How Often Do You Change Sheets and Towels?

Updated on October 26, 2011
B.. asks from Rockwall, TX
26 answers

Just curious, how often do you change your sheets? What about those of you who have pets that find their way on your beds?

How many times do you use your bath towels, before washing them?

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So What Happened?

Phew...I'm normal!! I was talking to my friend today and she changes sheets 3 times a week, and towels after every use. It got me thinking...maybe, I'm not washing enough. It seems as though I am. I change sheets once a week, and towels twice a week.

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☆.A.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Sheets, I shoot for once per week.
Bath towels about every 3 days.
Hand towels roughly every other day.

2 moms found this helpful
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K.W.

answers from Seattle on

Thank you Lee Lee for letting me know I'm not alone.

Weekly for towels and sometimes for sheets (more often every two weeks).

People wash their towels after every use. Really??? Wow. That is a lot of laundry, water, soap, energy. Granted, I don't have a teenage son (which might change the equation a tad), but I'm still astounded.

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K.A.

answers from San Diego on

We use a new towel for each shower per person. The sheets are on no schedule. All depends on how much time I have. Master bed is 4 loads by itself and the kids are several loads as well by the time you wash pillows and comforters. I can't stand changing sheets but not washing the pillows and comforter!
My cats sleep on the bed all the time and 3 of them are long haired. There is always hair on the comforter, even as I make the bed because they like to help me LOL

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P.M.

answers from Portland on

Manufacturers of laundry products want us to believe that frequent washing is a mark of good hygiene and excellent womanhood. Bah! I change sheets and towels when they begin to smell "unfresh."

More often seems irresponsible and unsustainable to me. And my well tends to pull up grit in rainless months if I use too much water, so I go as easy as possible. I've never had anybody try to avoid me or hint that I or my house smell unclean – in fact, I usually get comments that my house smells good, natural, fresh. And we don't have grungy diseases, rashes or infections that keep recurring, either.

In hot, humid weather, this might mean bath towels every 2-3 weeks. In cooler or dryer weather, they can last much longer. They are only used on freshly washed bodies, and we hang them where they can dry quickly. Hand and kitchen towels need washing at least every week. Sheets can usually go 3 weeks or even longer. We don't use comforters, but blankets get washed every other month unless I start wheezing/sneezing sooner. (If I could survive pets in the house, I suspect "unfresh" would occur more frequently.)

Less frequent washing not only saves water and detergent and produces less wastewater, but the fabrics themselves last a great deal longer. The agitation of washing breaks down fabrics. I have some towels that are well over 30 years old. They're getting just a little thin, but still look (and smell) great.

4 moms found this helpful
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K.S.

answers from Detroit on

Not as often as I'd like. Too much time on Mamapedia, perchance? :)

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L.V.

answers from Dallas on

We change ours once a week when we remember. For our kids, we change them every week, but every 1-2 days if they're sick. We have two cats, but we try to make the bed everyday so that they're on top of the bed instead of on the sheets. Not that one cat doesn't burrow when it's cold, the weirdo. LOL

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E.A.

answers from Erie on

Towels that are properly cared for (hung up to dry between uses) usually get 3-4 uses out of them before going into the laundry, but if I find them wet on the floor, they go straight into the hamper. I wash two loads of them once a week, kitchen towels are one load once a week (I don't use paper napkins or paper towels, it's all cloth). Sheets ideally get washed weekly, but more typically it's every two weeks, comforters get washed 2-4 times a year because we use flat sheets in addition to fitted and I change them out seasonally.

I only wash pillows once or twice a year, I keep two cases on them at all times. But the pillow cases get washed weekly, no matter what, especially ours because my face will break out if I don't.

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⊱.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

Towels are washed every Saturday. Sheets generally go two weeks before being laundered. Our animals (dog and cat) are not allowed on the sheets.

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K.G.

answers from Fort Wayne on

2x a week for sheets and towels are every other day. Or if they get that funky smell after one use they get washed.

1 mom found this helpful
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B.B.

answers from Portland on

My kids get new towels each time they bathe (2-3x/wk) because there isn't enough space to hang their towels in their bathroom. My husband's and my towels get replaced as needed - my hubby isn't the best about hanging the towels. Fortunately, I have a ton of towels since 50% of our wedding gifts were towels! I never though we'd go through that many towels in a week but we do now. Sheets are supposed to be changed weekly but it may slide to 2 weeks if I'm busy but are changed sooner if needed.

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L..

answers from Roanoke on

I'm in the majority here too..sheets get changed 1x a week, or more if I have an abundance of energy. :) Towels get changed 2-3x a week. We have 2 cats, but they don't sleep on the sheets, they usually stay on the top blanket. I wash the blanket once every 2-3 weeks.

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M.H.

answers from Atlanta on

I use my bath towel until someone else chooses to use it which is usually 2 or 3 times. I change the sheets once a week unless there is a reason to change more often...like a dog or a kid that leave behind a smell or sand or such.

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C.C.

answers from San Francisco on

Sheets are changed weekly. We have 2 cats, and they are only allowed at the foot of the bed, on top of the blanket. But the cats are brushed all the time, so they don't shed a lot (black cats, white carpet... poor things are brushed within an inch of their lives daily!)

Towels are changed weekly, but if I find towels on the floor (WHY don't my children understand hanging towels up?), they are changed then and there.

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K.L.

answers from Savannah on

Bed linens go for a few of weeks. As for towels, I use one for half a week and then get a fresh one, and my husband uses 2 towels a week, alternating between the two of them.

No pets here!

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J.B.

answers from Phoenix on

Sheets every Sunday, towels 1-2 times a week or as needed more

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G.T.

answers from Redding on

Generally I change the sheets every Saturday when I do laundry.
Towels, we hang up right after we use them so they can dry, and usually last for about 3 or 4 uses. I only use white towels and washcloths, so I bleach them when I wash them and can still smell the bleach in them till about the 4th use, that's when I decide I need a fresh one.

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M.G.

answers from Seattle on

I do towels a few times a week, generally don't reuse towels for anything other than as a cleanup towel and sheets every week and a half to every two weeks depending on necessity. We have no pets.

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W.H.

answers from Sacramento on

I change the bedsheets once a week. I wash the bed blanket that is on top once a month cause the critters sleep on top of it. handtowels get changed every other day or sooner if necessary. bath towels - son uses his once, husband uses his for freaking ever - i will swap it if i notice its been hanging for awhile - me, I use two towels per shower. one for my super-long hair and one for my body. the one i use on my body gets put in the hamper, the one for my hair gets used as the body towel for the next shower.

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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

.

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R.J.

answers from Seattle on

Sheets & Duvets all get washed on Sunday (barring needing to strip them off sooner for an accident or something).

Towels are SUPPOSED to be washed once a week, but my husband throws them on the floor by the toilet, so they often make it in 2-3x per week. (I've tried various end runs around this. None work. He just uses other people's towels and throws them on the floor by the toilet. EVEN WHEN OUR TOILET WASN'T NEAR THE SHOWER, MIRROR, OR TOWEL BAR. Long. Suffering. Sigh.

Comforters get washed about every other month. (Down)

1 mom found this helpful

C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

I asked this question before and got wide, varying answers...

I change my sheets weekly...sometimes twice a week if the pollen is really high. Towels? I change out twice a week. I only use one towel to dry off - dropped the hair towel years ago!! :)

My comforters and mattress pads as well as pillows and shower curtains get washed once a month - usually on the first of each month.

1 mom found this helpful

T.F.

answers from Dallas on

Sheets and all bedding at least once a week.
Towels daily - 2 total. 1 for hair, 1 for body.

1 mom found this helpful

M.J.

answers from Minneapolis on

Sheets when I get at em unless on of the kids did something in them. If I can do it weekly I am happy... its gone longer but usually not more than 2 weeks. Comforter, when ever it looks or smells yucky. Towels depends on the person using it. Kids I hang and use maybe 2 times more... me I wash body towel right away hair towel can be used over again like 2 times. Husband after every wash. Dog has her own towels and I burn them after. LOL not really I just bleach all her stuff.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.B.

answers from Atlanta on

I use a different towel every time and change sheets once a week.

1 mom found this helpful
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R.C.

answers from Chicago on

I am on the same schedule as you. Sheets 1X per week, towels 2X per week. I do change out the hand towels a little more often. Especially when we have a ton of kids in and out of the bathroom.

1 mom found this helpful

A.D.

answers from Washington DC on

I guess i'm a minority here...my towels get washed once every 2 weeks or if they get left in a heap on the floor by my husband. Dish towels get washed every couple of days because they tend to get pretty grimy (my kids use them as a run-by face wipe). My sheets probably get washed once or twice a month. I really don't like washing them too often because it breaks down the fabric and wears them out a lot faster

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