On average, people are changing their sheets every 24 days. While at first that may not sound too bad... think about how much you're probably sweating, shedding skin, drooling, sneezing, etc. in your bed. Do you really want to be sleeping in all that?
You probably don't know how often you should be washing sheets. It's likely more frequently than you're already doing, but who has the time? That's where linen services come in.
Read this article to find out how often and with what methods you should be washing sheets. If it sounds like too much for you, it may be time to learn about linen services and give Hamperapp a call.
Washing Your Linens
There are several reasons why it's important to regularly wash your linens.
First of all, it's just more pleasant. When you collapse into bed after a long day, freshly cleaned sheets feel so much better on your body than a dirty set. They'll also smell better, and can even smell like relaxing lavender, which can help you sleep.
Second, freshly cleaned linens can help with a number of health issues. If you are a frequent allergy sufferer, you may find clean linens make your allergies better, because they aren't building up dust.
Your skin will also thank you, because you won't build as much oil and dirt on your sheets. Acne will get better and you'll be at less risk for fungal skin infections.
If you or someone in your home is sick, you'll want to wash your sheets even more frequently! Sheets can hold onto germs, which is why hospital bedding is so carefully and regularly washed.
To prevent anyone from catching the illness or reinfecting the recovering person, wash sheets as frequently as possible, and wear gloves while handling them. Wash your hands afterwards.
What Kind of Detergent Is Best?
Now that you know why you should wash your sheets, you're probably desperate to make sure that you're doing it right. The good news is that it's a hard task to mess up.
Your first question may be what kind of detergent you should be using to wash your sheets.
If you have allergies or sensitive skin, choose a detergent that is 100% fragrance and dye-free. Even if you like the look or smell, these chemicals could give your skin unwanted reactions.
If you don't have allergies, the world of detergents is your oyster. Experiment with fragrances to find the one you prefer.
Make sure that whatever you choose is compatible with your specific washing machine. Some detergents are better for certain fabrics, colors, etc.
Consider what's most important to you when choosing a detergent. Are you most concerned about removing stains?
Are you worried about being eco friendly? Are you looking for the best scent? All of these concerns are met by different detergents. See our breakdown of the best detergents here.
In the end, the best detergent is the one that you like the best.
What Temperature Should You Use?
Before taking our advice, check the label on your sheets. They may come with instructions for proper care. You should always follow these instructions first to avoid damaging or destroying your linens.
Most of the time, you can trust a cold or warm wash to adequately clean your linens. The water agitation and detergent will do more than enough to remove smells, and cold water is often better for removing stains.
You can extend the life of your sheets by letting them dry on a line instead of a machine dryer. You never need to use dryer sheets.
However, there are some circumstances in which you should employ a higher heat setting. If your family is dealing with bed bugs or scabies, you should wash your sheets on the highest water temperature setting, and then dry them on high heat. This won't be enough to completely get rid of bed bugs (call an exterminator for that), but it'll be an important step.
How Often Should I Wash My Linens?
We keep saying that you should wash your linens regularly. But what does regularly mean in this scenario?
Sheets and pillowcases should be washed about once a week. However, if something becomes noticeably or significantly soiled, it should be washed right away instead. You can make sure you're getting to the end of the week with still fairly clean sheets with some preventative practices.
Never eat in bed. Shower before getting in bed, especially if you sweat during the day. Get high-quality cotton sheets to help regulate your temperature during the night, so that you aren't heavily sweating during your sleep.
As mentioned before, if you or someone else is sick, you should wash your sheets with even more frequency. Aim for washing the sheets of a sick person every three days or more if they are heavily sweating due to fever.
Extra Sanitation
If you're concerned about spreading illness and want to kill germs without the use of hot water, you can always resort to a laundry sanitizer. They include instructions for occasional use to get a little more sanitation out of your regular laundry run, and you can feel confident that it'll kill bacteria, viruses, fungus, and more.
How Often Are Hospital Linens Washed?
With all this talk about sick people and their sheets, you must be wondering how hospitals get it done.
In a hospital, hygiene has to be of the highest priority. If things aren't clean, you risk infecting patients. You never want germs to pass from one patient to another.
For this reason, you may think that hospitals just dispose of their linens. But that's actually unnecessary.
Properly washed linens won't spread germs. And hospitals don't worry about the commercial laundry service cost, because they can save money by not constantly buying new linens.
Instead, most hospitals search for hospital commercial laundry service near them and delegate the task to someone else. By making the laundry someone else's job, hospitals are able to regularly turn out healthcare linen without worrying about overcrowding their own laundry, and can keep things fresh for every patient.
Hospital linens get washed at high temperatures to make sure that they are disinfected, and they are made of special materials that can withstand those temperatures for multiple washes. If the linens come into contact with any bodily fluids, they are placed in a plastic bag before being washed, so as not to contaminate the people handling them or the other linens.
What Are Linen Services?
Have we piqued your interest with the mention of linen services? Commercial laundry service companies can take care of regularly washing your sheets for you. This is good news if you feel like you just don't have time in your schedule for a weekly sheet washing on top of your regular laundry.
A professional cleaner will properly wash your linens so that they maintain longevity, are properly disinfected, and feel and smell great! Basically, if you've felt overwhelmed by the steps and options in this article, you can get rid of the guesswork. Hamperapp will do it right every time.
Hamperapp has a wash and fold service for any person in the Houston, Dallas, Miami, and Sacramento areas (and many more locations!). You don't necessarily have to be a commercial business in order to use our services.
Who Can Use Linen Services?
While anyone can use full service linen services, it's most commonly used by commercial businesses that have a lot of linen to wash. They remove that specific task for themselves and hire a service to do it for them. All they need to do is pack up the soiled linens and send them off with a commercial laundry service pickup.
Hamperapp even has a delivery service, so you don't need to worry about pickup.
Hospitals use commercial laundry service companies to make sure sheets are disinfected. Restaurants use towel service for restaurants to make sure that stains are taken out of tablecloths and towels.
Airbnb hosts send their linens and towels away for towel cleaning services. Even some hotels use commercial laundry service for hotels for sheets, tablecloths, robes, and employee uniforms!
Washing Linens Frequently and Properly
By now, you know that it's imperative to clean your linens regularly. It prevents infection, relieves allergies, and is overall more pleasant to experience. This becomes all the more important if you're washing linens for any kind of commercial purpose.
Take the guesswork out of laundry by using linen services. They'll wash things more frequently than you may have time for, and they guarantee to do a better job than you could all on your own. They are the professionals, after all.
Are you ready to relax about your linens? Check out some of our promotional offers and get started with cleaner linens and less work on your plate.
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