How Often Should You Wash Everything? A Launderer’s Guide

Here’s a no-nonsense guide to how often you should launder key household fabrics.

Don't wait until they smell. Your bath towel is doing more than drying you—it's collecting moisture and sitting in a humid environment. Billion Photos/Shutterstock

We all know the laundry pile never goes away. But instead of guessing your way through life, here’s a no-nonsense guide to how often you should launder key household fabrics—and yes, that includes your sheets, towels, and all those overlooked blanks and throws.

Bedding

Your nightly contact zone deserves weekly attention. You spend roughly 50 hours per week in bed. During that time your sheets are quietly collecting sweat, dead skin, body oils, and maybe the dog if you’re letting Fido sleep up there. Dermatologists and sleep experts say that means it’s time for a weekly strip-off of your sheets and pillowcases. Stretching to once every two weeks is OK only if you’re truly low-traffic (no pets, no sweats, no night snacks).

Duvet covers, blankets, and comforters—things that touch you less directly—can wait longer: duvet covers every two to four weeks, throw blankets every few months.

Towels and Bathroom Linens

Don’t wait until they smell. Your bath towel is doing more than drying you—it’s collecting moisture and sitting in a humid environment. Experts say wash after three to five uses (so about once a week is safe). Hand towels? Every two to three days if you want to stay ahead of bacteria.