This Is How Often You Should Wash Sheets and More (You’ll Want to Start Now)
Apartment Therapy’s Spring Cleaning Cure is a free 10-day program that’ll help you achieve a tidier home. Sign up here and get all 10 assignments in your inbox.
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.
As a rule of thumb, here’s how often you should be washing your bedroom items:
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.
When washing all your bedroom items, be sure you are 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. Make sure you are using no more than two tablespoons of detergent — any more and it can be harmful (and wasteful) to your clothes and washer. And 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.
PRO TIP: Is your favorite throw blanket looking a little rough with all that pilling? Try using a fabric shaver to remove them, like the Gleener Fabric Shaver & Lint Brush, which requires no batteries and won in our 2024 Cleaning Awards.
What did you wash today? Tell us in the comments below.
Gleener Fabric Shaver & Lint Brush
More Ways to Participate in the Spring Cleaning Cure
Sign up for email updates.
Visit the 2024 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 progress here.
See all the winners from our 2024 Cleaning Awards.
Sign up for The Refresh, our weekly cleaning and organizing newsletter.
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.
