(Richmond, VA) – Maybe it’s the inconvenience of using coin-operated washing machines down in the basement of the dorm. Or perhaps it’s the fact that mom isn’t around to do the laundry. Whatever the reason, a recent survey from sleep tips website SleepBetter.org shows U.S. college students probably would earn poor grades for keeping their bedding clean.

Almost half of students (43 percent) report they only change their bed sheets once per month, and three percent admit they never change their sheets. Researchers found an even worse story regarding mattress pads: 43 percent of college students say they wash their mattress pads only every couple of years and another 43 percent said they never wash their mattress pads.

“The first temptation is to say ‘Gross!’” said Dan Schecter, vice president of Consumer Products at Carpenter Co. and creator of SleepBetter.org. “Good bedding hygiene is not just an aesthetic issue; it’s a matter of health and safety.”

Schecter notes that SleepBetter.org hired an independent scientific laboratory to test pillows and mattress pads from current college students in 25 states. The recently-released report Sleepbetter.org Investigates: Fungus Among Us reveals the following discoveries:

• On average, the pillows in the study contained 350,000 potential live bacteria colonies and 91,000 potential live yeast and mold colonies
• Mattress pads in the study, on average, contained two million potential bacteria colonies and 330,000 yeast and mold colonies
• Men’s pillows were statistically almost twice as microbe-infested as women’s

“Maybe this isn’t an issue for a super-healthy 20-year-old,” said Schecter. “But anyone with sinusitis, chronic allergies, an immune deficiency, asthma or other breathing problems should take note of these results and should change and clean their bedding more often.”

For more information about the college student survey and the laboratory results, please visit http://sleepbetter.org. You can also get sleep advice from SleepBetter on Twitter and Facebook.

About Carpenter Co. / SleepBetter.org

SleepBetter.org is dedicated to helping people sleep better. Designed as an online resource, the web site creates a forum for visitors to define, discuss, and discover solutions to their particular sleep needs. SleepBetter.org’s quest is to continually gather pertinent sleep information, then share this knowledge with the general public. The site also shares tips on the best sleep related products, both in stores and online. SleepBetter.org has created the Sleep Better seal as a way to easily identify products recommended for their superior quality or scientifically based design. Created by Carpenter Co., the world’s largest producer of comfort cushioning products, SleepBetter.org provides information and advice that visitors can use to sleep better. For more information, please visit http://SleepBetter.org.

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