Eww! When we talk about home, it is true that people are advanced in purchasing bed sheets online but they are not advanced in being hygienic. This is the bitter truth that large numbers of people don’t replace their bed linen at an appropriate time and are unhygienic irrespective of the fact that how well designed their house is? Every day, our body drops millions of cells particularly on bed. As per Doctors, skin cells and sweat on bed sheet pull dust mites. This releases droppings that contain allergens that can cause rhinitis, itching eyes, asthma and other related diseases. After washing hands and food, laundry hygiene is third most important issue to consider.
In a recent survey, it was found that some people change the bed sheet once in a week whereas there are many people who have not changed the bed sheet from the last six months and they possess ‘I don’t care attitude’. There are less than 5 per cent people who change bed sheet more than one time in a week. For washing linen in a better way, Use hot water (about 140 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit) and a hot dryer cycle to kill and remove all the germs. Perfect Bed sheet is not one which is expensive but one that is regularly washed specifically Cotton Bed Sheets.
Here is a standard guideline of washing linen
• Ideal: Once a Week
• Completely Acceptable: Once Every Two Weeks:
• Just Fine. Not Good: Once a Month
• Pretty Dicey: Once in Six Weeks
• Clutch of Pearls: More than two months.
Here is a list of considerations which might encourage one person to wash their linen and pillows more than usual or less than usual
• Do you sleep alone or with Dog/Cat
• Is it easy for you laundering your clothes and pillows
• Do you take a shower before you go do bed
• Have you just recovered from disease
• Do you eat on bed and experience night sweats?
• Do you sleep more frequently at other places like hotels?
The grubby truth is that Snuggling into freshly laundered bed sheet gives pleasure, but only a few people make a weekly routine to replace it once in a week. In a recent survey, 33 per cent responded that they changed their bed sheets once in a week. 10 per cent replied that they did not worry to throw their bed sheet in the washing machine more than once a month. This 10 per cent is equal to five million adults in the UK.
Positive Correlation
There is a direct positive correlation between age and being hygienic. The older we are, the over-particular we are about hygienic conditions.
As per another survey
• 37 per cent people in the age group of between 18 to 25-year age are ‘au naturals’ and 16 per cent people in the same age group were weekly washers.
• 42 per cent among the over-60’s laundered sheets every week and 14 per cent people in the same age group took more than three weeks to clean linen.
Acceptable period of washing Bed sheets
There is no specific figure laid down by any Standard authority for frequency of washing linen, but guideline is once a week for cleaning linen. Further adding, there are people who don’t clean linen for months and never get ill, but the above mentioned standard is like a helmet —you reduce the risk of accident by wearing it.
Bed Sheets should be washed often to eliminate accumulation of dust, debris, sweat and other itchy things
Pyjamas
We will consider most common age—18 to 32-year-old man. They wear the same pyjamas for approximately 12 nights and women of the above mentioned age approximately 18 nights. Consequently, they drop skin cells along with micro-organisms—E-Coil bacteria. If transferred to the urinary tract, they can cause cystitis.
Expert Guidelines: Change Pyjamas at least once a week.
Towels
They are the causes of cross contamination. They soak up dead skin cells and natural bacteria from the body of people. Further, sharing towels can contaminate bacteria and viruses such as Staphylococcus aureus that can cause skin infections and Athlete’s Foot.
Guidelines by experts
Towels should be washed after every three uses.
Pillows
A survey revealed that astonishing 45 per cent of people in the UK have never washed their pillows. One third of the weight of a two year old pillow is comprised of dead skin and dust mite faeces—-this can lead to rhinitis and conjunctivitis.
Expert Guidelines
Pillows should be washed once in few months. Wash it at 60 C to kill dust mites
Toothbrushes
You cannot imagine such a mammoth figure— a toothbrush on an average contains 10 million germs containing Bacteria and Flu Virus. Some brushes even contain fatal diseases such as Hepatitis C.
Expert Guidelines
After every month, soak toothbrush for five months in the boiling water or use brush cleaning products like Brushtox.
Other Household items that need to be kept hygienic
There are other items also in the house that accumulate nasty germs and spread diseases if they are unhygienic. Following are the recommendations by experts about hygienic habits related to Household goods.
Dishcloths
In a study conducted by Dettol nine out of 10 dish clothes in the UK were highly contaminated with germs such as bacteria. Dishcloths which are used contain four billion germs.
Expert guidelines
Dishcloths should be rinsed out and air-dried after every use. They should be replaced monthly.
Tea Towels
They lead to highest cross-contamination and should be changed every day.