If you sweat a lot at night, it’s harder to keep your bed smelling fresh. The sweaty smell latches onto the sheets and mattress and the moisture buildup can cause additional smells because of mold, mildew and bacteria. 

In addition to addressing the root cause of the sweating, here are some steps you can take to keep your bed smelling nice if you or your partner has night sweats. 

1. Wash Bedding More Frequently 

Ordinarily, you should try to wash bedding at least once a week. Dirty bedding not only smells, it can cause some serious health problems. 

If you have night sweats, we recommend changing your sheets, pillowcases and duvet cover at least twice a week. This keeps your bedding from getting smelly, reduces the risk of mold and mildew on your bed, and keeps your bed more hygienic. 

It’s also great for your skin. A build-up of sweat, bacteria, dead skin cells and other stuff on bedding can cause or worsen acne and other skin problems.   

2. Get a Waterproof Mattress Protector 

If you have night sweats, a mattress protector is a must-have. You can wash sweaty sheets and even launder or dry clean a comforter. But a mattress that’s soaked up months or years of sweat is a lot harder to clean and can actually pose a health hazard. 

In addition to getting smelly, the sweat attracts bacteria, mold and mildew. These can cause respiratory and skin problems and affect your sleep quality. 

A mattress protector keeps sweat, allergens, dead skin cells and other debris from settling on your mattress. This helps keep your mattress and the entire bed smelling fresh. Remember to wash your mattress protector at least once a month. 

3. Use a Top Sheet to Protect The Duvet 

A mattress protector protects your mattress, a top sheet protects your duvet. Duvets or comforters are not meant to be laundered often as they can get damaged easily. 

This is a problem if you sweat a lot at night since it can leave your comforter with an unpleasant smell. 

The first step is to get a duvet cover that protects the insert from coming into contact with sweat. You can wash a duvet cover as often as you like without an issue. 

Next, use a top sheet to create an extra barrier between you and the comforter. For those who may not know, a top sheet is the sheet that you cover yourself with.  

With a top sheet and a duvet cover, your comforter will stay and smell fresher for longer.  

4. Use Natural Bed Sheets

The types of bed sheets you use also determine how nice your bed smells. Synthetic sheets like polyester and microfiber are bad for night sweats. 

Polyester and microfiber sheets have relatively poor breathability and moisture-wicking performance compared to natural sheets like cotton, linen, silk and hemp. So they worsen sweating by making you hotter and trap the sweat on your skin. This can make your bed smell worse. 

In addition, synthetic fabrics tend to smell sweatier compared to natural fabrics. 

Switching to natural bed sheets not only helps reduce sweating, it also keeps your bed smelling fresh.  

5. Use Antibacterial Bed Linen 

The reason sweating makes your bed stink is because of bacteria that interacts with oils in the sweat. Sweat itself is odorless.

Antibacterial bedding like the Hercleon Jax sheets keep your bed hygienic and fresh by fighting off odor-causing bacteria. So no matter how much you sweat, your bed doesn't stink. You can even go for longer between sheet changes.  

6. Reduce/Manage Your Night Sweats 

Managing your night sweats can help reduce how much you sweat and keep your bed smelling nice. We recommend talking to a doctor for a diagnosis and recommendations on how you can reduce night sweats. 

Things like deodorants and antiperspirants can reduce the severity and smell of your night sweats. 

Also watch out for triggers that worsen your night sweats. Common triggers include stress, coffee, alcohol, high temperatures and smoking. 

Your diet can also affect how much your sweat smells. A diet high in red meat, cruciferous vegetables, onions, spicy foods and alcohol can make your sweat, and therefore your bed, smell worse.