There’s a place in your home that attracts 17,000 more bacteria colonies than your toilet seat in a week. And you spend hours there every day!
Bacteria are everywhere in your home. That’s why it’s recommended to wash your hands regularly. While this is one of the first things you should do after going to the bathroom, there’s another, less-than-expected moment that should be prioritized. An object that you touch every day is a real breeding ground for bacteria, worse than your toilet.
During a studyvolunteers were asked not to wash this object for a month and to dab it every week. Samples were taken and analyzed. They revealed the presence of bacteria, mites, microscopic allergens…. They are, in addition, in contact with our face every day.
This object is not the smartphone as one might think, but the pillow and more precisely the pillowcase. The results of the analyses are clear: “Your pillowcases can sometimes be dirtier than the toilet. In terms of bacteria, after a week without washing, there were 17,000 more colonies of bacteria on a pillowcase compared to the toilet seat,” explained Dr. Gareth Nye to Wales Online.
This is particularly related to night sweating. On average, each person loses between 500 and 700 millimeters of sweat in a single night, some of which penetrates into the sheets and pillowcases. In addition, the body replaces skin cells and largely at night, which causes excretions.
“When you get into bed, you contaminate your bedding with dead skin cells, sweat, makeup, lotions, hair and anything else you’ve picked up during the day,” Dr. Hadley King told Well + Good.
The most annoying thing is that fungus can then develop. “One study found that a typical pillow contained up to 16 different species of fungus,” continued Dr Gareth Nye. To overcome this problem, it is best to air your bed well in the morning and to change or wash your sheets and pillowcases regularly, once a week is ideal. For pillowcases, it is even recommended to go up to several times a week in case of allergies or sensitive skin. You should also clean your face well before going to bed and when you wake up, as well as your hands.