Did you know you should be washing your sheets once a week? Philip Tierno, a microbiologist at New York University, tells Business Insider that your sheets collect an array of bacteria and fungus. The longer you go without washing them, the more bacteria and fungi your sheets accumulate. If left unwashed for too long, your sheets could actually make you sick.

你知道你应该每周洗一次床单吗?纽约大学微生物学家菲利普·蒂尔诺(Philip Tierno)告诉《商业内幕》(Business Insider)，你的床单收集了一系列细菌和真菌。你不洗床单的时间越长，你的床单上积累的细菌和真菌就越多。如果长时间不洗，你的床单可能会让你生病。

A 2018 study published in Environmental and Occupational Disease backs up these claims. Researchers collected bedroom allergens from nearly 7,000 different U.S. households and found three or more detectable allergens in 90 percent of them. For those who don't usually suffer from allergies, these allergens can still cause an allergic reaction.

2018年发表在《环境和职业病》上的一项研究证实了这些说法。研究人员从近7000个不同的美国家庭收集了卧室过敏原，并在其中90%的家庭中发现了三种或更多可检测的过敏原。对于那些通常不会过敏的人来说，这些过敏原仍然会引起过敏反应。

Your pillows alone can have up to 16 different types of fungus on them, and that's not counting what's on your sheets. Besides the bacteria and fungi, the gunk on your sheets includes sweat, sputum, anal secretions, soil, lint, animal dander, pollen, dust mite debris, and even feces. If you could see what was on your sheets, you'd wash them more often.

单是枕头上就可能有多达16种不同类型的真菌，这还不包括床单上的真菌。除了细菌和真菌，你床单上的黏液还包括汗液、痰、肛门分泌物、土壤、皮棉、动物皮屑、花粉、尘螨碎屑，甚至粪便。如果你能看到床单上有什么，你就会更经常洗它们。

How to wash your sheets

如何洗床单

Now that you know what's lurking in your sheets, it's time to wash them! Remember, you've got to wash your sheets and pillowcases every week. These bedsheet cleaning tips come from Good Housekeeping and Merry Maids.

既然你知道了床单里藏着什么，现在该洗了!记住，你必须每周洗床单和枕套。。这些床单清洁小贴士来自《好管家》和《快乐女佣》。

Check for any stains and pretreat them with a stain remover. Throw them in the washing machine without anything else. Some like to wash their sheets with towels, but doing so will likely cause your sheets to collect the lint from the towels, so wash your sheets separately.

检查是否有污渍，用去污剂进行预处理。把它们扔进洗衣机就行了。有些人喜欢用毛巾洗床单，但这样做可能会导致你的床单沾满毛巾上的绒毛，所以要分开洗床单。

Use the hottest water possible to kill as many germs and allergens as you can. Check the tag for instructions on water temperature, but go with warm water if you're unsure. Choose the regular or normal setting , and add a laundry detergent. Wait until the rinse cycle to add fabric softener. Though not necessary, fabric softener will give your sheets a pleasant scent.

使用尽可能热的水来杀死尽可能多的细菌和过敏原。查看标签上关于水温的说明，但如果你不确定，就用温水。选择普通或常规设置，并添加洗衣粉。等待漂洗周期，添加织物柔软剂。虽然不是必须的，但织物柔软剂会给你的床单带来一种宜人的香味。

Tumble dry on low for as little time as possible, which will take some trial and error to figure out, but will be worth it, as drying your sheets for too long can cause them to shrink.

用尽可能短的时间低温下烘干，这期间需要多尝试和试错，但这是值得的，因为烘干太久会导致床单收缩。