How often you should wash duvet insert and best method to avoid tears

Love it or hate it, washing your bedding is one of the most important household chores. Regular washing is important because your bed sheets accumulate sweat, body oils, and dead skin cells. Over time, this buildup can cause stains, trigger allergies, and encourage dust mites to thrive.

According to Bed Threads, it’s also important to clean your duvet insert, though it doesn’t need to be washed as often. The homeware store offers a bedding guide on its website, which sets out exactly how and when to clean your duvet.

The guide suggests washing your duvet insert at least three times a year, and to load the washing machine carefully to prevent tangles or tears. Bed Threads said: “Washing a duvet insert is important for cleaning stains, keeping it free of odours and preventing allergens like mould or mildew from building up in the filling. In general, duvet inserts should be washed with a mild detergent and cold water to prevent the filling materials from degrading.”

The homeware website also shared specific instructions for loading the washing machine. The advice read: “Duvet inserts made of synthetic materials can sometimes be washed with warm water. While these are general rules, always check the care instructions on the care tag before you wash a duvet.

“Avoid washing duvet inserts with other items or in top-loader washing machines with a central spindle, as these can tangle up or even tear the duvet insert in the wash. It’s important to wash your duvet insert at least three times a year to keep it healthy and odour-free.”

As for how often you need to wash bedding, opinions can vary. But it’s generally advised not to leave it for more than two weeks, with once a week typically considered ideal. Regular washing is especially important during the summer months.

It’s the advice backed by Dr Lindsay Browning, a chartered psychologist, neuroscientist and sleep expert. The expert previously told BBC‘s Radio 1 Newsbeat that people may end up with a ‘disgusting’ smell in their bedroom if their sheets go unwashed for weeks.

Dr Browning said: “Sweat goes into the sheets making them not only smell disgusting but also become quite clogged up.” As previously explained, washing your sheets is important to prevent a buildup of dead skin cells, which dust mites feed off. “You won’t only be sleeping in the yuckiness of the sweat and dead skin cells, but the mites too,” the expert added.

According to Dr Browning, your bedroom should be a “sanctuary” in order to encourage a good night’s sleep. “If your sheets are not washed, and they look dirty, they smell, it’s adding to that sensation that your bed isn’t somewhere that you want to be.”