How Do I Wash My Pillows?
We wash our sheets and the rest of our bedding on a regular basis, but what about pillows? Pillows often get forgotten in the wash, rinse, repeat cycle of our lives. However, they can be a source of bacteria in our beds and on on our couches. Not to mention, they can become stinky and might be a hidden source of odor in your home.
Not every pillow comes with care instructions. As best, any care instructions that do come with your pillow might be limited or miss important information. However, a good starting place is to read the care instructions from your pillow manufacturer IF you can find it on the tag, on the website, or the Amazon listing. Not all pillows are made out of the same materials, which creates some variations in how you might approach pillow cleaning.
Pillows are these thick fluffy pieces of fabric that might have dirt, sweat, and bacteria trapped deep down inside of them.
Before we go into the specifics of how to clean your pillows for bedding and furniture, let’s talk about preventative care. Ensure that you have pillow protectors on all of your bed pillows, when possible. Instead of needing to wash your pillows regularly, you can just slip these protectors on and off to run through the wash along with your sheets. I highly recommend the waterproof kind that has an inner lining to protect from sweat. We sweat on average 200 ml per night. And for some us, it’s more.
Want to maintain a healthy pillow with less bacterial growth? By protecting your pillows, you’ll greatly reduce the frequency in which you’ll need to wash them.
Image by Taryn Elliott
What Types of Pillows Are Washer Friendly?
• Downfill
• Fiberfill
• Shredded Memory Foam
Image by Castorly Stock
What Types of Pillows Are *NOT* Washer Friendly?
• Solid Latex
• Solid Memory Foam
Essentially any pillows that are a solid piece of foam run the risk of breaking down in the washing machine with water and agitation. This makes this type of pillow not washer friendly.
Image by RDNE Stock Project
What Kind of Washing Machine is Safe for my Pillows?
If you have a downfill or a fiberfill pillow, any washing machine that doesn’t have an agitator centerpiece will do. This includes all front load washers and some top load washers that don’t have the agitator. To wash a pillow, you need that room for the pillow to soak / saturate with water and to freely move inside of the washer.
How Do I Wash My Pillows?
If you have a downfill pillow, fiberfill pillow, or a shredded memory foam pillow, then it is safe to wash these in the washer.
Here’s the step-by-step instructions on washing your pillows:
(1) Start by generously spraying your pillows with an enzyme cleaner and let it sit for 30min - 1 hour. I highly recommend this enzyme cleaner by Rocco & Roxie. Do not be deterred by the label of it being a “pet urine” cleaner. An enzyme cleaner helps “eat” any live bacteria that’s lingering on a surface. When I’ve sprayed this cleaner on various laundry items, my laundry has come out smelling and feeling cleaner than ever. In my experience, it always eliminates any odors that were previously lingering in my fabrics.
(2) Add the pillows to a front load or a top load washer: ensure there’s no agitator.
(3) Add your liquid laundry soap of choice and baking soda: liquid laundry soap should go in the soap reservoir and a 1/2 c - 1 cup of baking soda should go in the drum of the washer.
(4) Run wash cycle and then place in the dryer: place the dryer on low heat (this might take a while with it being a pillow or multiple pillows). Placing a few dryer balls in with the dry cycle can help.
How Do I Clean my Solid Latex or Solid Memory Foam Pillow?
Since solid latex pillows and solid memory foam pillows are unsafe for the washing machine (due to breaking apart with water and agitation), follow these dry cleaning steps below:
(1) Remove all pillow cases from the pillow and vacuum well: a hand vacuum or a Dyson vacuum with HEPA filtration works well.
(2) Lightly spray your pillow with an enzyme cleaner on one side and lightly scrub with a soft bristled fabric brush. Let sit for 30min - 1 hour. Turn the other side over and repeat. Again, I highly recommend this enzyme cleaner by Rocco & Roxie. Do not be deterred by the label of it being a “pet urine” cleaner. An enzyme cleaner helps “eat” any live bacteria that’s lingering on a surface.
Should I Soak my Pillows in the Bathtub before Washing?
You may have seen a TikTok or two where the person shows their pillows being soaked in the bathtub. As a result, there’s a gnarly amount of dark grey water that comes out of pillows.
Honestly, this creates a TON more work for yourself and doesn’t really save water by soaking them in the bathtub. In order to fully get them clean, you’d need to refill the bathtub multiple times to rinse. If you run your pillows through the wash once and find that they still need cleaning, try running them through a wash cycle a second time. This will still use much less water and effort than the bathtub route.
