How to Wash Bed Sheets

Read all labels to be sure you don't have any specific cleaning requirements to follow. Most sheets can be washed at home in your washing machine, but specialty fabrics may require careful consideration.

Wash with the hottest water temperature setting listed on the care label. Polyester blends are best washed using warm water, while cotton can toleratehot water. Hotter water kills most germs and also takes care of dust mites that thrive in bedding.

Wash at least once every other week. Although, it is sometimes easy to forget to wash your sheets, think of it this way: Some people spend more time in bed than they do in their clothing. We wash clothes regularly, so bed sheets shouldn't be any different.

Separate by color. Just like clothing, dark colors or reds can dull or bleed onto lighter colors.

Hang sheets to dry on a clothesline outside, if possible. Sunshine is a natural disinfectant and helps brighten whites. If you can, do this every couple months. If weather or time doesn't permit, tumble dry your sheets with a dryer sheet.

Always iron bed linen, because ironing helps kill the last of the germs and dust mites thatmight remain after the wash. Ironing also helps you to easily store bed linen.

Keep freshly laundered sheets and bedding in a dry, cool place. Sunlight has its benefits when it comes to drying bedsheets outside once every couple of months. However, if you want to keep your bedsheets looking as good as new, especially if colors are involved, then store away from direct sunlight to avoid fading.

To help keep matching sets together, store each set inside one of the pillowcases.

Keep three sets of sheets for each bed. Rotate your sheets weekly to maintain that clean and fresh feeling in your beds.