# How do you wash a pillow? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 12, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wash-a-pillow/553469 "2010-09-12T03:16:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wash-a-pillow/553469/21 "2010-09-12T19:23:48Z")
Here is a site on [how to wash a pillow](http://www.creativehomemaking.com/cleaning/cleaning-pillows.shtml). It says about what others here have said. I use solid foam pillows which are even harder to sink, but don’t bunch up. I use towels to sink them too. They can’t be dried in the dryer, so I put the pillow on two large towels, and roll them up, tightly, to get as much water out as possible. I sometimes have to do this twice to get all the excess water out. Then put them on a sweater rack to finish drying. I also place a fan near by to keep the air circulating. I think this method would also work on fiber pillows, but not down. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wash-a-pillow/553469/22 "2010-09-13T00:37:30Z")
> [@Cazzle](#): > > Google “replace pillows” (no quotes) and you’ll get a lot of hits on experts suggesting they should be _replaced_ every couple of years. > > > [@](#): > > > > …allergens such as dust mites, bacteria, mold and mildew, along with human factors such as perspiration and drool, can cause pillows to become unhealthy in two to three years. > > Then again, the expert quoted there is a representative for a bedding manufacturer. This reminds me that my husband used to have a standard-sized feather/down pillow from when he was a kid. It must have weighed five pounds. I don’t even want to think about what had accumulated in it. It finally got tossed. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wash-a-pillow/553469/23 "2010-09-13T04:51:09Z")
We wash our pillows one by one in the washer and dry them in the dryer. They always seem to come out okay. ---
**Author:** ![Terry\_Kennedy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@Terry\_Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terry_Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wash-a-pillow/553469/24 "2010-09-14T05:37:12Z")
> [@Terry\_Kennedy](#): > > Great timing, since I’m reading this right after I put pillows in the washer. 😃 I thought I’d update this, as the last of the 8 pillows have gone through the washer and dryer… The last pair of pillows were a bit of a problem - they’re overpriced Calvin Klein ones ($150 per, on sale, a couple years ago) and I’d rather not throw them out. The fabric cover on these lets water and air in, but neither out. My front-loading Samsung washer was _very_ unhappy with one of these - the display that counts down the time remaining stuck at 12 minutes for a very long time, while it tried shuffling the pillow around to get a spin that didn’t vibrate too much. It would get up to a reasonable speed and give up, only to try again. I wound up pausing the cycle, opening the door, and squeezing the pillow by hand (it was completely inflated like a balloon) to force some of the air and water out of it. After a couple rounds of that, the washer was able to complete its cycle, and the pillow came out flat and limp (but the dryer took care of that). ---
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wash-a-pillow/553469/25 "2010-09-14T05:58:56Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > they get yellowed and ugly and smelly. I wouldn’t call it “smelly”. It has in fact a reassuring scent. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wash-a-pillow/553469/26 "2010-09-14T06:20:42Z")
> [@Khaki\_Campbell](#): > > > [@needscoffee](#): > > > > they get yellowed and ugly and smelly. > > I wouldn’t call it “smelly”. It has in fact a reassuring scent. Not the drooly ones. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wash-a-pillow/553469.md?page=1)