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How often do you change & wash your bed linen?

(106 Posts)
CrazyMazy Wed 23-Dec-15 23:32:46

My DH objects to me changing our bed linen every fortnight!! Ew! I would love to change it every day if I could! But .........weekly would be my choice. Am I being unreasonable? I think he is lucky that I do change and launder the bed linen!
How often do you change your bed linen ..........and personal towels? (Another complaint from DH that I change them too often!)

Willow500 Sun 27-Dec-15 07:29:50

thatbags I'm with you on the fridge thing and the windows - also kitchen cupboards! I do sweep and wash the kitchen, utility and passage floors almost daily as we have two cats so hair and litter have to be cleared up. Vacuuming upstairs ............... well probably when I change the beds - my mother would have been appalled blush

thatbags Sun 27-Dec-15 07:22:14

I don't know how often I wash tea towels either. If I'm doing a hot wash and one seems to have been used a fair bit, I'll bung it in.

Moving on from washing... I can't remember when I last vacuumed the front room other than that it's within the last fortnight. I think ?

How often do I clean the fridge? Dunno.

How often do I swab the kitchen floor? Dunno. I do it (or part of it) if it gets sticky. Otherwise, shrug.

I did wash outside windows this year... at least I think I did ?

Shove over in the sluts' corner. I'm joining yous.

Gagagran Sun 27-Dec-15 07:14:30

I'm with Wilma in the "when they need it" club. Towels and other linens go in the washer whenever I put a load in. However I always put clean bed linen on the bed when we go away just so I can come back to lovely fresh sheets. Always clean the bathrooms too for similar reasons.

Willow500 Sun 27-Dec-15 06:55:45

I change the beds every couple of weeks - we're in separate rooms so twice the amount of washing (and ironing!). I'd love to do them weekly as it's really nice to get into clean bedding but I just don't have the time. I don't wear pj's in bed shock as I get too hot. I have a dishwasher but still use tea towels so they get washed 2 or 3 times a week (the washer is full of them at the moment after Christmas day so needs to go on this morning) and towels the same. I wish someone had some tips on keeping towels fresh - no matter how often they're washed in a hot wash a couple of the bath towels still have that horrid damp odour. I've actually thrown one particular one out as I just couldn't get rid of the smell - they're hung over the radiator after use so not hanging around damp all day. I soak the dishcloths in bleach for a couple of hours but wouldn't recommend that with children around - my son once dipped a cup in the water and drank it while my back was turned. A race to the hospital (on foot) and his stomach pumped was the result! That was 42 years ago and neither of us has forgotten it!

WilmaKnickersfit Sun 27-Dec-15 06:12:47

Another slut saving the planet here. tchgrin

I change bedding and towels when I think it needs doing - and it's definitely not on a weekly or fortnightly schedule! We both wear pjs and change them every week, but not on any schedule as such, again just when they need changing.

I don't have a schedule for any housework, although the laundry is usually done overnight on weekends because my DH needs clean shirts for work during the week.

Surely none of us believe we're so dirty or grubby that we need a schedule for laundry? I love the feel of fresh bed linen, but not enough to create extra washing. And what about the cost of all this laundry?

It's interesting that we're cleaner than ever, yet so many of us still have habits from the days when we had a bath once a week and antiperspirant hadn't been invented! tchgrin

Saphire Sun 27-Dec-15 00:35:53

Bedding weekly, towels 2-3 times per week smile

Nannanoo Sat 26-Dec-15 22:57:03

I change my bedding every week in summer, maybe fortnightly in winter, 'cos there's only clean little me in it, and I'm not a sweaty person.
I feel quite incensed on behalf of the ladies who's OHs actually complain about them laundering things too often - how dare they? These gents should be so grateful and pleased that someone is willing to carry out the chore for their comfort - honestly, the cheek of it!
As it's Christmas week and I've had lots of visitors, I'm washing sheets almost every day,and it is a bit of a bind, so thank goodness I quite enjoy doing the laundry and ironing. I wish I could just do that, and have someone else do my hoovering, which I loathe with a passion.
Apropos of sweaty sheets, does anyone remember that character on 'The Two Ronnies' who's name was Betty Swallocks? I used to be a bit innocent, and didn't realise that it was rather rude! grin

CrazyMazy Sat 26-Dec-15 22:55:00

I think that DH's blood pressure would rocket through the roof if I started changing the bed linen weekly! I do love the feel of clean, fresh laundered sheets but recognise that - as we shower daily, and change PJ's often - it is quite acceptable to leave bedding for a fortnight. But I will not accept they are left any longer. I wash tea towels weekly on a 60 hot wash and do a weekly 90 hot wash for handkerchiefs and other soiled linens. DH mutters when these washes are done! His Mum did everything in the home whilst his Dad worked. I don't think he really appreciated or knew about all the household chores his Mum did. I returned to work when my children went to senior school and employed a lady for a few years to help with the household chores. Otherwise they have always been done by me. Maybe I have made a 'rod for my own back' as my Mum would say! sad

SueDonim Sat 26-Dec-15 22:22:22

I use tea towels to dry anything non-dishwashable such as wooden items. The NHS website recommends daily tea towels. According to them, there are 100,000 times more germs in a kitchen sink than in a bathroom! If you have raw meat in your kitchen then I guess there's more chance of introducing germs.

When I lived abroad I even sterilised any fruit or veg that weren't cooked. The crops there were fertilised wth human manure so I wasn't taking any chances!!

Granoveve Sat 26-Dec-15 22:13:03

Towels and Bed linen about fortnightly, though it's not the end of the world if it get to the third week. Pillow cases go in weekly though. We used to have clean bedding on for Christmas, because that's what we were brought up with. Now I'd much rather have clean bedding to start the New Year, so we put clean sheets and duvet covers on on New Year's Eve instead.?

farmgran Sat 26-Dec-15 20:29:51

I'm addicted to the feel of clean sheets so I change them about every 4 days, towels every 3 days and flannels after 1 use. The summer nights are so hot here in NZ its lovely to have things nice and fresh.

Nelliemoser Sat 26-Dec-15 19:45:40

I have a dishwasher and I can still get through lots of tea towels particularly when doing a lot of cooking.
There is not time to get everything through the dishwasher.

Ana Sat 26-Dec-15 19:33:43

I tend to use kitchen roll for that sort of thing. (Yes, I know it's eco-unfriendly...wink)

harrigran Sat 26-Dec-15 19:16:54

Even if you have a dishwasher you still need tea towels as you get water pooling in upturned cups and sometimes on the handles of serving spoons.

katie1 Sat 26-Dec-15 19:05:10

Bed linen 7 to 14 days. Bath towels daily. Hand towels 2 to 3 days.

Ana Sat 26-Dec-15 18:41:59

I haven't got a dishwasher, but like Maranta just leave things to drain and dry.

Even if you use a tea towel to dry the dishes, there shouldn't be many 'germs' on the clean, if wet, plates!

TriciaF Sat 26-Dec-15 18:33:45

I'm wondering how many of you have dishwashers (machine) and if so why you need teatowels?
I though it was only those who wash up in the sink who need them?
Like us.

Maranta Sat 26-Dec-15 18:30:39

I'm wondering that too. I never dry up, just leave things to drain. Tea towels get used mainly for drying the odd lettuce leaf or sprig of parsley.

Ana Sat 26-Dec-15 18:16:51

Why are tea towels germy?

keffie Sat 26-Dec-15 17:47:27

I change bedding every week. Twice a week in the summer when it's hot and sticky. CrazyMary your Husband lucky as what would he say to someone changing the bed linen once a week then! I was bought up on weekly, that is what I do and my youngsters do too. It is always changed the same day if someone has been ill.

Towels are done every other wash and dishcloths and tea towels are in the wash daily as they keep in so many germs

granfromafar Sat 26-Dec-15 16:40:54

This is such a funny thread to follow and I'm sure it's come up before but never mind! Surely it depends on whether people sleep in the nude or with pjs - If the former, as we do, I'd say they need changing more often than if nightwear is worn. I do the bottom sheet & pillowcases weekly and duvet cover fortnightly, more or less! Funnily enough, I prefer doing such chores in my (single) son's house when we visit (He works long hours and is quite happy for me help out). I know he does it from time to time as he's quite well house-trained!

seadragon Sat 26-Dec-15 15:42:09

Thank goodness for common sense on the last page!!!

dollyjo Sat 26-Dec-15 15:20:50

We sleep in a super king size bed and I couldn't cope with changing and washing the sheets weekly. I use a top sheet under the duvet and change the bottom sheet for the top one when I feel it needs it. When I think both are dirty, it gets me down and I wash them both. I've never had bed bugs. What do these people think will happen if they leave the washing of bedding longer than a week?
One time I have to change the bedding with regularity though is Christmas Eve. Old habits die hard and when I was a child, my Nana told me Father Christmas wouldn't come if the bedding was dirty. So whether they need it or not, I always have to have clean bedding on Christmas Eve and I'm 73yrs old now!

Maranta Sat 26-Dec-15 14:45:43

I also change my linen when I think it needs it, rather than sticking to 'rules'. Same with most household chores really. Last time I picked up the post from the doormat it was covered in spiders webs, so I must vacuum the hall soon. Good thing my house is dark no one can see it.

thatbags Sat 26-Dec-15 14:37:35

If you wear PJs rather than sleep naked you save on washing as well. I change my PJs more often than I change my bed.