Temperatures are soaring into the mid-30s once again, and the heatwaves have been leaving us all hot and bothered - especially when it makes it difficult to get to sleep at night. But with all the extra sweating we're doing, do we need to be washing our bedsheets more often, and will this mean a rise in our already sky-high energy bills?
According to sustainable cleaning expert Paula Quazi, we should be washing our bedsheets once a week during a heatwave - but apparently, we should have been washing them that frequently anyway! The cleaning guru shared her advice for coping in a heatwave with The Mirror, and said that we don't need to break the bank with extra wash cycles just because of the warm weather.
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She said: "With the average person spending around 49 to 60 hours in their bed every week, dead skin cells, body oils, and even faecal matter can all build up in your sheets - during a heatwave you can add to this cocktail an extra shot of sweat.
"Your dirty duvet cover and pillowcases can contribute to skin breakouts and allergies so keeping sheets clean is vital, especially if someone in your household suffers from any skin conditions or allergen sensitivities.
"However, unless you're sweating profusely at night, it's likely that you will only need to be washing your sheets once a week - which you should be doing anyway!"
Paula, who is the co-founder of eco-cleaning brand smol, also said that while it's usually recommended to wash your bedsheets at 60 degrees, you can get away with washing at 30 degrees as long as you have a good laundry detergent.
The woman said that if you can, washing weekly at 30 degrees with a once-a-month wash at 60 degrees will help you to keep the cost of the cycles down, but will ensure you kill off dust mites with a higher heat.
She added: "Washing at 60°c is usually what's recommended for a weekly bed linen wash, however, by using a good laundry detergent, washing at 30°c will work just as well [and is] even recommended for washing with bio laundry capsules, as any higher will actually cause the cleaning enzymes to denature and work less effectively.
"I recommended a regular weekly wash at 30°c and a monthly wash at 60°c to help kill off dust mites and other nasties."
Another of Paula's tips is to use a lighter bedsheet during the summer months, as the thinner sheet will allow you to fit more into your washing machine at once - which means you don't have to dedicate a whole load of washing just to your bedsheets as you might have to do in the winter.
"Using a lighter bedsheet during the summer would allow you to fit more in your machine cycle to keep it cost-effective and if you can, make the most of the hot weather and drying sheets outside", she said, "the UV light from the sun will help to kill micro-organisms and not using a tumble dryer will also help to save you money and energy."
And while it might not help you save any cash, Paula also said it's important to let your bed "breathe" every day by pulling back your sheets instead of making your bed straight away.
She explained: "Another tip to keep bacteria at bay is to let your bed breathe; rather than making your bed up first thing, leave sheets off in a well-ventilated room to help remove moisture from your bed - you can even hang sheets up near an open window for an extra boost of freshness."
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