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I wash the sheets and pillow cases once a week. My mother used to say that in the olde days they would put the top sheet on the bottom and wash just the bottom sheet. It was hard to do laundry back in those days and the top sheet wasn't really dirty.
As for pulling the covers down for a few minutes before you make the bed, I read that the Shakers (I think) or the Amish recommended that for sanitary purposes. I guess it lets the bed sort of air out and dry out from any body moisture that it absorbed during the night. I do it when I have the time because it sounds like a good idea.
That's what my mother taught too. Seemed to make sense, but as for many things what we were taught becomes "the norm". Unless you are someone who runs around and sleeps naked, much of what your body exudes rubs off on your clothing. You wash that too (hopefully). Between bathing yourself and doing laundry it all ends up getting tolerably clean. Unless you're a germaphobe. Then the world's a very scary, dirty place and all bets are off.
I also pull the covers down or off the mattress every morning. Especially with my down comforter. Helps accumulated moisture dissipate and that plus a bit of roughing up helps the down loft up again. An old mountaineering trick was to whack your down sleeping bag with tent or ski poles and let it "rest" a while before climbing in.
Last edited by Parnassia; 11-30-2021 at 07:28 PM..
I just LOVE slipping between cool, clean sheets after taking a shower! It feels so good, and smells so good - if I had the time and energy I'd wash my sheets every day. Way back when I was a kid and we went on vacation, good hotels still changed your sheets every day and I fantasized about being rich enough to have someone do that for me every day!
I just LOVE slipping between cool, clean sheets after taking a shower! It feels so good, and smells so good - if I had the time and energy I'd wash my sheets every day. Way back when I was a kid and we went on vacation, good hotels still changed your sheets every day and I fantasized about being rich enough to have someone do that for me every day!
Even better if those sheets have been hung outside to dry on a sunny, breezy summer day.
"According to a 2017 survey, only 44 percent of Americans wash their sheets once or twice a month. Eleven percent wash them once a season, and 5 percent do it only once or twice a year. "
OMG. ::slide lower into chair, pull t-shirt over nose::
Sunday is bed change day. Pillow cases changed on Wednesday and Sunday. Shower almost nightly.
I pull the covers back each morning to let the bed cool, then tear off everything except the fitted sheet and vigorously shake them off the back porch. I pull one corner up on the fitted sheet and, as Spouse says, "shake the farts out." It makes for a fresher bed and flaps the dog hair off.
We change the sheets frequently. We have about 12 different pillows on our bed, so we turn them over and rotate them around. The thing we wash the most is the small bedspread we put neat the bottom of the bed for the dog to sleep on. Not sure whether dogs or humans leak more slimy effluvia while sleeping, but the dog's slimy effluvia seems ickier. Plus she sheds a whole lot more than we do.
In my part of OK you will get two fringe benefits when line drying - instant tan and whole body scrub by means of red clay dust.
Fortunately that's not an issue here. Due to the arid climate and intense sun, on a good day by the time you're done hanging the last sheet, the first is dry.
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Ewww, gross...
Our housekeeper changes our sheets daily except on her day off. One of life's pleasures is slipping into clean, crisp, 1500 count sheets after a nice shower. The comforter gets washed about once a month. And we buy new pillows every few months.
I've always changed my sheets weekly and do shower at bedtime which I think makes a difference. Also, more recently I've been making it a point to flip my pillow over every morning when I make the bed.
I've heard it's good to "air out" your sheets and not make your bed first thing but to pull the covers back and leave it for at least 15 minutes. I think the point is more to let it "cool off" so that whatever is living (yuk!) has a chance to die? It sounds weird to me but I think of it as having a warm refrigerator at 40 degrees vs. keeping it cooler - higher temperature, more stuff that is active and multiplying at a faster rate.
Yes, that is correct, bed and bedding should be allowed to "air out" for a bit before bed is made.
In old days bedding was turned down to foot of bed, windows often opened, and while the Missus or whoever was busy elsewhere in house things allowed to air. Then bit later someone returned to make the bed, close windows, etc..
If you sleep on down or feather pillows you'll notice if they are allowed to air a bit they fluff up. In the old country people put their down duvets out on balcony railings to air while beds were same.
Quite a bit of moisture and heat is given off during sleep, and while it may vary by person and or climate, it is a good thing to let things dry and cool down. Otherwise you're just giving all the nasty microscopic critters a nice warm and moist place to hang out.
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