How Often Should You Wash Your Sheets and Bedding?

Posted By: Katherine Chang

Posted On: 12/16/2025

Why Should You Wash Your Sheets and Bedding Frequently?

It all comes down to good hygiene. As you sleep, your bedding inevitably picks up everyday life —sweat, odors, and whatever your skin and hair leave behind. Let your sheets and bedding sit unwashed for too long, and the accumulation can lead to allergy flare-ups, irritated skin, and acne. Staying on top of a regular washing routine supports a clean and healthy sleep environment that your skin and body will thank you for.

How Often Should You Wash Your Sheets?

Experts are unanimous on this one: Wash your sheets once a week. No matter the fabric—linen, cotton, or silk—a weekly wash keeps sheets crisp, fresh, and helps them last longer. But while once a week is a good baseline, some situations call for changing your sheets more frequently, like if you sleep with a pet, deal with allergies, are fighting a cold, or tend to sweat at night.

Should You Wash New Sheets and Bedding?

Before sleeping on any new bedding, give it a wash. Don’t let perfectly-folded, just-unboxed sheets fool you into thinking they’re clean. By the time they reach your bed, they’ve picked up dust and traces from manufacturing, dyes, packaging, and handling along the way.

Tips for Washing Sheets and Bedding

Cozy, soft sheets aren’t accidental; there are a few key washing rules to follow to ensure your bedding comes out looking and feeling its best. Here are our go-to tips for washing sheets and bedding.

Choose the Right Water Temperature

The ideal water temperature for washing your sheets depends on the material, so start by checking the care label. As a general rule, though, cold or warm water is your safest bet. Hot water might seem like the “deep clean” option, but it can break down fibers faster and fade colors over time.

Cold cycles are gentler on fabrics and still clean effectively, while warm water offers a little extra boost in removing body oils and other buildup. Either way, both cold and warm temperatures help preserve sheet softness and maintain colors. That said, if you’re tackling stains or you’ve been under the weather, opt for the hottest water cycle recommended for your fabric.

Use a Gentle Detergent

Harsh formulas made with harmful chemicals, toxic fragrances, and preservatives can weaken fibers, making your sheets wear out faster. Choose a mild, gentle detergent, like Truly Free Home Laundry Wash, that naturally cleans your sheets and bedding in any water temperature without stripping them of their texture or sheen. When you wash your sheets with a non-toxic laundry detergent, you’re also creating a safer bed for your skin, hormones, and overall health.

Skip the Fabric Softener

Fabric softeners are advertised as a way to get silky smooth laundry, but they can actually do more harm than good. Most conventional fabric softeners coat your sheets and bedding with toxic chemicals and a filmy residue that actually makes them less soft and breathable over time. Worse? Fabric softeners trap skin cells, dust mites, and bacteria, so your sheets are never really clean.

For that plush feel without the downsides, reach for Truly Free Home’s Softening Rinse. Its non-toxic ingredients work together to neutralize hard water, reduce static cling, and cut drying time. The outcome? Super-soft results you can wait to curl up in.

Wash Sheets Separately

It’s tempting to cram as much laundry as you can into the washer at one time, but sheets need room to move to get thoroughly clean. Sheets and bedding get especially heavy when wet, and when the washer is too full, it can prevent a full rinse, which leaves detergent and grime behind. Tossing sheets in with smaller items, like socks, shirts, and towels, might be your next thought, but that can cause tangling, stretching, and piling. So a good rule to follow is always wash sheets separately. When you leave space in the drum for your sheets to swish, they get a truly even clean.

Dry Sheets on Low Heat

If you’re thinking of drying your sheets on high to get them done faster, think again. Using high heat on sheets can damage fibers, dull colors, and generally age them. A low-heat setting helps retain the fabric’s elasticity and softness—without the wear and tear.

How Often to Wash the Rest of Your Bedding

While bed sheets should be changed every week, the rest of your bedding doesn't need quite as much attention. Here’s your quick rundown on how regularly you need to clean everything else—from duvet covers to mattress pads.

Pillowcases: Aim to wash pillowcases at least once a week—right alongside your sheets. Pillowcases absorb face oils, skincare, and sweat more than other parts of your bed, so consider washing them as often as every 3-4 days.

Duvet covers: Assuming you use a top sheet, throw duvet covers in the wash every two weeks. Without a top sheet? Treat them like an outer layer of clothing for your comforter and wash them once a week.

Mattress pads and covers: Washing mattress pads and covers every 2-3 months is a good general guideline since this bedding lives under your fitted sheets.

Comforters: Spot clean comforters as necessary, but give them a full wash each season. If your comforter is made from more delicate fabrics like wool, cashmere, or silk, skip the washer and get it dry cleaned a few times a year to protect the fibers.

Washing your bedding regularly lets you enjoy that fresh-sheet feeling every week—and means a healthier place to rest and recharge. Plus, with a simple washing routine and gentle care, your sheets stay softer, last longer, and support better sleep night after night.

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