We hope you’re not eating right now, because we’ve just found out that a study has revealed a third of Brits apparently only wash their bed sheets once a year.
Just once.
It’s not entirely new information, as the survey is couple of years old now and seems to have reared its ugly head to do the rounds on social media once again, but the shocking research – which is based on a survey of 2,000 conducted by Hammonds Furniture – found that Brits are falling behind when it comes to keeping up with the laundry, as one in three (30%) have admitted to washing their bedding just once a year.
While we know that the rising cost of living crisis is sadly forcing people nationwide to have to reconsider the frequency of a lot of their energy-using practices as a way to manage finances, is this unsavoury habit taking it a bit too far?
According to experts, not washing bedding regularly enough can lead to bacteria build-ups, itchy skin, and mites – which doesn’t take much to believe.
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If that wasn’t bad enough as it is though, Brits’ gross habits apparently don’t just stop at the bed sheets either, as 36% of people claimed they only wash their blankets once a year, and 18% admitted to only washing jeans annually.
Winter garments such as scarves, gloves, and hats were reported to be rarely washed too, even though experts say they should be washed after every five to 10 wears, as gloves can very easily pick up germs, and dirt and oil can quickly get trapped in scarves and hats.
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A third of Brits apparently only wash their bedding once a year / Credit: Susan Wilkinson (via Unsplash)
Luckily though, there are some positives to take from these survey results.
People tend to be cleaner when it comes to their towels, with 40% of Brits washing these after each use and 45% ensuring they are washed after five uses, and thankfully, most of us are not quite as disgusting with underwear as 80% claim to wash garments after every wear.
But there are some significant gender differences.
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A quarter of men admitted to washing their underwear after every five washes, compared to just 13% of women and worryingly, one in ten men (10%) claimed to wash their underwear after every 10 washes, compared to just 3% of women.
Dr Giuseppe Aragona – GP and Medical Advisor at Prescription Doctor – claims that changing your bed sheets once a week is best for optimum cleanliness. He said: “Washing your clothing items and bedsheets regularly is important for overall cleanliness and ensuring your body remains clean and healthy.
Brits have been found to be falling behind when it comes to keeping up with the laundry / Credit: Marco Verch (via Flickr)
“If you do not wash clothing items often, you could be at risk of infection or just feeling and smelling unclean.
“Bed sheets and pillowcases should be washed as if they are dirty this could promote acne, spots and other skin issues due to the dirty bacteria on the sheets transferring to your skin.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Benson Boone has announced a headline gig in Manchester – and it’s a big one
Danny Jones
American pop sensation and unrivalled king of unnecessary front flips, Benson Boone, has just announced his first-ever headline Manchester arena gig as part of a new arena tour.
The solo artist and acrobatic chart-topper has seen a meteoric rise in the US and, as is usually the case across the Atlantic, he’s become increasingly popular over here too.
Benson may have performed here in Manchester before as part of the 2024 MTV EMAs and for a small show at The Deaf Institute, but now big fans have the added Boone of getting to watch a standalone show at one of Europe’s leading indoor entertainment venues.
Announced on Friday, 30 May, the 22-year-old will be making his way across the pond from Washington for a limited run of UK concerts, with a date at Co-op Live arena being one of just five dates.
Extending his ‘American Heart Tour’ ahead of the release of his eponymous sophomore record, with this autumn leg, Co-op Live will mark his individual visit to 0161.
The Grammy-nominated artist has earned several nods of recognition already for his first album, Fireworks & Rollerblades, which was released just last spring.
He has been described as among the current trend of male singers who fit into the American Idol and ‘Voice audition pop’ genre (a term recently coined online), along with the likes of Teddy Swims, Shawn Mendes, Alex Warren and others.
Regardless of the slightly tongue-in-cheek term, he’s become a huge hit around the world and landing him is still a big coup for the venue that has already welcomed similarly massive pop contemporaries like Swims, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and more.
In case you’re wondering just how big a deal he is over in the States, even this early in his career, his domestic headline dates sold out in seconds, quite literally…
The last time he visited Co-op Live was to perform at the most recent MTV EMAs
Benson Boone is coming to Manchester on Monday, 27 October and will be playing just two other British venues: The O2 in London (two nights) and the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.
Safe to say you don’t want to miss this one if you like soaring vocals and lots of flipping.
General admission tickets go live at 10am on Thursday, 5 June, but Co-op Members can gain access via the arena’s official pre-sale window from the same time on Tuesday (3 Jun).
Emily Sergeant -
27th October 2022 
