A new survey has revealed that the average single man changes their bed sheets just four times per year.
The younger bachelors are the worst offenders, as the the stinkiest age group is those aged between 18 and 25. In contrast, couples tend to change their sheets once every two weeks, while single women are slightly less prolific as they only change their every 2.5 weeks.
When men were asked why they only cleaned their linens once every four months 49 percent declared that this was an “acceptable gap,” while 22 percent stated that they “didn’t see the need” to. Seventeen percent of men even stated that women had been “put off” by their clean sheets.
Thirty-two percent of men added that they didn’t even change their sheets when guests had stayed in their bed, and around 66 percent admitted that they left their sheets on until “several guests” had stayed in them.
The results also stated that women take control of the laundry in 81 percent of relationships.
It was also revealed that of the individuals who claim to wash their sheets just once every three months or less, 55 percent were aged between 18 and 25, while men only accounted for 71 percent of those who responded.
People who cleaned their sheets once a week on average were mostly aged between 35-50, and 62 percent of those were female.
Jed MacEwan , an Egroflex UK spokesperson, who conducted this inquisition remarked, “We were quite alarmed at the apparent lack of basic hygiene from some respondents. Unclean bed sheets contain the tens of thousands of dead skin cells that we shed every night, and by going months without cleaning them you’re risking some distinctly unpleasant consequences every time you go to bed.”
He continued, “Dust mites would find a perfect habitat in such unhygienic bed sheets, and it’s well documented that they can cause allergic flare-ups, asthma, rhinitis and other physical reactions”
MacEwan then concluded, “Also, by allowing your bed to become so unclean you’re almost asking for a bed bug infestation, which could prove to be a high price to pay for simply not washing your sheets more regularly.”
[Image via BMJ /Shutterstock]