The 3 Second Rule: The Laundry Version
Dear Mouthy Housewives,
Whenever we have a guest, we make up our guest room bed for them. But my husband thinks that if they only stay one night, we don’t need to wash the sheets after they leave and that we can just fold them up and put them back in the linen closet for the next guest. That seems gross to me. What do you ladies think?
Signed,
Grossed Out
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Dear Out,
Your husband is absolutely right. Assuming that you have friends who levitate over the bed and don’t actually make contact with the linen.
But if your overnight guests are mere mortals who plop their bodies into the bed that you’ve prepared for them, then you are out of luck.
You know the three second rule: You give your kid a snack, the kid drops the snack on the floor and you have a dilemma. On the one hand, you don’t want your kid to eat food that’s been on the floor, but on the other hand, eh. Quick-thinking parents have come up with a three second rule that states that if an object has been on the floor for less than three seconds, it’s fine to eat. Probably because the germs haven’t attached yet. The science behind that one is sketchy, but I’m not going to be the one to say anything about it.
Except now your husband is keen on extending the three second rule to some kind of eight hour rule for linen. I see the advantages–less laundry and more planet friendly. But I also see a big disadvantage–it’s disgusting.
Perhaps the next time you have guests, you can casually quiz them. Something like, “Hey, it’s so fun to see you! I hope you’re comfortable on the bed. Leslie Leper was in town last week and she absolutely loved these sheets! We didn’t wash them after she left because we’re trying to launder less and be more green, so sweet dreams and thanks for helping save the planet!”
I’m willing to bet that most guests would opt for a clean set of linens. And you can save the pre-slept on ones for your husband.
Good luck,
Marinka, TMH
17 Responses to “The 3 Second Rule: The Laundry Version”
Comment by Nicole.
I can imagine being lazy and not wanting to wash the sheets, as a person who abhors changing linens more than scrubbing toilets, but if you’re gonna take them off anyway, seems odd to put them away. What do you normally have on there? Signed…jealous of your guest room, dirty sheets or not.
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Comment by Wendi.
This reminds me of a hotel/casino in Pahrump, NV called “Whiskey Pete’s.” Their unofficial tagline is “Bring your own sheets.”
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Comment by writingmama04.
We actually know it as the 5 second rule in our house. Some days it is closer to 10. Hosting guests should follow the golden rule – you would want clean sheets when you stayed over for a visit, wouldn’t you?
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Comment by Plano Mom.
There is nothing in the world like slipping into a fresh-smelling bed. Old farts does not constitute fresh-smelling.
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Comment by Desperate Dietwives.
Is your husband the family launderer? If not, he is not entitled to give advice. 
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Comment by Erin I'm Gonna Kill Him.
If you make things TOO comfortable, they may never leave. Your husband may have hit upon a really great guest-evacuation tactic. That said, I always wash them after Leslie Leper comes to stay, though.
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Comment by Natalie.
When hubby has to do the laundry, he can decide whether the sheets get washed or not. It will be a cold day in hell before that happens, so our guest bedroom sheets will always be clean 
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Comment by dusty earth mother.
Just to let you know,it’s the “three-minutes and as long as the dogs don’t get it first” rule in my house, which gives you insight into what sort of a housekeeper I am.
But even I’M grossed out by this. Wash the sheets. For love the of God.
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Comment by Nicole.
So my kid eats cheerios and rice krispies off the floor (she’s 1 today). We call them Floorios and Friskies.
But wash the sheets. The one time I didn’t, it was the span of less than a week and it was the same person who was going to be sleeping in the bed.
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Comment by GrandeMocha.
We just had this discussion at my house last night. I made him change the sheets so his niece could sleep over. My husband doesn’t think you ever need to change the sheets (our bed or guest bed) EVER. He won’t use the same towel twice.
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Comment by Domesticated Gal.
What is it with guys an sheets? They seem to think if they can’t see an actual stain on the sheets (often Through the comforter), then they aren’t dirty. I think the Big Man washed his sheets one a year in college. And by washed his sheets, I mean took them home at the beginning of the summer for his mother to launder!
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Comment by Cranky Sarah.
Bleck – men (& boys) and their sheets. When my brother started getting serious with a girl he really liked (with all his morals and all they hadn’t been intimate yet since they weren’t serious) and that the rest of us really wouldn’t mind having in the family, I felt is was my duty to help prevent him from scaring her off. So, I quizzed him about his sheets. He had taken them out of the package and put them on the bed. And that was that – which wouldn’t have been too bad except he’d done that part 6 months prior. She’s still around so I hope he took my advice and 1. bought more sheets and 2. washed them!
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Comment by Rachel.
Yuck. I could totally tell the sheets weren’t fresh and be skeeved out. Wash the sheets! I bet they fit into the washer with the sheets from your bed so you don’t even have to do a extra load.
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Comment by redgirl.
so…uh…what about the mattress pad??
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