This is how often you should be washing your sleepwear

Ever wondered how often you should be washing your pyjamas? Well, the answer might surprise you (and maybe even gross you out a little!)

This is how often you should be washing your sleepwear
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This is how often you should be washing your sleepwear

In case you ever find yourself pondering life's most thought-provoking conundrums—to be or not to be?—here's one we actually have the answer for: how often should one be washing their jammies?

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'A breeding ground for bacteria and other germs'

Well, according to Harpa Gretarsdóttir, a Fashion Marketing Expert at Icelandic fashion brand, IceWear, on average one should be washing their nightwear every three to four nights, assuming you are wearing the same pyjama set every night.

She explains how it is imperative to keep your nightwear clean on a weekly basis as the amount of built-up bacteria could be the reason why you are having problems with your skin:

Pyjamas are the only intimate clothing we tend to wear multiple times as standard, with many wearing pyjamas as the only layer and without underwear beneath. This intimacy against our skin and parts of our bodies, for 6 to 8 hours a night under bedding, makes them a perfect breeding ground for bacteria and other germs.

With the human body shedding over 30,000 skin cells per hour, this number becomes almost unreadable when you multiply it by the amount of hours we sleep in a week.

Some cases require daily washing!

As a result, Harpa explains that you should be washing your pyjamas more frequently than not to prevent potential irritants and pore-clogging bacteria from causing breakouts.

She advises that if you are prone to heavy sweating at night or you have generally oily skin, you should probably be washing your pyjamas even more often, sometimes as much as on a daily basis. She says:

Not only does a lack of washing and changing pyjamas create a dirty and smelly environment, but it can also allow infection and irritation causing germs and ‘build-up’ to come into contact with wounds or other parts of the body that could make us sick, or lead to outbreaks of acne and other skin issues.
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