Do you remember when was the last time you washed your pillows? And when we’re talking about how to wash a pillow, we’re not talking about the exterior cover sheets of the pillows, we’re talking about the actual pillow itself! Over an extended period of human disregard, our sweat, oil from the skin, saliva drools and other impurities will build up and penetrate through the cover sheets and into the actual pillow filling inside.
If you want to be sure your pillows stay fresh and clean, Health and Hygiene experts have advised us to wash our pillows at least twice a year, according to the Good Housekeeping Institute. In this article we will explain the efficient methods to clean a variety of pillow types that you could follow.
As we have mentioned above, pillows should be washed two times a year, or once every six months. For pillow covers or cases, most hygienic people usually clean them together with the bedsheet on a weekly basis.
If we’re talking about replacing the entire old pillow to a new, fresh one, sleep health experts at The Sleep Doctor have advised to do so every one to two years. You could check out more info on their page.
The majority of pillow types can be washed with a washing machine. Here are the types of pillows that you CAN wash in the washing machine:
• Cotton pillows
• Down pillows
• Synthetic pillows
• Fiberfill pillows
• Feather pillows
The type of pillows listed below are NOT machine washable. Some of these fillings are made up of special material, therefore you could only remove the filling first then wash the cover to keep the pillow clean. Here are the types of pillows you CANNOT put in the washing machine.
• Memory Foam
• Latex
• Buckwheat
• Gel Pillows
Besides the washing machine, you will need:
Step 1: Do a 360° check for any stains, then use a stain remover spray on them.
Step 2: Insert the pillows in the drum of the washing machine. Fit as many pillows as you can, if possible, to prevent the washing machine from bring unbalanced and making a lot of noise
Step 3: Get your favourite detergent and pour it into the drawer dispenser
Step 4: Use warm water to wash your pillows and it’s recommended to add an extra rinse cycle so that all the extra detergent gets washed away.
Step 5: After rinsing it twice, put your pillows into the dryer, add a bunch of dryer balls to keep the fillings from being too compressed due to moisture. This will make the pillows expand and fluff up.
Step 6: Turn on the dryer for 1 hour, heating it up at low heat for fiberfill material, however for down pillows, do not use any heat at all.
Step 7: After the dryer has ended, take out your pillows and see if there are any moisture left by squeezing every part of the pillow. This is important because if it is still wet and straight away put onto your bed, the damp surface might encourage fungus or moulds to grow (very disgusting).
Now that you have a fresh and clean pillow, how are some ways that we could keep them as clean as possible and stain-free? We have to first identify the cause of those stains appearing on your pillows, and the only possible cause for those stains is, YOU. Yes, the person that is using these pillows. We all have oil that is being secreted out of our hair and skin.
The oil being produced by our body is sebum, which can produce yellow staining. So a really good way to prevent the staining from happening too quickly is to shower before bed, as it helps to remove the sebum oil. When showering, make sure that you are using shampoo to eliminate hair oil and body soap to eliminate oil from the body and as well as eliminate sweat.
As you use your pillows for a long period of time, there is a possibility that mould, dust, bacteria and viruses can grow on your pillows. These can cause allergies to happen like rhinitis, asthma, eczema and basically skin irritation. If you are experiencing these symptoms, replace your old pillow to a new one.
Your breakouts could also be caused by gradual accumulation of oil, dirt, dead skin, and other disgusting particles on your old pillows. While you might think just washing it again is ok, if your acne still persists, it is recommended to change your pillow completely to a new one.
A really old pillow that has not been replaced will usually be very soft and bendable, not providing enough support for you neck and body. Thus this will cause your body to ache and feel soreness.
Remember the first time you bought a fresh pillow from the store? It probably looks like it has alot of filling inside and it looks very fluffy. As you use your pillows for years, that fluffy appearance won’t show anymore, it will look dull and flat and you could feel it when you grab it.
In summary, this article has covered how often to wash your pillows — once every 6 months, also we have explained that certain types of pillows could be washed in the washing machine, while others are not. We have listed out the materials needed to wash your pillows, the step-by-step procedure on washing them, how to keep your pillows clean after washing them and finally, we discussed on when to tell your pillows goodbye.
We hope that this has been insightful for your bedtime health and also in terms of maintenance of your pillows.
Do you remember when was the last time you washed your pillows? And when we’re talking about how to wash a pillow, we’re not talking about the exterior cover sheets of the pillows, we’re talking about the actual pillow itself! Over an extended period of human disregard, our sweat, oil from the skin, saliva drools and other impurities will build up and penetrate through the cover sheets and into the actual pillow filling inside.
If you want to be sure your pillows stay fresh and clean, Health and Hygiene experts have advised us to wash our pillows at least twice a year, according to the Good Housekeeping Institute. In this article we will explain the efficient methods to clean a variety of pillow types that you could follow.
As we have mentioned above, pillows should be washed two times a year, or once every six months. For pillow covers or cases, most hygienic people usually clean them together with the bedsheet on a weekly basis.
If we’re talking about replacing the entire old pillow to a new, fresh one, sleep health experts at The Sleep Doctor have advised to do so every one to two years. You could check out more info on their page.
The majority of pillow types can be washed with a washing machine. Here are the types of pillows that you CAN wash in the washing machine:
• Cotton pillows
• Down pillows
• Synthetic pillows
• Fiberfill pillows
• Feather pillows
The type of pillows listed below are NOT machine washable. Some of these fillings are made up of special material, therefore you could only remove the filling first then wash the cover to keep the pillow clean. Here are the types of pillows you CANNOT put in the washing machine.
• Memory Foam
• Latex
• Buckwheat
• Gel Pillows
Besides the washing machine, you will need:
Step 1: Do a 360° check for any stains, then use a stain remover spray on them.
Step 2: Insert the pillows in the drum of the washing machine. Fit as many pillows as you can, if possible, to prevent the washing machine from bring unbalanced and making a lot of noise
Step 3: Get your favourite detergent and pour it into the drawer dispenser
Step 4: Use warm water to wash your pillows and it’s recommended to add an extra rinse cycle so that all the extra detergent gets washed away.
Step 5: After rinsing it twice, put your pillows into the dryer, add a bunch of dryer balls to keep the fillings from being too compressed due to moisture. This will make the pillows expand and fluff up.
Step 6: Turn on the dryer for 1 hour, heating it up at low heat for fiberfill material, however for down pillows, do not use any heat at all.
Step 7: After the dryer has ended, take out your pillows and see if there are any moisture left by squeezing every part of the pillow. This is important because if it is still wet and straight away put onto your bed, the damp surface might encourage fungus or moulds to grow (very disgusting).
Now that you have a fresh and clean pillow, how are some ways that we could keep them as clean as possible and stain-free? We have to first identify the cause of those stains appearing on your pillows, and the only possible cause for those stains is, YOU. Yes, the person that is using these pillows. We all have oil that is being secreted out of our hair and skin.
The oil being produced by our body is sebum, which can produce yellow staining. So a really good way to prevent the staining from happening too quickly is to shower before bed, as it helps to remove the sebum oil. When showering, make sure that you are using shampoo to eliminate hair oil and body soap to eliminate oil from the body and as well as eliminate sweat.
As you use your pillows for a long period of time, there is a possibility that mould, dust, bacteria and viruses can grow on your pillows. These can cause allergies to happen like rhinitis, asthma, eczema and basically skin irritation. If you are experiencing these symptoms, replace your old pillow to a new one.
Your breakouts could also be caused by gradual accumulation of oil, dirt, dead skin, and other disgusting particles on your old pillows. While you might think just washing it again is ok, if your acne still persists, it is recommended to change your pillow completely to a new one.
A really old pillow that has not been replaced will usually be very soft and bendable, not providing enough support for you neck and body. Thus this will cause your body to ache and feel soreness.
Remember the first time you bought a fresh pillow from the store? It probably looks like it has alot of filling inside and it looks very fluffy. As you use your pillows for years, that fluffy appearance won’t show anymore, it will look dull and flat and you could feel it when you grab it.
In summary, this article has covered how often to wash your pillows — once every 6 months, also we have explained that certain types of pillows could be washed in the washing machine, while others are not. We have listed out the materials needed to wash your pillows, the step-by-step procedure on washing them, how to keep your pillows clean after washing them and finally, we discussed on when to tell your pillows goodbye.
We hope that this has been insightful for your bedtime health and also in terms of maintenance of your pillows.