'Best temperature' to wash sheets to remove bacteria and stop clothes smelling

When it comes to freshening up your bedding, knowing how to clean every piece correctly can make all the difference.

Proper care is necessary when it comes to pillows and duvets, as well as your bedsheets. One common quandary when it comes to laundry duties revolves around frequency and appropriate water temperature for washing bed linens.

Bedding gurus at Soak and Sleep suggest washing your sheets weekly or fortnightly, reports the Express.. Keeping a spare set, or two, is handy if your diary is packed out, but also for rotating.

If someone in your home suffers from allergies, a weekly wash schedule keeps the linens fresher, aiding their comfort. Not only that, but a weekly wash helps to maintain that crisp whiteness of sheets and helps prevent the accrual of unsightly stains.

So, how should you actually wash your bedsheets?

While sheets may appear clean at a glance, unseen bacteria often continue to thrive.

The experts said that they would "always recommend" adhering to the care labels and following the instructions, however, if households decide to go longer than a week before washing their bed sheets, they may need to up the temperature.

Talking about the temperature they add: "Most fabrics can be washed at a warm temperature of 40 degrees as this helps to remove dirt and natural body oils and takes care of germs."

Additionally, laundry experts at Melt claim 60 degrees is needed if households are not washing bed sheets often. They argue that after so long, on a lower temperature wash, some bacteria will remain on your laundry. This means "it will smell more quickly".

Linens experts at Belledorm argued the same point as they claimed that 40 degrees tends to be the "optimum temperature" to wash bed sheets.

But they added: "If, however, you've left your sheets a little longer than you should have, consider a higher wash, especially in cold and flu season."

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