a few weeks old so it feels
more like every 2 hours for his sheets!

Every 2-3 weeks but DD gets extra's when/after ill or accidents. The dog's beds once every 2 months.

Wash on 40 unless there is something sinister on them, then they're at 60 (dog beds are always 60!) liquid tabs and softener. I hate the stiffness of line dried so in the summer when nearly dry on the line I finish them off in the tumble.

We can't be bothered to iron but DH does like it when we stay at my parents' house, sleeping on ironed sheets, I'm not sure I significantly can tell the different.

Every 2 weeks (very, very occasionally 3). Everything is white cotton, so it goes in at 60 and, if possible, line dried.

The mattress protectors are done every second change.

Sheets, pillow cases and duvet covers MUST be ironed, and must be ironed with ironing water - yes, I'm extremely picky

Every other week. Sometimes less often if I'm 100% honest.

Ironing sheets?
What the hell for?

My bed sheets are done three times a week approx but dog sleeps in with us most nights so pretty much essential!!!

I do a 30 wash which is absolutely fine and I'm afraid I'm a tumble dryer gal as I love the feeling.

DCS are done once a fortnight, I'd do them more often but they are 16 and 15 and I'm lucky to get them from them even that often!!!

Sheets get washed about every 2 weeks at 60 degrees with non bio powder and a scented fabric softener (I like nice smelling sheets!). They're dried on the line or in the drier, but we have more than one set. Never ironed (life's too short).

DCs sheets generally done weekly as they're easier to change, more often if soiled obviously. I do them at 40 degrees as more delicate and use unscented fabric softener as they go in with other clothes.

I wash every Saturday, at 30C, with Fairy Non Bio. I much prefer to dry outside, but tumble dry if not. I always spritz a little rose oil on the sheets to give them a nice soothing smell.

Every 1-2 weeks. If the weather is good enough it all goes out to dry on the line, but if not it's taken to the laundrette for a service wash.

I so like nice smooth bedding so it is ironed. It may be sad, but I get so much pleasure from nice, clean ironed bedding.

Why iron?
If you like 100% cotton sheets as I do, they look and feel so much better when ironed.
Freshly washed and ironed sheets are one of my favourite pleasures in life. I don't love ironing but it's worth it for me for the end result. Doing laundry is my favourite household task.

On the other hand I NEVER wash my car as I just don't care if it is clean so am definitely a slat tern in other ways

Wash fortnightly unless they seem particularly dirty. Use whatever soap powder we have, ie what was on special offer, on 40°. Dry them outside or on heated airer or in conservatory. Never iron, most sheets are elasticated anyway. Bunkbeds are rubbish for sheet changing and my superking duvet was difficult until we got covers that have little gaps in the corners to hold onto the corner of the duvet through as you shake it out. I do always put on duvet covers by starting with them inside out, my hands inside the case in the bottom corners then grab the duvet corners and shake it down over it.

I used to change everything weekly but now I sometimes let it slide and alternate, one week the kids beds and next week ours. Mattress protectors get washed if I notice them grubby, or else start of spring and end of summer. I'm a wash at 60, line dry in summer and in the washer-dryer in winter (I'm also perhaps the only mumsnetter who likes washer dryers!)

Once a week for us and the dc, both kids are still in gro bags and they sometimes need washing more often. I wash the at 40 but will do our, white bedding on a hot was every few months or so. I'm a washing powder companies Dream as I do around 12 washes a week!

If it was left to me hardly ever but fortunately DW has better hygiene .

Fortnightly. Think the pillows need regular washing too (I sweat) but it's difficult unless the weather is hot and dry...

Everything gets washed more often in the summer months because it's easier to dry things (well that's the theory anyway!).

Every 2-3 weeks.
Though after years of daily sheet washing (bed wetter) I'd say on average I'm ahead

Oh no dryer, no outdoor space. Clothes get dried on rack in bathroom or heated Lakeland thing.

I'm a bit minimalist so I do try to get sheets/duvet covers washed in the morning and back on the bed that evening.

Sheets and pillowcases are washed every 10-14 days. Beds by rotation using the freshly laundered items back on the next stripped bed. Duvets every couple of weeks, though I'll wait for a sunny/breezy day to line dry it all

Yes I iron bedding. Fitted sheets folded al la Martha Sterwart.

I treated DS to fresh bedding very regularly in the run up to his A level exams, in the hope of a good nights sleep would be beneficial ( better grades).

I change one bed per week.

Week 1 - our bed
Week 2 - dc1's bed
Week 2 - dc2's bed

So each bed gets changed once every 3 weeks.

Once a week, on a Sunday. Well, that's when I change them anyway. I have four bedding sets, so I don't always wash them on a Sunday too, but I try.

That's for our bed anyway, spare bed just kind of gets left as is and I wash the bedding before and after people stay - so not very often.

I'm thinking I'll probably do baby's twice a week maybe? Or once and then extra if there's accidents.

I do wash all my bedding on hot too, I don't need to I know, but I do. And use non-bio and fabric conditioner, and occasionally whack some stain remover in. Then I line dry if its nice, or I put it on the heated maiden thing if its bad weather. I absolutely don't iron it though, takes far too long and I have better things to do!

This has reminded me that we really need a new mattress protector, it has a hole in it! Pillow protectors too as I have no idea where they've gone.

Weekly. Washed at 60, hung out to dry or on radiators. Definitely no ironing!

Ours get done fortnightly, although I'm trialling a laundry day instead of ad hoc so fingers crossed it'll be weekly 😀
DDs cot sheet gets done at least once a week.
Everything is on 40° wash with fairy powder and whatever softener I have to hand.

Either air dried or through the tumbler.
I LOVE climbing into a bed with fresh sheets, nothing quite like it

Our bed sheets: once a week (sometimes slips to once a fortnight if there's a lot going on). Getting into bed on Sunday evening into freshly laundered sheets is one of life's little pleasures.

DD's bed sheets: about every 3 weeks

Mattress protectors: twice a year

We wash them at 60c with no fabric conditioner. Line dry if the weather is in our favour, if not they get hung over the bannister on the landing which is just about the right length for a king size duvet. Duvet covers and pillow slips are ironed, but elasticated sheets are not.

OK I'll admit, about once a month here! We don't have a tumble dryer so drying is the tricky bit for us. I switched to using bio powder which imo gets everything much cleaner and i only need to run at 40 degrees.
I clean the whole lot, pillowcases, sheets, duvet covers, mattress protectors each time.