Households urged to wash bed sheets this often - or risk sharing bed with 20,000 dust mites

Maintaining clean bedding is essential for our health, but many people often wonder just how regularly we should be washing our bed sheets to keep them at peak freshness.

With the chillier weather outside and the heating turned up inside, many people experience night sweats. Getting into a solid cleaning routine is more important than ever – as nobody wants to sleep with dust mites.

For those who don't already make this a routine, it might come as a shock that you could be cosying up to approximately 20,000 dust mites every night if your bedding isn't washed weekly, which is especially troublesome for allergy sufferers.

MattressNextDay's CEO and sleep guru Martin Seeley emphasizes the importance of washing sheets 'every single week'. He explains: "We each perspire around 200ml of liquid nightly, and this moisture penetrates through to your duvet. Further studies show that the average bedding harbours around 20,000 dust mites which can be triggering for those that suffer from allergies."

Dust mites are well-known culprits for congestion and stuffy noses, but a good laundering schedule is key to keeping them at bay, reports the Mirror.

The expert notes: "Given that 80 percent of dust mites are made up of your dead skin, which you naturally produce more of overnight, you should be washing your bedding at least once a week."

However, for those who tend to sweat more during the night, it might be worth washing your bed linens even more regularly. Changing bedding can indeed be a bit of a task, but it's not something to be neglected.

When washing your bed sheets, remember to set them on a 60-degree wash to effectively kill off dust mites. Furthermore, Martin recommends using a high-quality detergent to preserve their