This Is How to Give Your Bedroom an Instant Refresh This Spring

There’s nothing like the feeling of sleeping on freshly washed and dried sheets. It’s refreshing (and relaxing) to know your sheets are clean just in time for bedtime. But the ultimate feeling of refreshment comes from having all the items atop your bed cleaned, too. So today we’re going to improve our room by washing all the bed linens.

To help dig into the ins and outs of deep cleaning our bed linens, we have guest cure-ator Zachary Pozniak, a third-generation dry cleaner, who works alongside his dad, Jerry Pozniak, the owner of Jeeves New York! Together, they shared their go-to tips for laundering linens, starting by answering the commonly asked question: How often should you wash bed sheets?

The answer? It really depends. Naturally, they say it is best to wash your sheets weekly, however, some people have gone up to three weeks between washes. You have to consider who’s sleeping on your sheets — a partner, pets, maybe your kids — and therefore what’s being left behind, such as body oils, perspiration, odor, dirty paw prints, etc. “All of these lower the lifespan of your sheets,” shares Zachary. The reason why you want to be more on top of washing your sheets is that your sweat and body oil will oxidize over time, he says, which means those seemingly clear messes will become yellow or brown over time (like an avocado) and leave hard-to-remove stains that can ruin them.

When it comes to washing comforters and duvets, Zachary shared this helpful breakdown: Comforters without a duvet cover should be washed weekly if you’re not using a top sheet. Duvet covers should also be washed once a week. Regular comforters with a sheet can be washed every three months. Mattress protectors, on the other hand, fall into the infrequent category and can be washed twice a year, as they have a few barriers of sheets between them. 

He also recommends that you use no more than two tablespoons of detergent — too much can be harmful and wasteful — and to use cold water if you want to minimize fading. Here’s a full list of what might be included in your wash cycles today. Feel free to pick and choose what you’d like to clean.

• Headboard cover 
• Pillow — regular and decorative, along with all their protectors and covers
• Blankets, throws, and any other bedding add-ons
• Duvet, comforter, and comforter cover
• Bed sheets (the entire set)
• Mattress cover, protector, topper 
• Bed skirt or dust ruffle
• Any extra sets of sheets that have been collecting dust in your closet

Once you’ve decided what you’re going to wash, gather your laundry supplies and tools (this one helps prevent sheets from getting tangled). Most things can be machine washed and dried, but always defer to the care instructions. 

If you dread washing bigger items because they can get tangled up in the machine, don’t get fully cleaned, or cause your machine to “walk,” Zachary says it all comes down to balance. He recommends throwing in some towels to ensure there’s equal weight in the washer and to allow for better stain removal, as there’s more surface area for it to “rub” off. 

For anyone that has to use a shared laundry facility, Zachary says you should wash all your household/like-items together, and when drying your garments, wool dryer balls can help create space to help them dry more evenly and quickly. Three to six balls are ideal, depending on how many items you have in the dryer, he adds. And for bigger items, like your comforter, you’ll also want to work “low and slow” (lower temperature and longer time drying).

For anything super soiled or too difficult to wash, you might want to consider taking it to a professional. In fact, Zachary says that you can bring sheets that have dulled over time to a professional to get a restoration cleaning. It’s a nice once-in-a-blue-moon thing, says Zachary, but there’s nothing like getting your sheets perfectly pressed and cleaned. 

PRO TIP: An easy trick to whiten sheets is to spray 3-percent hydrogen peroxide on yellow areas and let that air dry before going to bed, says Zachary. Oxygen bleach, like Oxiclean, is great for white garments, too. 

What did you wash today? Tell us in the comments below.

• Sign up for email updates or SMS alerts.
• Visit the 2023 Spring Cleaning Cure page and catch up on assignments.
• Join the Apartment Therapy Cure Facebook group.
• Download the Spring Cleaning Cure calendar.
• Check off that you’ve completed this task and track your overall Spring Cleaning Cure progress here!

The Cure Program is a tradition here at Apartment Therapy — it happens every January, April, and September. Click here to learn more about the year-round program and when to sign up.