Students Asked to Wash Their Sheets Weekly
By Jake H.
Students are now required to wash their bed sheets at least once a week at The Family Foundation School. The announcement was made by Rita Argiros during a recent circle-up before lunch.
Apparently some students at FFS believed that washing bed sheets was unnecessary for good hygiene. What the students don’t know is that the average human sheds about one-fifth of an ounce of skin per week into their bed sheets. These skin particles are the favorite food of the common dust mite. The dust mites eat the skin then metabolize into the sheets.
On average, a mattress can contain between 100,000 to 10 million of the little creatures, and 25% of the weight of a two-year-old pillow is dead dust mites and their leavings. So, when students slip into their beds at night, they are joined by a myriad of microscopic creepy crawlers. Although the dust mites do not directly harm humans, many people react with certain allergens of the dust mites’ waste particles.
“Personally I don’t care about washing my sheets,” said Gabe L. “As long as it doesn’t make me smell.” According to the 2010 Sheet Washing Survey, only 25% of the student population agrees with washing sheets once a week and 14% had no specific preference about how long to wait before washing. “I don’t feel that every week is necessary,” said Josh W. “Once they get dirty, then I wash them.”
On the other hand some students see the rule as a good thing for the students. “It’s a good rule because whether it will cause sickness or not, it’s good to sleep in a clean bed,” said Jill M. Hygiene aside, washing sheets once a week can’t hurt.
