While changing bed sheets isn’t the most desirable household chore, it is perhaps one of the most essential ones when it comes to hygiene.
Experts claim people should be changing their bedding once a week (or two weeks, at a push), with dirty sheets being credited to various allergies, skin breakouts and asthma.
However, new research has shown that many Brits don’t quite stick to this requirement, with single men being particularly slack with their bed sheet changing responsibilities.
The survey, carried out on 2,250 adults over the age of eighteen by Pizuna Linens, discovered that almost half of single men don’t wash their bed sheets for up to four months at a time.
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And just to make matters worse, 12% of these men admitted to only washing them when they remember, meaning the time period between washes which could be even longer.
Alternatively, 62% of single women were found to change their bedding once every two weeks, whereas only 29% single men washed their sheets at the same frequency.
Instead, 45% of single men admitted to only washing their sheets every three to four months.
Couples living together, however, tend to meet in the middle and wash their sheets once every three weeks.
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And somewhat worryingly, a massive 41% of UK adults don’t believe the recommended guidelines for washing their bedding to be true.
According to Sleep Foundation, bedding can accumulate dirt, dead skin cells, body oils, sweat, and dust mites within a matter of days.
According to the experts, pillowcases, sheets and duvet covers should be washed once a week, blankets and duvets every two-three months, and pillows every four-six months.
Mattresses should even be cleaned once every six months, and replaced every six-eight years.