Amethyst Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 At the beginning of the pandemic, dh (who has mild asthma) was determined to finally make our bedroom allergy-proof. Ripped up the carpeting and put down hardwood;allergy-proof covers on mattress, boxspring, and pillows; and a strict cleaning schedule of dusting and vacuuming (which he has taken on as his own project, thank goodness since I hate dusting lol). Part of this project means regular washing of the blankets. At first he said every week, but I said that’s too often. I do sheets and pillowcases every week, but blankets? They take all day to wash and dry. I’ve moved it to every 17 days. Even that seems like a lot. But maybe I’m just lazy. How often do you wash your blankets? Especially interested in hearing from those with allergies/asthma. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 We have three allergy sufferers in our house and I wash blankets and comforters weekly. My washer and drier are large capacity, so I can wash a couple blankets at a time and it isn't hugely time consuming. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 When they stink or my eczema acts up, whichever earlier. My washer is normal capacity so I can wash one thin queen comforter and two twin fleece blankets at a time. My dryer is large capacity and the three blankets would come out dry. My washer takes about 1.5 hrs per load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slackermom Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 My teen and I both have asthma, but we don't have a washer/dryer in our apartment, so since April we have relied on washing everything via my kid's weekend visits with my ex. So, sheets every 1-2 weeks, but we have enough pillowcases to switch more often, lightweight blankets every 2-3 weeks, heavier blankets maybe every 6 weeks. I am sewing some old sheets together to make pull-on covers for some of the heavier winter blankets that we can at least wash the covers more frequently. It's a bit of an effort to send everything back and forth, especially the bulky stuff. I already have fabric covers for the living room seating, which needs to get washed at least monthly, thanks to our cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 We use a blanket as the top covering on our bed. I wash sheets/pillowcases weekly and the blanket is washed every other week. The dogs sleep on it, and even though they're non-shedding and are bathed every ten days or so, still I think it needs washing at least every other week. I wash DS's blanket about once a month. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 I *fluff* my blankets with some low heat occasionally to pull out dust and yuck. I don't necessary *wash* so often, because that's really hard on the blankets. I know they say to. Maybe he'd like to try some turmeric? Hygiene is great and part of the puzzle, but also reducing inflammation helps. I got completely off my asthma medication with it. You could gift him a roomba for Christmas. Life changing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 5 minutes ago, Pawz4me said: The dogs sleep on it, Yeah, the dog is the kicker for me. When I allow that, it's really obvious, sigh. I do once in a while for a treat, only when he's freshly bathed. I also took the dog bed out of our room and started cutting back on letting him sleep on the bathmat. If he does sleep on the bath mat, I have to wash it. Even though it's just in the connected bath, not the actual bedroom, the stuff in there makes a difference. So I wash the bath mat pretty frequently and make sure to keep mold (shower, toilet, ceiling) down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 DS has asthma. I wash all his bedding, including comforter, fleece blanket and quilt, every week. I need to up my game in washing all our house blankets more frequently. Between the kitty fur and the fact that DH and DS wrap themselves in blankets all day, they really do need it. We have blankets all over the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 Not that it always happens... but I do aim for weekly. I use a large fleece blanket and dh uses our comforter. My blanket can handle the beating, but the comforter doesn’t like it. I’m still trying to convince him to use more durable blankets, but he’s impossible, so I have a lumpy comforter. We don’t have major allergies, but we mostly shower in the morning. By day 2 or 3, I’m already thinking about all of the daily ick I’m curled up in. One might think I’d start showering at night to solve that issue, but no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 Weekly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 (edited) Two kids with asthma here, and per our allergist’s recommendation: once a week on hot. Not just blankets, either. I do pillows, throw pillows, blankets, sheets, the whole shebang. I went years doing the duvet cover only, no top sheet, European style. Now the kids have comforters of their choice and one kid still prefers no top sheet. In my growing up years of only washing sheets and not blankets, this would never have flown, but washing weekly - no big deal. And less work for me. Allergist also recommends washing curtains that often as well, so, ummmm, no curtains in the kids’ bedrooms when asthma is acting up. We went with very nice blinds. We have BlueAir filters in bedrooms, vacuum/dust weekly. Reducing knick knacks helps, too. ETA: we do other things as well: no dogs upstairs where we have bedrooms, etc. Our doc repeatedly said that having 8 hours a day in the cleanest environment possible will help. And it did. Since I don’t have asthma, this all felt over the top to me, and I confess to being incredulous about the level of work. The results have been worth it. Maybe DH can strip the bed when he vacuums weekly, or you can strip it, he can make it. Also, we switched to bedding that washed and dried faster. 😊 Edited September 19, 2020 by Spryte Added some extra thoughts 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 I have two allergy people here--all their bedding, including blankets, are washed and dried on hot weekly. I do not put heavy comforters or similar on their bed. They have those cotton weave blankets. I wash all of one person's bedding in a single load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 I have allergies and tend toward asthma. I wash sheets weekly when I’m ‘triggered’, every two weeks or so otherwise. Comforters every two weeks when trigger, about 4X annually otherwise. Blankets that are in between the comforter and the sheets are only washed when they are going to be put away, so usually about 1-2X per year. FAR MORE IMPORTANT: No animals, scented stuff, or carpets in the bedroom. No windows open overnight during asthma flares. I try hard to prevent my allergies from triggering asthma by treating them aggressively, so I take Allegra a lot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 Sheets and pillowcases every week. we use a top and bottom sheet. The whole point of sheets is to keep blankets cleaner. Wool blankets are washed 2 times a year.( Some of my wool blankets are those grey ones. They were made in 1942,) Patchwork quilts 2 times a year Doona covers. Ds 16 weekly, mine every month Everyone else uses patchwork quilts Cotton blankets, every few weeks DH has multiple chemical sensitivities. We have hardwood floors, no floor coverings, minimal stuff in the bedroom and 2 walls of windows. We sleep with windows opened so he has lots of fresh air. We also have a few plants in there as they help with air freshening I am hopeless with dusting 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 sheets are supposedly weekly down comforters - about every six months. For the boys who still live here . . . more often because they each refuse to use a top sheet. Their duvets covers are washed more often. (sheet material.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I talk to the trees Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 Asthmatic with three dogs, here! Blankets and sheets are done weekly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 No allergies here that I know of ... comforters are washed probably 2x per year on average? Other blankets maybe 4-6 times? Maybe less. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 Yikes. You don't even want to know. No allergies here, though. (FWIW, washing mine requires a trip to the laundromat. The kids blankets --twin-- get washed more frequently...but still not necessarily...frequently.) 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 Blankets should be washed? J/K. But I'm with @alisoncooks in that it sure doesn't happen as often as the rest of y'alls schedule. Two of mine have allergies. We have three cats. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Sheets washed weekly but sometimes twice a week during a nasty heat wave. Blankets are washed often as we have pets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 9 hours ago, Happymomof1 said: Yikes, once a season for us. No allergies here. Sheets weekly. Well, maybe a little more than that, but we don't have animals. But we don't have a blanket on our bed but maybe 2 -4 months out of the year. It is too hot. We also have a lightweight summer comforter and a heavy winter comforter. So part of the time we have the summer comforter with blanket and part without. Then we have the winter comforter with no blanket and then sometimes without. So basically I only wash it when we are changing from types of seasons. Whew! I was so glad to read your post as I was starting to feel like we are dirty, dirty, dirty people lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 I had no idea people washed their blankets so often. I probably wash the blankets on beds seasonally or every other month. I guess we're gross! I can't figure out how they'd get dirty so fast when you're using sheets. The couch blanket gets washed more often because people are touching it directly. Guest blankets get washed between guests. We have no allergies and our home is a very low dust situation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted September 20, 2020 Author Share Posted September 20, 2020 OP. Thanks for all the replies. I guess I’m not overdoing it. We have no pets (due to allergies) so hair and smell on the blankets is not an issue. But I guess I’ll stick to the every 18 days schedule. I was hoping that was too often but oh well. I agree with whoever mentioned fewer knick knacks. We have hardly any. And we took down the Curtains when we installed the hardwood in bedroom. Thanks for the replies! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Btervet Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 We use duvet covers (same material as sheets) over down comforters. The duvet covers get washed weekly (actually every other week, but we have 2 sets, so they are only on the bed for a week) and the comforter every other month or more often if needed (we still have little kids, they are gross sometimes). We don't use top sheets though, so the duvet cover serves the purpose of a sheet. None of my kids could ever use a sheet to keep a blanket clean, nor could I, as we wrap the comforter all around us and between legs etc. Sometimes I sleep on top of the comforter, so... sheets wouldn't mean less cleaning but a duvet does. We also have many blankets around the house, and those tend to get washed as needed, on average probably every two weeks between dirty kids and the dog. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 We have wool duvets with duvet covers. The covers are washed about once a month (we have a top sheet so no skin contact with the covers). But the wool duvet inners!?!?! Never. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Sheets are kind of weekly. Although longer for the younger two who aren’t too stinky yet. Pillow cases weekly. Feather doonas here and covers maybe once a month (ours is monthly because it’s white but the kids go longer some times). Inners maybe twice a year. I have to be honest I think you all just have bigger washers or something because mine runs pretty flat out as it is many days and there’s no way I’m doing that often. ds has seasonal allergies so I increase the washing at the time of the year it’s bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 For the first time in my life I have a large capacity washer and dryer and I wash sheets every week, comforters every month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plateau Mama Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 My son has severe pet allergies. I wash his sheet, blankets, duvet cover weekly. I aim to vacuum his room daily with the Roomba. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 All the freaking time, and yet not often enough - 6 cats in the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 We don't have blankets on our bed, we have comforters and we have a warm season comforter and a cold season one. We dry clean after each season. We do wash linens underneath the comforter much more frequently. Our guest room is laundered or dry cleaned after use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidlit Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 Not nearly often enough, I’ve learned from this thread. I aim to wash sheets every other weekend. As for all other bedding, I’m going to go with “as needed.” Yep, that’s it—as needed. 🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 At my last apartment in a high rise that included a hotel with lots of international guests, we were constantly fighting bedbugs and carpet beetles. I thought bedbugs were bad, until I experienced carpet beatles! For the past two years, until I moved, I washed my entire bed at least once a week, and at peak periods of infestation every two days. I gave up on pillows and full sized blankets. I just had a bottom sheet and a couple 50" by 70" inch fleece throw blankets as my "pillow" and to sorta cover myself. I had no access to nearby affordable machines that used enough water to get clothes clean, so I hand washed everything in a Wonder Wash and then spun it in a Panda centrifuge. https://laundry-alternative.com/products/the-wonderwash https://www.amazon.com/Panda-Portable-Dryer-22lbs-Stainless/dp/B01IRMBG7I I only have a blow up mattress on the floor, but I have real pillows, right now! And a top-sheet. I still only have a throw blanket and not a real one. Here I have roaches and scorpions. They pass through and crawl on me, but me and my bed are not their target. I am washing it all by hand without the help of the wonder-washer and centrifuge, but at least I am washing it all less often. I am going to have to do something different come winter. Every day is still over 100 degrees here and all I wear is shorts and tank tops, and I don't mind getting wet, but that will change soon. I need to do something. Wet clothes and blankets that are not spun are messy and take forever to dry indoors, and it is too dirty and unsafe to dry clothes outside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoeless Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 (edited) Sheets weekly. Blankets are washed a few times a year, or after anyone has been ill. I sometimes take the pillows and blankets and stuff them in the dryer for a while on the "sanitize" cycle, to kill off any dust mites between washes. We have 2 cats and a dog. The dog sleeps in a crate and has his own blankets that get washed whenever they are smelly. The cats sleep at the foot of the bed sometimes but seem to prefer other napping spots. Edited September 21, 2020 by MissLemon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth S Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 Honestly, I wash blankets & bedspreads/bedskirts only when the child goes somewhere else overnight. It gives me 36+ hours to clean everything & get it back on. We take showers at night, go to bed clean, & thus reduce need to wash bedding often. I think the real issue is your dh's allergies. I would just tell him to tell you when the blankets seem dirty to him, & wash them. Maybe buy a blanket that can hold up to lots of washing, so he isn't bothered by it all. (I wouldn't make this a marital issue . . . even tho I don't wash our bedding often.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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