A comfortable house and a cozy bed is something that everybody wishes for, and no woman ever stops to imagine the best setting for her bedroom. We constantly try to make our bedrooms look better by introducing amazing bed lines, colorful drapes, comfy cushions, beautiful carpets and rugs and whatnot. The search for the best bedroom accessories and utilities is never-ending for a woman. The most important of all the bedroom elements and the one that catches the most attention (and germs) is your bedsheet.
A bed sheet is used to cover your bed and mattress, and you usually spend about 8 to 9 hours sleeping on it. Apart from snooze time, you tend to spend a lot of break times as well on your bed, such as having your morning tea, reading the newspaper, playing with your pet or kids, rummaging around with your personal journal or just scrolling through news feeds or browsing through TV channels. Every day you spend no less than 8 to 10 hours in bed.
This automatically means that your bedsheets are the ones that can get really dirty and really fast. Imagine all the people who use the bedsheets to do their chores, like your friends hanging out or your pets playing around or your kids jumping on the bed. All this makes your bedsheets a hotspot for germs and microbes. This is why one must pay close attention to keeping your bed linen always clean and hygienic.
What happens when your bed sheets are not cleaned regularly?
Bedsheets are made of so many different materials of fabric such as cotton, linen, silk and even polyester. The fabric has the tendency to retain germs and microbes and therefore pass them on to the users of the sheets. Below are some real-life conditions that can occur at your home, and you could be oblivious to how infected your sheets could be:
-
Pet Attack
If you have pets, the hair from their fur, dirt from their nails and any ticks or flies that have attached themselves to your pets can breed on your bed easily.
-
Netflix and Chill
Some people even eat snacks and their food sitting on the bed like when having a pajama party with friends, just casually eating pizza and chips. The leftover crumbs and food, even post-cleaning manually, can become a feeding ground for further attack by microbes and cause infection to the users.
-
Sexual Activity
If you are someone with active sex life, you might want to consider changing the sheets much often. Body fluids can stay for a long time on the bed, even in their dry state and can have millions of germs infesting on them. This may pass on to other people who use the bed, such as pets and children. Plus, it is just a good hygienic practice to change sheets after the deed.
This does make you keep your sheets clean and fresh, especially if you have kids at home. If you are very sensitive to flu and fever, you can easily catch an infection. Bed sheets can act as carriers of infections if they are left uncleaned for a long time.
Ways to Properly Clean your Bed Sheet
-
Change Sheets Often
The best method to keep sheets clean is to change them often. Bed sheets can become breeding grounds for germs and microbes if you use them for far too long. Ideally, you should change your sheet at least once a week. If you are super sensitive, twice a week works best.
-
Use an Anti-Bacterial Detergent
Use an antibacterial-detergent that is tough on the germs but light on the fabric. Make sure that you pre-soak your sheet in warm water with detergent and then wash them in warm water. This helps in getting rid of maximum germs as they cannot survive in the heat.
-
Use a Fabric Conditioner
A fabric conditioner keeps your sheets fresh and has a lingering effect on your sheets, and fights against germs for a limited period of time after a wash.
-
Hot Drying Sheets
Hot drying sheets in a dryer can help destroy the maximum amount of germs as they destroy under hot and humid environments. Hanging them in the sun can also help clean the sheets thoroughly.
-
Avoid Germ Attack
Avoid pets, shoes, eating and drinking on the bedsheet and don’t share it with many people. If you do so, make sure you change sheets immediately to avoid germ buildup.
){kind=link}