We hope you’re not eating right now, because a new study has revealed that a third of Brits apparently only wash their bed sheets once a year.
Just once.
The 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.
According to experts, this unsavoury habit can lead to bacteria build-ups, itchy skin, and mites.
If that wasn’t bad enough, those gross habits don’t just stop at the bed sheets either, as 36% of Brits apparently only wash blankets once a year, and 18% admitted to only washing jeans annually.
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Winter garments such as scarves, gloves and hats were reported to be rarely washed, even though gloves can very easily pick up germs, and dirt and oil can quickly get trapped in scarves and hats and experts say they should be washed after every five to ten wears.
Luckily though, there are some positives to take from these survey results.
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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.
Pxhere
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.
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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,
“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.”
There are some really shocking statistics to get your head around here, but at least it’s all out in the open now.
Right, we’re off to put a wash on.
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Paddy McGuinness teases potential return of Max and Paddy’s Road to Nowhere
Danny Jones
Right, we don’t mean to alarm you all, but Max and Paddy might finally be coming back after nearly 20 years.In other entirely unrelated news, there is a god.
We only ever got one solitary season of Max and Paddy’s Road to Nowhere, but it only took six episodes for it to leave us with lasting memories of rolling on the floor laughing and quoting lines all these years later.
The Phoenix Nights spin-off went on to be not just a cult favourite but an iconic British sitcom that rivalled the show that spawned it, cementing both Peter Kay and Paddy McGuinness as even greater household names than they already were.
Cut to nearly two nearly full decades later and Paddy himself has teased that the hit Northern comedy might not be done after all. Battle stations, people — we’re on the campaign trail now.
Speaking to Capital Breakfast this week, McGuinness came on to the subject of Max and Paddy return, saying that “the interesting thing about Max and Paddy, and Phoenix Nights is now, we are kind of all of an age of the people we played back then.”
He admitted that while they “do talk about it and what have you” and would love to see the full cast return someday, he just “can’t see it at the minute”.
However, he did go on to insist “never say never” and, more promisingly, that the comedy duo’s comeback, specifically, could very well be on the cards.
“Like Max and Paddy, for instance, we wrote a couple of Christmas specials, and we’ve still got them”, says McGuinness. “We never got around to doing one for whatever reason back in the day. But we’ve actually got them.”
The 49-year-old went on to clarify that more than one script has already been written for some time, but they’ve just been kept on the backburner given that he is admittedly “inherently lazy” and likes “doing as little as possible”, it just never came to fruition.
“If you’re doing a scripted comedy show, it does take a long time. So to do something like [this], you have literally got to blank out 12 months of your life.
“He [Kay] is on tour. I’ve got all kinds of stuff going on, and it’s just sort of going ‘right, let’s get together. Let’s get our diaries together. And let’s blank out for that time'”. We don’t know a single person that wouldn’t want to see a Max and Paddy return in some form.
While hosts Roman Kemp and Siân Welby urged people to get flooding them with texts and posting all over social media, the former Take Me Out presenter joked it “won’t make a blind bit of difference.” Come on, Paddy, don’t let us down now.
Lidl’s iconic trainers have been spotted back in Manchester stores
Georgina Pellant
Lidl’s sell-out trainers are once again back in its Manchester stores – and streetwear enthusiasts are already filing in in their droves to stock up.
The shoes, which usually sell out within days of going live, have hit shelves once again – and are already re-selling for hundreds online.
The iconic £14.99 trainers, which come in the budget supermarket chain’s signature red, blue and yellow colourway, have previously been amongst the Lidl’ clothing range’s most popular items.
When they first launched in 2021, the trainers were priced at just £12.99 but ended up selling online for upwards of £1,000 as sneakerheads outbid each other on Ebay and Depop for the last few pairs.
Now they’re back in a new look – and it’s fair to say that lidl shoppers are just as excited the second time around.
Image: The Manc Group
Donning the retailer’s logo on the tongue and heel, the new-look trainer design focuses on a white shoe with brightly-colored insets and seaming.
Items from the range are already on eBay for £150 – so you’ll need to be quick if you want to cop anything for yourself.
Previously released as a one-off, the trainers are being sold in both women’s and men’s sizes, with women’s ranging from sizes 4 to 7, and in men’s sizes 7 to 11 and a half.
As well as the trainers, Lidl’s in-demand clothing line has previously featured sports socks (from 99p), men’s swimming shorts and a foldable shopping bag.
Emily Sergeant -
16th October 2020 
