How often should you wash your sheets and towels?

A new poll has revealed that a lot of us are guilty of not changing our linen nearly as much as we should be.

Between the sheets on our bed, bath and hand towels or even the bath mat, our home is at risk of being rife with germs and bacteria.

It’s like sleeping in skin cells, sweat and makeup smears.

The Women’s Health poll that examined how often people change their linen, and it looks like we all need a refresher course.

So how often?

Sheets – every week
Dust mites love to feast on the build up of dust, fungus, sweat, skin cells and all the stuff that can accumulate after spending roughly eight hours every day in bed for a week. If you go too long between washing your sheets, don’t be surprised to find some creepy crawlies in you bed. Now if you have a pet that likes the occasional nap on the ‘human’ bed, or if someone is sick or has been exercising, then you need to change them more often.

Towels – after every fourth use!
Towels definitely have the short end of the stick. We wipe our entire bodies with them daily, and they never seem to dry properly either, especially in winter. That makes them smell and can lead to mould, so you should really be washing them twice a week.

RELATED: A dusty home can make you fat, research suggests
RELATED: Household hacks for people who hate cleaning

Handtowels – every third day
Especially if you have multiple people in your house. Hand towels are used by EVERYONE - for their hands, faces and mouth. Think of all the germs floating around from that. Even worse, if the rack is near the toilet.

Pillows – every six months
To be clear this is the actual pillow we’re talking about, not the pillowcases (which should be washed every week with your sheets). Experts say up to 16 different types of fungi can build up on pillows – gross! To wash them without wrecking them, wash on a warm, gentle cycle and lay them flat in the sun to dry.

Bath mats – once a week
Bath mats never seem to dry - especially if you have more than three people in your house. Washing them once a week gets rid of odours.

Want more celebrity, entertainment and lifestyle news? Follow Be on Facebook,Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.