Mattress expert reveals why you shouldn't make your bed first-thing in the morning
We've been making our bed wrong this whole time
We all know we spend about a third of our lives in bed, so it’s worth thinking about how to keep your mattress clean. Experts at MattressNextDay have warned against making your bed in the morning as soon as you wake up. In the morning rush, many of us make our beds straight away, but here's why we should think again.
Related: What your pillow arrangement says about you, according to a psychologist
‘Dust mites love the warmth of your bed,’ say MattressNextDay experts. ‘So in the morning, you should pull back your bed covers for thirty minutes and leave them to air and cool down, before you make your bed.’
Now, you may be thinking that this doesn’t apply to you because you've invested in a mattress topper. But the people at MattressNextDay say otherwise.
‘Although mattress covers are capable of protecting your mattresses from stains, they do not make your bed immune from dust mites and other allergens.’ They recommend cleaning your mattress every six months, using the change in the main seasons (summer and winter) as a reminder. As for your bedsheets, they advise making washing your bedsheets a Sunday ritual.
If you forget to wash your bedding, MattressNextDay suggests keeping it clean by 'not eating in bed, not allowing pets on your bed, and using skincare products at least thirty minutes before bed'. This is so your skin absorbs them as opposed to your bedding.
The CEO of Mattress Online, Steve Adams agrees that it's ‘not a good idea to make your bed straight away when you wake up, as this traps the dust mites and bacteria which are naturally left behind after sleeping.
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'Instead, pull back your duvet and open your curtains to let the sun in, as direct sunlight will kill dust mites,' Steve says. 'To regularly get rid of dust mites, wash your bedding on a hot wash over 60°C to kill germs. Make sure to maintain your mattress and clean it often for better bed hygiene.’
Related: How to sleep better – simple ways to get a good night’s rest
So, although we might love the very adult feeling of having a tidy bedroom with a neatly made bed, let's slow right down and give the bed some air, and light, first.
Millie Hurst was Senior Content Editor at Ideal Home from 2020-2022, and is now Section Editor at Homes & Gardens. Before stepping into the world of interiors, she worked as a Senior SEO Editor for News UK in both London and New York. You can usually find her looking up trending terms and finding real-life budget makeovers our readers love. Millie came up with the website's daily dupes article which gives readers ways to curate a stylish home for less.
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