How Often Should You Replace Your Pillows, Duvets & Mattress?

We all use pillows, duvets and mattresses. Most of on average use all three for 8 solid hours every night. Yet, how many of us actually know when we should replace a pillow, duvet or mattress? Suffice to say, the answer is very few.

Then, and to save as many as we can here at Sleepy People from having to literally suffer and potentially compromise the quality of their sleep due to something as simple as a flat pillow or lumpy mattress, here are the answers as to when to replace all three.

 

 

Pillows

According to experts interviewed by the Huffington Post, a pillow case should be replaced every three weeks (if not sooner) and the pillow itself should be cleaned every three months, either by hand or by popping it in the washing machine – just remember to check whether your pillow is machine washable before giving it a spin.

Meanwhile, when to entirely replace pillows depends on several factors and can mean that a pillow will need replacing after as little as six months (especially if you are an allergy sufferer as mite, dust and allergens can quickly set in) or as long as three years, if you opt to purchase a high quality pillow to begin with.

Then, the trick to knowing when to replace a pillow is to watch out for the following:

  • The pillow has lost its plump
  • The Pillow has become lumpy
  • You are experiencing allergies or your allergies have worsened
  • Your sleeping position has altered or changed which will require a pillow to suit your new sleeping position and provide the best support for your neck, spine and head.Shop Pillows

 

 

Duvets

As with pillows, signs of wear and tear, lumping or lack of plumpness all indicate that duvets are in need of replacing, but duvets will usually furnish a bed for a much longer amount of time before beginning to bunch or lose their oomph.  Whilst this is good news, this can cause us to keep duvets too long before replacing them. This is especially true for those who use the same duvet all year round.

People who use a single duvet throughout all four seasons tend to plump for one of a higher tog rating and kick it to the floor on hot summer nights rather than shiver on cold winter ones. The result is that whilst the duvet may not show any obvious signs of wear, it is likely to have absorbed a fair amount of sweat, picked up any mite, dust, dirt or ‘bits’ from having been tossed to the floor when not in use and as well will have spent twice as long at least being used in a year than a seasonal duvet.

Fortunately, there is a simple and cost effective alternative to a year round duvet that will also double the longevity of your bedding, and that is to simply opt to purchase both a summer and winter duvet so that you can swap the two up as is appropriate and according to the month and weather. Further, to learn how to get two duvets of the right tog ratings to ensure you are toasty warm in winter and keep cool in summer, give our Sleep People Duvet Buying Guide a read – in it you will find tog recommendations for every season as well as some alternative and all year duvet options that will stand the test of time.

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Mattresses

According to the British Chiropractic Association, a staggering ‘43% of people questioned found that sleeping on their bed or mattress triggered back or neck pain [yet] one third (33 per cent) of people only change their mattress once every ten years, despite recommendations to do so every seven years’. Hence, aim to replace your mattress every seven years if you don’t want bedtimes to end up a pain in the neck – literally.

In the meantime, if you wake frequently or most days experiencing aches and pains that disappear rather than worsen as the day goes on, this is a sure sign that your mattress is simply no longer providing you with the support and comfort it once did. And, what’s more, the support and comfort you need.