How Often Do People Change Their Sheets When They Know They're Having Sex?


Please tell me those are clean.

By Marianne Garvey

People are dirtier than you think in the bedroom — but not when it comes to sex.

A new study surveyed over 1,000 people about their bedroom hygiene, specifically how often they wash their sheets and how that relates to their sex habits.

Surprisingly, less than 40 percent of women change their sheets before a night out if sex is guaranteed. Men ranked not changing sheets immediately after sex higher on the yuck scale — they wait on average 12 days to wash bedding after they become "soiled through sexual activity" and 18 days after a one-night stand. Gross!

For those asked, the average person changes sheets roughly every 24 days, again gross. Experts say every seven days is normal, and should actually be changed every five. Single men waited nearly 45 days before changing their bedding on average.

Pillowcases had a slightly longer average unwashed period, clocking in at 24.6 days before being washed in the laundry or swapped for fresh ones. Again, experts suggest a weekly cleaning to help prevent allergens.

Many of those surveyed said that it could take up to 35 days before they’d consider their unwashed bedding “gross.” That’s over a month.

Wanna be grossed out? Five weeks of unwashed sheets piles up dead skin each day, and attracts millions of dust mites. Puke.

Overall, relationship commitment seemed to correlate with more frequent washing. Respondents in a relationship had the shortest average time between pillow cleanings, while married couples had the cleanest record for sheets. Those who slept naked without showering before bed washed their sheets comparatively often, as one might hope.

Women may change their sheets more often, but men are more likely to do so when they sense a hookup — 43 percent of male respondents opted for clean sheets if sex was even a possibility. If it was a possibility that very night, nearly half reported changing their sheets. Thanks guys.

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