It’s a question that has a hundred different answers depending on who you ask, but now research has revealed once and for all how often Australians are changing their bedsheets.
Ask a woman in her 50s and a man in his 20s how often they strip the bed and wash the sheets and you’ll most likely get two wildly different answers.
Some people are fastidious about the task, changing sheets once a week if not more. Others are happy to sleep in their own skin flakes for months on end.
Consumer comparison website Canstar Blue has revealed the washing habits of the nation, asking more than 3000 Aussies for their thoughts on what should be washed, and when, in a survey on laundry detergent brands.
“The debate on what’s the ‘right’ frequency to wash bed sheets and towels has been settled, as three in four Aussies wash their sheets at least once in two weeks and nearly the same number (74 per cent) also wash their towels at least once a week,” says Megan Birot, home and lifestyle expert at Canstar Blue.
Not changing your sheets often enough can lead to all kinds of skin conditions, and changing sheets once a fortnight seems like a reasonable interval. But is it enough?
Not quite, says Ludovic Blanc, CEO of online dry-cleaning service Blanc Living.
“What many people do not know is that skin irritation, as well as acne breakouts, are often a result of unwashed bed linen,” he says.
“When we sleep, we tend to sweat and shed dead skin cells, which can turn your (doona) into a breeding ground for bacteria.”
Mr Blanc says the optimum time between sheet changes should be no more than a week.
“Making it a habit to clean your sheets once a week may sound like a tedious task at first, but considering the health benefits – not to mention the incomparable feeling of clean sheets – it is definitely worth getting into the habit.”
The Canstar research also looked at the types and brands of washing detergent Australians are using across three categories – laundry powder, laundry liquid and laundry stain removers.
“The laundry laurels for customer satisfaction have been handed to Duo for laundry powder, Radiant for laundry liquid and ALDI’s Di-San for laundry stain remover,” Ms Birot says.
“ALDI remains the only brand to have received five stars for value for money in any and all of the laundry categories despite winning just one category for overall satisfaction.”
How often do you change the sheets? Or does it depend on whether it’s summer or winter? Why not share your thoughts in the comments section below?
