One of the things that makes a hotel stay a luxury for me, is that the sheets are changed everyday. Of course the quality of the sheets — Egyptian cotton, 800 or higher thread count in white, determine the star rating of the establishment. But more important than both of these is that those sheets are clean. Crisp and fresh there’s nothing quite like clean sheets even when I’m at home. I’m sure the same is true for you (although quite possibly not as enthusiastically).While just washed sheets feel and smell good, is it really a luxury to experience this everyday? How often do you wash your sheets? Do you think that’s enough? Did you know there are recommendations for how often they should be cleaned?In mould and mildew haven Bermuda; we certainly all know that you should not keep your bed linen on for months at a time.Research has shown that sheets should be washed at least once a week with regular detergent at 77 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. This is because dust mites will be killed at these temperatures. And dust mites are the main reason it’s so important to wash bed linens regularly.The microscopic creatures are related to spiders and feed on skin we shed. As we sleep, thin layers of our skin die and fall off creating an environment where dust mites thrive. They’re happy with what we shed and don’t feed on our live tissue (they are not parasites). They do not bite us or burrow under our skin. In fact our relationship with dust mites could be seen as mutually beneficial except that many people are allergic to them.Their faeces and tiny body fragments are components of dust and are the actual allergen that affects many people especially those with asthma.The life cycle of dust mites from egg to adult is between three and four weeks, so it’s vitally important that your bed sheets are washed more frequently than this or you end up with generations of the creatures sleeping with you.They do well in very warm temperatures between, 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit and they love high humidity.In fact they do not drink liquid and get their supply by absorbing water from the air and environment. That’s one reason they are prevalent in Bermuda. If you sweat at night, those moist conditions make your bed and even greater magnet for mites.Conversely, one study showed that at humidity levels below 60 degrees Fahrenheit, mite populations stop growing and die out.According to a fact sheet from the University of Ohio, beds are a prime habitat for dust mites.“A typical used mattress may have anywhere from 100,000 to ten million mites inside. (Ten percent of the weight of a two-year old pillow can be composed of dead mites and their droppings.),” the sheet said.And dust mites prefer to hang out with us in bed because we make the environment warmer.When you consider that we spend about a third of our lives in bed, you recognise that a simple thing like washing your bed sheets every week can make a significant impact on your health.So feel free to use my line and claim that you need to go to that wonderful hotel with the great sheets — for health reasons!