Wash your sheets and pillowcases once a week, and that's the advice Allergy UK gives people with a dust mite allergy too. The hot wash, the pillows and the duvet are where it gets more particular. Sheets weekly is my rule, and I'll admit the pillows get a lot less of my attention.
Washing bedding in brief
Wash sheets and pillowcases weekly. For a dust mite allergy, Allergy UK extends that to any bedding outside a barrier cover. Washing at 60°C or above kills dust mites. A cooler wash only rinses the allergen away for a while. Pillows and duvets can go on a 60°C wash if their materials allow, or be dry-cleaned. Wash clothes and bedding with poo or vomit on them at 60°C and on their own. Otherwise, follow the care label.
Your bed is where dust mites feed, so wash sheets weekly
Allergy UK says house dust mites are about a quarter of a millimetre long and live close to us, not on us. They feed on the dead skin cells we shed, prefer warm and humid conditions and are often found in bedding. You can't clear them from a home completely, however clean it is. This isn't a housekeeping competition.
For people with an allergy, it's often proteins in the droppings that cause symptoms, rather than the mite itself. Each mite produces about 20 droppings a day, and those droppings keep causing symptoms after the mite has died. A significant amount of exposure happens in bed, which is why the bedding gets the attention.
Allergy UK's advice is to wash all bedding that isn't in a barrier cover, such as sheets and blankets, every week.1
Weekly is my rule for sheets whether or not you sneeze, because they're the bit you lie on. Pick one day of the week for them and stick to it.
According to Allergy UK, what in dust mites sets off allergy symptoms?
- Their bites
- Proteins in their droppings
- The mites crawling on your skin
It's often proteins in the droppings, not the mite itself. Mites don't live on people, and the droppings keep causing symptoms after the mite has died.
A 60°C wash kills dust mites, a cooler one rinses the allergen away for a while
Allergy UK says washing at 60°C or above kills mites. The allergen dissolves in water, so a cooler wash removes it temporarily, but surviving mites produce more after a while. Cambridge University Hospitals' NHS advice says a cooler wash only partly kills mites but is better than nothing. Pillows and duvets that can't take a hot wash can be dry-cleaned instead.
Check the care label before you turn the dial. I wouldn't guess what a fabric can take. Choose bedding whose materials allow a 60°C wash, as the hospital advice suggests. If you don't have a dust mite allergy, use the label as your guide.
Myth: Any wash gets rid of dust mites.
A wash below 60°C rinses the allergen away for a while, but the mites survive and produce more. It takes 60°C or above to kill them.
Myth: Washing your bedding is enough on its own for a dust mite allergy.
Washing is one measure among several. Allergy UK starts with barrier covers on the mattress, duvet and every pillow, and adds ventilation to keep indoor humidity between 30% and 50%.
Without an allergy, the care label and a weekly habit do the job
Strip your bed on the same day each week and put your pillowcases in with the sheets. Use the temperature on each care label rather than one setting for everything, and let your bedding dry fully before it goes back on the bed or into the cupboard.
Keep a spare set folded and ready, so wash day doesn't leave the bed bare.
A spare set means wash day doesn't leave the bed bare, and you aren't remaking it at bedtime with damp sheets. Two sets is the grown-up number, in my book. If you've only got one, our pick of sheets is somewhere to start looking for a spare.
Hot-wash, freeze or cover the pillows and duvet
For a dust mite allergy, Cambridge University Hospitals advises washing all bedding outside allergy covers on a 60°C cycle, including pillows, quilts, blankets and duvets.2 If their materials won't allow a hot wash, they can be dry-cleaned. For pillows, another option is the deep freeze for 12 hours every month. These sources give no washing schedule for pillows or duvets in a home without a dust mite allergy.
Allergy UK recommends barrier covers on the mattress and duvet, and on every pillow, as a first step for an allergy. They should be breathable, completely enclose each item and be tested to stop allergen escaping. They go under your normal bedding. In a US study by Vojta and colleagues, encasing mattresses and pillows and washing other bedding weekly significantly reduced dust mite allergen in beds.3 This was one US study in a particular kind of home.
Use those cover requirements when comparing mattress protectors, because the cover has to enclose the whole mattress. I replace my own pillow every couple of years anyway. If you're replacing yours, start with our pick of pillows.
| If you have a dust mite allergy | Source |
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| Sheets, pillowcases, blankets | Wash every week at 60°C or above | Allergy UK |
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| Pillows | 60°C wash if the materials allow, dry-clean, or 12 hours in the freezer every month | Cambridge University Hospitals |
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| Duvet and quilt | 60°C wash if the materials allow, or dry-clean | Cambridge University Hospitals |
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| Mattress | A breathable barrier cover that encloses it completely | Allergy UK |
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Wash bedding on its own at 60°C after a sickness bug
The NHS norovirus advice is to wash clothes and bedding with poo or vomit on them at 60°C, separately from other laundry.4 Strip the bed first and keep that load apart from the rest of the wash. A spare set of sheets is worth its cupboard space on a night like that.
Air the bed and keep the bedroom dry between washes
Keep the bedroom ventilated: dust mites like warmth and humidity. Allergy UK suggests using trickle vents, opening windows and running extract fans in bathrooms and kitchens, with a dehumidifier if needed to keep indoor humidity under 50% but over 30%. I throw the duvet back for an hour every morning to let the bed air. Open a window while it does. That's the one bit of housekeeping I actually do every single day.
The cat sleeps on my bed every night and I'm not sorry, so the weekly wash isn't optional in my house. If a pet shares your bed too, see our guide to sharing a bed with pets.
Our guide to making your mattress last longer covers the mattress itself. If you're itching at night and not sure whether it's bites or an allergy, our guide to bed bugs and dust mites explains how to tell the two apart.
Keep track of when each bit of bedding is due
Sheets and pillowcases are set to weekly in the tracker below. Set the rest yourself from the care label and the advice above, then enter the date you last washed each item to see what's due. It's a lot easier than trying to remember when the pillows last went in.
Your bedding wash tracker
Note the date you last washed each item and how often it's due.
- Sheets
- Pillowcases
- Duvet cover
- Pillows
- Duvet
- Mattress protector
Questions people ask about washing bedding
You don't need a 60°C wash every time. Allergy UK recommends 60°C or above to kill dust mites, while the NHS says to use 60°C for bedding with poo or vomit on it. Check that the label allows that temperature before choosing a hot cycle. For ordinary washing without a dust mite allergy, follow the care label.
Allergy UK says changing bedding can make dust mite allergy symptoms worse. Symptoms can also worsen after sleeping in a heavily infested bed, so they aren't limited to wash day. Avoidance measures lower the amount of allergen but don't remove it completely. If symptoms keep bothering you, talk to your GP. You don't have to keep putting up with them.
Neither Allergy UK nor Cambridge University Hospitals gives a set duvet washing schedule. For a dust mite allergy, Cambridge University Hospitals advises a 60°C wash if the materials allow, or dry-cleaning. A barrier cover on the duvet is the other option. Otherwise, follow its care label rather than guessing a washing interval.
