Bath towels, shower curtains, pillows, pillowcases, bed sheets, make up brushes and shower loafers all need to be washed as a matter of routine.
Bath towels
Bath
towels should be washed every three to 4 days – and you shouldn’t share bath towels. Bath towels harbour dead skin cells, and oils from bodies. Add to these a dampness and a warm humid atmosphere, makes for a perfect breeding ground for bacteria, mould and mildew.
Bed Sheets
Pillowcases, bed sheets, including duvet covers should be washed every week. Once again, dead skin cells, and oils from our bodies all get absorbed by the bedding, and if not washed, can breed bacteria and act as a playfield for dust mites and other allergens. Some people manage to wash and dry their bedding quickly so it goes back on the bed in the same day, but it is a lot easier to have a spare set of bedding, which you can rotate weekly. Duvets (quilts) should be washed at least once every three months, for the same reason a above.
Shower Curtains and Mats
Shower curtains and mat – every two weeks. If you see black mould growing then it’s gone past the time to wash. For shower curtains and bath mats made of certain plastics, you can use bleach or mould remover. Alternatively, you can put the shower curtain and bath mat into your washing machine, add some washing powder, a cup of baking soda, and 10 drops of tea tree oil (which kill mildew), and a couple of towels to act as a buffer for your washing machine, and run on a gentle cycle. Hang the shower curtain and bath mat to dry.
Pillows
Pillow covers i
ncluding pillow protectors should be washed every 2-3 weeks. As with bed sheets, oils, dead skin cells, and possibly make up, are all loved by bacteria and allergens. Unwashed pillows will have a lot of dead mites and their droppings! Ideally, you should get machine washable pillows, (most synthetic pillows are – but the label should tell you) so that you can give them a quick wash on a gentle setting every 3-4 months. You can get some feather pillows that are machine washable, but if you have some that aren’t them gently washing with warm water and allowing them to air dry should do the trick. However, always check the label first.
Make up brushes
Make up brushes should be washed. Old make up, dead skin cells and skin oils all combine to make let bacteria have a field day. Wash your brushes with warm soapy water, and then leave to thoroughly dry. Do this every 2-3 weeks so you don’t get a build up of bacteria and end up transferring them on to your skin.
Bath loafer
Bath loafer or mesh scrubber. As with towels, a loafer is used and then left to dry in a warm, humid environment making it susceptible to germs and bacteria. This will need regular cleaning – at least once a week. If it is a synthetic loafer, you can clean it with a little bit of chlorine or bleach and warm water. Be sure to run it under warm water until all of the chlorine/bleach has washed off. A natural fibre loafer can be washed with your regular washing.
