Why Should You Regularly Wash Pillowcases?

The pillow plays a crucial role in your overall comfort and sleep quality. It supports your head and neck when you sleep and greatly affects how you feel every morning. The pillowcase directly contacts your facial skin and hair, so it also affects your health and beauty.

Why should you regularly wash pillowcases?

Health experts recommend washing pillowcases at least once a week. If you are wondering why you should regularly wash pillowcases, read the following information about the risks of dirty pillowcases and the problems you can avoid with good pillow hygiene.

To know why you should regularly wash pillowcases, find out the harmful effects that a dirty pillowcase can cause. (Photo: Southern Living)

According to Mary Gagliardi, a cleaning scientist from Canada, washing pillowcases regularly is essential and should be done at least once a week.

While sleeping, your body sheds thousands of dead skin cells. Sweat and dead skin cells create an ideal environment for dust mites to thrive. Their waste contains allergens. If you do not change pillowcases regularly, these things accumulate and can cause various diseases such as asthma, rhinitis, itchy eyes, and skin inflammation.

Even if you have removed makeup and washed your face thoroughly, there will still be residual amounts on your face, clinging to the pillowcase and remaining there until the pillowcase is washed clean.

If you use skincare products at night, the amount of cosmetics sticking to the pillowcase will be even greater. They combine with sweat and oil from your facial and scalp skin, creating a favorable environment for the growth of bacteria and fungi. This can irritate your skin and make your face more prone to breakouts.

If you go a long time without changing pillowcases, the bacteria and dust mites clinging to them will release allergenic gases, making it difficult for you to breathe and affecting your sleep. You may feel exhausted every morning when you wake up. That is why you should regularly wash pillowcases.

How often should you replace pillow inserts?

Nancy Rothstein, a sleep expert in the United States, advises a way for you to determine whether the pillow insert you are using should be thrown away or not: “If your pillow is made of latex, try folding it in half. If the pillow cannot bounce back and return to its original shape, it’s time to throw it away. “

Meanwhile, TS Michael Breus, a psychological sleep expert, advises: “If your pillow is filled with synthetic filling, you should replace it every 6 months. For pillows made of memory foam or any type of pillow that supports body contouring, you should replace them after about 18 to 36 months.”

In addition, you can determine when to replace pillow inserts based on your own feelings. A good pillow should fill the gap between your neck and shoulders. If your current pillow cannot achieve this or makes you feel pain in your shoulders and neck every morning when you wake up, you should replace it immediately.

However, even if the pillow isn’t flattened and still looks good on the outside, you should still pay attention to replacing it and not use it year after year. The pillow is an item that you encounter every day, even pressing your face against it to breathe. After a period of use, it will accumulate dust, dead skin, bacteria, and dust mites… which can be harmful to your health.

If you cannot remember exactly the specific advice from experts on how often to replace pillow inserts, you should default to replacing them every 1-2 years and definitely not use pillow inserts for more than 3 years. You should wash and air out pillow inserts when there is strong sunlight about once every 3 months.

From VTC News