Admit it. You probably don’t change your bed sheets as often as you should. Ideally, they should go in the wash once every week or two. But according to a new survey by Mattress Advisor, most people wait 24 days before changing them.
“With the average person shedding about 10 grams of skin each day, you’d be piling up a veritable feast for dust mites in that time,” the survey notes.
Yuck.
More than 1,000 people participated in the survey in order to determine “how gross (or not gross) they perceived different bed hygiene habits to be.” Most participants said they changed their bedding every month, but some people believe sheets aren’t “gross” until around 35 days.
Men, in particular, wait longer to change their bedding. On average, they wait 10 days longer than women. It’s common for single men to wait six and a half weeks before washing their sheets.
“Single men fessed up to particularly questionable sheet cleaning practices, going nearly 45 days before changing their bedding on average. This could be one of the reasons they’re still single…” the researchers commented.
That changes if they’re married or dating someone.
According to the survey, “Relationship commitment seemed to correlate with more frequent washing. Respondents in a relationship had the shortest average time between pillow cleanings.”
Sex plays a role when it comes to changing sheets. Females typically wash their bedding four days after getting intimate, while men reportedly wait 11 days before throwing sheets into the washing machine.
However, if men think they are about to hook up, nearly 50 percent put fresh sheets on their beds. Less than 40 percent of women do the same.
“Given men’s lengthy average times between washes, they may have good reason not to take any chances,” the survey noted.
Ranking high on the gross meter among both men and women were not changing sheets following a one-night stand.
What about people who sleep in the buff? Fortunately, they shower before bed and wash their sheets “comparatively often,” according to the survey. But people who drool while sleeping usually wait 31.8 days before putting on clean pillowcases.
