Five Household Items You Should Be Washing More Often

How often do you wash your bathroom towels? According to science, probably not as often as you should. Here’s a handy list of when to wash five commonly used household items.

Towels

Hygiene experts recommend we wash our bath towels after three uses to avoid unwanted bathroom germs. The damp towels act as a breeding ground for bacteria, fungi, dead skin, and a bunch of other gross stuff.

Sheets 

(photo via alex roberts flickr)

Sheets should be washed at least once per week to remove all of the dust, sweat, skin cells and other gross stuff that accumulates.

Mattress

Yup. Your mattress. Every six months. The best way to go about washing it is to vacuum the top of it with an upholstery attachment. Then use a cold damp cloth and upholstery shampoo to get rid of stains. Also, you don’t ever have to flip your mattress. Just rotate it every six months or so.

Jeans 

Jeans should be washed every four to five wears as long as they’re not stained. The best way to wash your jeans is to flip them inside out, wash them in cold water, and don’t put them in the dryer.

Dishwasher

Once a month, you should be cleaning the thing that cleans your dishes. Pour vinegar into a dishwasher-safe cup and put it upright on the top rack then run a full cycle with hot water.