We tend to believe that our homes are clean, cozy places. But no matter how vigilant we might be with housecleaning, there are places that get filled with undesirable things such as dust mites, fungal elements, fecal matter, pollen, dander, and dead human cells. What’s worse, one of those hotbeds of germs is the very place you rest for a sweet slumber. Some of the 500 million cells we shed daily, along with our perspiration, pollen, pet dander, fungi, and mold, are all snuggling in bed with us at night. If that isn’t enough to inspire you wash your sheets regularly, consider that more than 84 percent of beds in America have dust mites, and they love to live in our sheets and feed off of our dead skin. According to Lisa Ackerley, MD, a U.K.-based hygiene doctor, if you don’t wash your sheets weekly, you could be putting yourself at risk of serious viruses and infections, including skin and wound infections, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and even bacteraemia (blood stream infection).
Although experts recommend that sheets be washed at least once a week, a survey of men conducted by the mattress company Ergoflex found that nearly half (49 percent) of single men wash their sheets only four times a year! Women are slightly more conscientious. In a recent Yahoo survey of nearly 1,200 women, 44 percent of respondents said they wash their sheets once a week, 31 percent said they wash them twice a month, and 16 percent said they wash them only once a month. Some 32 percent of readers said that they almost never change out their pillows. The best way to get rid of all that yucky stuff is to wash your sheets a minimum of once a week using the hottest temperature suggested on the care label. The hotter the water, the more likely you are to kill most of the germs, remove dust mites, and stop pollen from sticking to the fabric, which is especially important if you have allergies, according to research in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology. These are the common laundry mistakes that could be damaging your stuff.
MORE: Don’t Freak Out, But Your Showerhead Is Filthier Than You ThinkCare of a Staphylococcus aureus Infection Showering and personal care Caring for your sore Sports and the gym Take care of infections! Pus or drainage from wounds is very infectious. Clean your hands frequently with an antibacterial soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub, especially after changing your bandages or touching the drainage. It matters how you wash your hands. When using soap and water, you have to rub your hands for at least 20 seconds to get rid of the bacteria. When using alcohol-based hand sanitizer, use enough to cover all the surfaces of your hands. This 11x17 poster shows the six steps for washing hands with soap and water or two for cleaning with alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Take a bath or shower often, be sure to use soap to clean your body while showering or bathing. Do not share towels, wash cloths, razors, or other personal items.
If you get a cut or scrape on your skin, clean it with soap and water and then cover it with a bandage. Do not touch sores; if you do touch a sore, clean your hands right away. Keep the infected area covered with clean, dry bandages. Cover any infected sores with a bandage and clean your hands right away after putting on the bandage. Wear clothes that cover your bandages and sores, if possible. Throw used dressings away promptly. Poster showing the steps for how to change your bandages. Do not participate in contact sports until your sores have healed. Do not go to a public gym, sauna, hot tub or pool until sores have healed. You need to be careful when you do laundry. Dirty clothes and bedding can spread staph or MRSA bacteria. When touching your laundry or changing your sheets, hold the dirty laundry away from your body and clothes to prevent bacteria from getting on your clothes. Wear disposable gloves to touch laundry that is soiled with body fluids, like drainage from a sore, urine or feces.
Immediately put the laundry into the washer or into a plastic bag until it can be washed. Wash your laundry with warm or hot water, use bleach if possible. Dry in a warm or hot dryer and make sure the clothes are completely dry. Clean your hands after touching dirty sheets or clothing and before touching clean laundry, even if you have been wearing gloves. Throw gloves away after taking them off (do not reuse them) and clean your hands. Change your sheets and towels at least once a week. Change your clothes daily. Do not put dirty clothes or clothes you have just worn back in your closet or drawers until they have been washed. Clean frequently used areas of your home (bathrooms, countertops, etc.) daily with a household disinfectant or bleach solution. Pay attention to items that are frequently touched - light switches, doorknobs, phones, toilets, sinks, tubs and showers and kitchen counters. Wipe the surface or object with the disinfectant and let it dry.
You can use any cleaner you buy at the grocery store that has the word “disinfectant” on it, remember to read the label and follow the directions Make your own solution of bleach and water: Mix two teaspoons bleach into one quart of water in a spray bottle and label it “bleach solution” Make it fresh each time you plan to clean because the bleach evaporates out of the water making it less effective Never mix bleach with other cleaners, especially ammonia Keep the bleach solution away from children and don’t put it in bottles that could be mistaken for something to drink. It is important that you clean daily. Especially items or surfaces you touch often. Updated Thursday, May 29, 2014 at 09:31AMYour bed sheets, comforters, and pillowcases go through a lot — tossing, turning, trysts, and more. Yet they still try to comfort you through it all. Isn’t it about time that you returned the favor by cleaning and storing your winter bedding properly during the summer?
Here to show you how to clean and store your bedding with ease are our friends/bedding experts at Parachute. Because we all want to keep that fresh, new feeling all year long. If you like soft bed sheets and pillowcases (who doesn’t?), be sure to wash yours on the Delicate cycle in cold water. Because hot water can degrade the fibers over time, leaving you with shrunken sheets. Washing your sheets on the Delicate cycle is also akin to giving them a gentle massage yet full cleaning. Versus a fast cycle which is more of a surface clean and thus not as thorough. Also, wash your sheets with less detergent than recommended on the bottle because washing them with too much soap causes buildup that makes your sheets stiff. Notice how your bed sheets always come out of the laundry dryer looking like a tornado ran through them? That’s because when you overload the dryer, you leave little space for your sheets’ fabric to fluff up. This results in unsightly, annoying wrinkles that interrupt your Zzzzs by tickling you in your sleep.
The best way to get wrinkle-free bed sheets: Wash your sheets alone and only fill the dryer up halfway. Taking your bed sheets out of the dryer slightly before the drying cycle has finished lets you easily smooth out any creases because the sheets are still a wee damp with moisture and thus, more flexible. After you take your sheets out of the dryer, make your bed and smooth out any wrinkles. If you don’t plan on using those sheets, you should still get rid of any wrinkles and then store them (more on the best way to store your bedding below) so that they stay in great shape, ready for you to use again in the winter. Washing large comforters and blankets at home is tough because most washing machines aren’t big enough to handle the bulk. And because comforters and blankets are so large, it takes hours for them to dry. To speed up the process, take your down comforters and luxury textiles (like merino, alpaca, and cashmere throws) to your friendly neighborhood dry cleaner to ensure that they’re cleaned properly and returned to you in the best condition.