How often do you wash your pillows, pillow protectors and blankets?

February 10, 2020 7:52 AM

Assume that you use sheets and blankets, not a duvet, and assume that you use pillow protectors. How often do you wash the blankets, quilt, pillow protectors, mattress cover and pillows? (I am looking for advice since I do this on an ad hoc basis.)

Assume likewise that you wash your sheets and pillowcases weekly and are happy with this schedule, and assume that you immediately wash anything that, like, looks visibly dirty, has a spill on it or otherwise falls victim to unusual events. What is your regular wash schedule otherwise? Why did you choose to do it this way?

posted by Frowner to Home & Garden (16 answers total)

Quarterly, but once or twice more if it's hot in seasons when the building does not have the air conditioning on.
posted by jgirl at 7:57 AM on February 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

Weekly, on a rotating basis. (So, one week the pillows & pillow protectors go in with the sheets and pillowcases. The next week, the quilt. The next week, the mattress cover, etc.)
posted by minervous at 8:02 AM on February 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

My schedule: I change my pillowcases every night, since I find that it helps control my acne (I own a ton of extra pillowcases to accommodate this). I wash my pillow protectors once a week, along with my sheets. I wash my mattress protector about once a month in winter, every two weeks in summer since I get SWEATY AF at night in the summer.

My blankets are used only in winter (in summer we sleep under a linen sheet only) and I wash them when I take them out of storage at the start of the cold weather, before I put them away in spring, and in between only when I notice that they are particularly covered in dog hair. In practice this is about every six weeks.

I...admit it, we NEVER wash our actual pillows. Both my husband and I are poor sleepers and we have apparently decided to address this by slowly trying out every weird pillow in existence, so any individual pillow only ends up on our bed for about six months to a year max before we are swapping it out for a new gimmicky pillow. Several of these have come with explicit warnings not to get them wet, so I just shrug and figure we'll probably have a fresh one soon enough.
posted by DSime at 8:05 AM on February 10, 2020

I'll link Ask a Clean Person on sheet-washing schedules because I'm unwilling to admit to how often I wash mine.
posted by asperity at 8:10 AM on February 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

I wash my pillowcases twice a week, on hot (to control acne). I have thought about buying enough to change pillow cases every night, like DSime does. I wash sheets and duvet covers once or twice a week, on hot. I almost never wash my pillows themselves, as I have had bad experiences with them being disfigured in the washer/dryer. I do have a pillow protector (I think that's what it is - basically like an under-pillowcase, that zips) that I wash about once a week. While the sheets and duvet cover are a pain to wrangle on and off, having bed linens that are frequently clean is such a treat that it's worth it.
posted by ClaireBear at 8:42 AM on February 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

I change my sheets every couple of weeks. I wash my pillows every 4-6 months. I only use my duvet in winter, it gets washed when I put it away in spring. During spring and autumn I use a blanket and that gets washed maybe once during the season and once when it gets retired for winter/summer.
posted by koahiatamadl at 9:34 AM on February 10, 2020 [2 favorites]

I was my sheets and pillowcases every couple of weeks, if I remember to do it. More often in the summer, for sure. I have tow quilts, one is very lightweight and the other is very warm. I was each at most once a year. The pillows themselves I rarely wash, maybe once a year.

A lot depends on how dirty your bedding gets. For instance, if you sweat a lot at night you need to wash everything more frequently.
posted by mareli at 9:42 AM on February 10, 2020 [2 favorites]

I wash the things you asked (pillow protectors and mattress protectors and duvet itself) twice a year, when I switch from summer sheets to winter sheets. I wash pillowcases, sheets, and the duvet cover weekly/biweekly.
posted by Ms Vegetable at 10:18 AM on February 10, 2020

I have to schlep everything to the laundromat so I usually do this quarterly, possibly more if it's particularly sweaty (or I've been up to more "unusual events"with my partner). I'm not very sweaty, I sleep in pajamas (which I wash more often), and I don't have pets. When I am living somewhere with convenient laundry, I'll do it more often. I have summer and winter sheets and I always wash the sheets before I put them away for the season.
posted by jessamyn at 10:33 AM on February 10, 2020

I wash my duvet cover along with my sheets (weekly). I have never washed blankets and I don't know if my down pillows are washable, but I have never washed them either. I might wash blankets if I didn't have to use a laundromat.
posted by pinochiette at 11:01 AM on February 10, 2020

Blankets get washed with the sheets every time. Pillow protectors every other time, along with the mattress cover. I will occasionally put pillows through the dryer or outside in the sun, but washing them has wrecked them in the past and some are down, so no washing. I depend on the pillow cases and pillow protectors to keep them clean.
posted by quince at 11:19 AM on February 10, 2020

I'm very much in the ad-hoc camp. Every few weeks for outer things (pillowcases, duvet covers, sheets, comforters, blankets), and every few months for inner things (pillows, pillow protectors, duvets, bed covers).

How often exactly depends on various factors. In summer everything gets sweaty faster, but also dries much more quickly outside, so I can easily wash pillows in the morning and have them completely dry when I go to bed.

I have two cats who love to sleep on the bed with me, so that accelerates the schedule. Sometimes there is a vomit incident which accelerates it very abruptly.
posted by confluency at 12:27 PM on February 10, 2020

When I had my own washer and dryer I would wash my actual pillows maybe twice a year. I miss being about to do that. I'd probably do it quarterly now to help with my allergies.
posted by Kitchen Witch at 1:07 PM on February 10, 2020

Oh, I do want to add that my blanket washing schedule is actually based on the material of the blanket. We have a couple of wool blankets that get washed only once a year, max. The rest are either cotton or fleece and get washed much more often.
posted by DSime at 1:11 PM on February 10, 2020

I don't have a set schedule, but I do have a sensitive nose, so I wash them based on the sniff test. I am a very sweaty sleeper and pretty dang stinky person, so I think it averages out to:
-cotton blanket, 2-4 times a year
-mattress protector, about every two months
-pillow protectors, once a month?
-pillows themselves, 2-4 times a year
-sheets, every week

Caveat: my non-smelly partner's pillows don't get washed though, because they don't stink and I don't like to make extra work for myself.
posted by purple_bird at 2:03 PM on February 10, 2020

Wash linen sheets, cotton blanket, wool blanket and cotton quilt/bedspread thingie every week or so. Sometimes I skip the blankets. We have a hairy dog that sleeps with us and I feel like I sleep more easily when everything is clean. I wash pillow protectors every couple of months; our pillows are wool so I don't wash them, just hang them outside to air. Mattress protector once a month.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:56 PM on February 11, 2020