Shocking number of Yorkshire's beds harbouring bacteria

Over half of people in Yorkshire and the Humber could be endangering their health by not changing their bed often enough.

A shocking 79 per cent don’t do a weekly change as is recommended for hygiene purposes.

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Two thirds of people questioned by Dreams were unaware that dirty bedding could cause allergic reactions, illness, infections and spread viruses (64 per cent). This makes sense given that it’s less than a fifth of residents who take a shower every night before turning in (18 per cent) and over a quarter who opt to sleep naked (26per cent) at night.

And hands up those 30 per cent who have the munchies and make a mess in their bed! Chocolate is the preferred bedtime snack with over a quarter (27 per cent) admitting to sneaking a bar of chocolate or two in bed and a quarter will also leave a trail of toast crumbs regularly.

But humans are not the only cause of bacteria in the bed – 40 per cent of people let their pets sleep on their bed, adding to the dangers of what could be lurking in the bedding, with a quarter of those residents letting their furry friend in every night!

Even though people are lying in their beds every night, 75 per cent clean surfaces more often than their bedding, whilst 69 per cent do their kitchen, with 72 per cent cleaning the loo and another 68 per cent the hoovering more often than changing the bed!

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With 60 degrees being the optimum temperature at which to kill dangerous bacteria, it’s surprising that over three quarters (77 per cent) don’t wash at this temperature. In fact, three fifths load up the machine for a 30 or 40 degree wash which is considered the norm (60 per cent). Washing at any other lower temperature, means that bacteria can still be present.

Yet quite a few Yorkshire and the Humber residents have never thoroughly washed their bedding with 43 per cent never cleaning their mattress, 38 per cent failing to freshen up their pillows and 31 per cent declining to dry clean the duvet.

In fact 28 per cent owned up to not replacing pillows after three years whilst a quarter (24 per cent) admitted to not buying a new mattress after the recommended eight years with over a fifth (22 per cent) failing to swap their duvets.

Lisa Bond, marketing director at Dreams said: “Whilst it’s important to wash bedding weekly at 60 degrees to kill the bacteria and germs that can grow, there is still a great deal of dirt which gets embedded in the mattress.

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"Most people would be surprised by the things you can find in an old mattress. Mould spores and bacteria build up over the years and although invisible, you could be breathing in these harmful spores at night. We recommend you replace your mattress every eight years to ensure it remains in top condition.”

If you’re wondering who is the cleanest or dirtiest when it comes to our beds, then those in Yorkshire/Humber and Northern Ireland need to take heed as they changed their sheets the least often.

According to the research, 71 per cent of Brits have never recycled a mattress in the past with 12 per cent never having disposed of one at all! Dreams can pick up your old bed or mattress directly from your home upon delivery of your new one, and recycle your item at their own specialised bed and mattress recycling centre. For more information visit https://www.dreams.co.uk/recycling-services