How Often You Should Be Washing Your Sheets, Pillows, and Other Bedroom Items
Apartment Therapy’s Spring Cleaning Cure is a free 10-day program that’ll help you achieve a tidier home. Get all assignments delivered to your inbox by signing up here and download our calendar page to follow along.
There’s nothing like 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 will improve our room by washing all our bedroom items, starting with our sheets.
Day 4: Wash your sheets and all other bedroom items.
We’re going to dig in and tackle as many bedroom items as we can, starting with our sheets and working our way to the duvet covers, then pillowcases, and so much more. Below, find important rules and reminders to follow.
When to wash sheets, duvets/comforters, blankets, and pillows:
- Sheets should be washed weekly or more, depending on if you have pets or allergies.
- Comforters should be washed once a month to a few times a year, depending on if you have a duvet cover on it.
- Duvet covers should be washed weekly or monthly.
- Blankets should be washed weekly, but throw blankets that you don’t use often (and don’t sit on your bed) can go longer between washes.
- Pillow covers should be washed weekly.
- Pillows should be washed twice a year.
- Decorative pillows should be washed every other month.
Again, like sheets, this can all change based on whether you have allergies or pets, as that can affect how often you should be cleaning these items.
Washing reminders and watchouts:
- Be sure you’re thinking of load size, temperature for washing and drying, and what should be hand-dried vs. machine-dried. Read the care instructions on each item and proceed as stated.
- Use no more than two tablespoons of detergent — any more and it can be harmful (and wasteful) to your clothes and washer.
- If you have to visit a laundromat, make sure you are optimizing your time there.
- To whiten sheets, try using baking soda and vinegar (but not together!). Add half a cup of baking soda to the drum of your washing machine and then some distilled white vinegar to the fabric softener dispenser. They’ll each work their magic to whiten up your clothes.
- And for anything super soiled or if you have a very delicate fabric that’s difficult to wash, you might want to take it to a professional.
What did you wash today? Tell us in the community forum.
More ways to participate in the Spring Cleaning Cure:
- Sign up for email updates.
- Visit the Spring Cleaning Cure page and catch up on assignments.
- Download the Spring Cleaning Cure calendar.
- Check off that you’ve completed this task and track your overall progress here.
- Join the conversation by checking out the Cure board in our community forum.
- Listen to our one-hour cleaning playlist on Spotify.
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.