Wash your sheets and pillowcases once a week, or every two weeks at most. Wash bath towels after three or four uses, as long as they dry fully in between, and bath mats once a week. Wash more often when someone has been sick, on hot and humid nights, or if a pet sleeps on the bed.
Sheets: once a week
Over a week you leave sweat, body oils and skin cells in your sheets, and dust mites feed on the skin. You can't see the build-up, but by the end of the second week you can usually smell it.
Pillowcases pick up hair products, make-up and skincare as well. If you have sensitive or acne-prone skin, change them twice a week. Spare pillowcases are cheap and take up almost no room.
When to wash them more often
Weekly is the baseline. Wash sooner when:
- Someone in the bed has been sick
- It's a hot, humid Sydney summer and you sleep without air conditioning
- Your dog or cat sleeps on the bed
- You have hay fever, asthma or a dust mite allergy
- You often go to bed straight after the gym or the beach
Towels: after three or four uses
A towel only touches clean skin, but it stays damp for hours, and that's what bacteria and mildew need. Three or four uses is a sensible limit if the towel hangs spread out and dries between uses. One that stays bunched on a hook or on the floor needs washing sooner, and one that smells musty needs washing now.
- Bath towels: after 3 to 4 uses
- Hand towels: every 2 to 3 days
- Bath mats: once a week
- Gym, beach and pool towels: after every use
- Tea towels: every day or two, since they're used on hands, dishes and benches
Towels that smell even straight after a wash usually have a build-up of detergent or fabric softener. Our guide on getting the musty smell out of towels explains how to strip it out.
How hot to wash them
For sheets and towels, a hot wash of around 60°C is the most reliable way to kill dust mites and most bacteria. Check the care label first: most cotton sheets and towels are fine at 60°C, but some coloured, linen or bamboo sheets ask for 40°C.
Dry them completely before they go back in the cupboard. Folding sheets or towels while they're even slightly damp is the quickest way to make them smell.
How many sets you need
Two sets of sheets per bed and two or three bath towels per person are enough to wash weekly without rushing. One set is on the bed while the other is washed, dried and put away.
Making the weekly wash easier
Sheets and towels are the heaviest part of most households' washing. A queen sheet set weighs about 1.5kg and a bath towel about 0.6kg, so a family's weekly sheets and towels alone can fill a home machine twice.
If that's the load you keep putting off, you can hand it over. With Laundry Load you choose a hot wash and hot dry when you book, leave the bag at your door and get it back washed, dried and folded within 48 hours. A Large load (up to 15kg, $95 with free pickup & delivery) usually fits a family's weekly sheets and towels. See what fits in each size.
