I know – ok I’m HOPING – it’s not just us, but the nice, new, white pillowcases my wife and I bought recently are getting progressively yellower. Each month they get worse, and no amount of washing or bleach can get the yellow out.
So first, what on earth causes non-yellow heads (we ain’t the Simpsons) to turn pillowcases yellow? And why can’t we clean said disgustingness?
I do know that bleach itself can yellow. There is a laundry treatment that can help whiten whites
My hubby gets this, I always thought it was just hair oil.
Maybe you just have oily heads
I have some pillows (sic), not the pillow cases, the pillows themselves, that are developing yellow splotches. I will admit to sometimes not showering before bed (sometimes!), but where the heck are the yellow splotches coming from!?!?!
I don’t recall the pillows being the victim of any excessively kinky activities.
filmyak, first thing to check is are the cases 100% cotton? If not then its probably the bleach. Clorine bleach truns almost all synthetics yellow or gray.
An oxygen bleach, like Oxy Clean might help, but you might be outa luck.
If the pillow cases are 100% cotton, it could be your water or washer. Your washer could have some rust that you can’t see. If there’s iron in your water youmight be able to get a clelating product to add to the wash. It binds iron, but its probably too late.
CynicalGabe yours are easier and harder. No matter how clear they look, all body fluids have a tinge of yellow. It could be tears, or do you drool in your sleep? That’s what’s happening. Pillows should be professionally cleaned. Feather pillows are opened, the feathers go into a blower thingy that blows them around in hot air for a while, then they are put back into new ticking.
Man made pillows, well, I’ve never found a method of cleaning them that didn’t ruin them. You can try spot cleaning the outside and putting them in the dryer now and then to fluff them.
I have solid foam pillows. They are hypo allergenic, dust mites don’t like them a lot. They can be hand washed very gently for the first year or so, but then the start to come apart. I put mine in the dryer for a half hour every few weeks, with the zippy cases left on, then carefully remove the case to wash it. As long as you’re careful they can last for years.
I don’t know if this works with synthetic fabrics, but I have had good luck with cotton.
Try dissolving two or three tablespoons of cream of tartar powder in a pan of water and soak the pillowcases in that for several hours or overnight. Be sure that all of the fabric stays under the water. That should take some of the yellow out.
If it is indeed your head yellowing the pillowcases, then the culprit is sebum, oily goodness that your sebaceous glands exude. Yes, it’s yellow. You know that lovely stuff on the end of the cotton swab you’ve used to clean your ears? That’s mostly sebum.
If your pillowcases are yellower where your head rests, then it’s likely sebum. Bleach should help to get it out. It’s fatty oil, see? So putting it in a strongly basic solution is a soap-making process, like mixing beef tallow with a lye solution.
If they’re uniformly yellow (or in spots, if you’re not careful at washtime) then you’ve bleached 'em yellow. Try peroxide or “colour-safe” (oxygen) bleach. Or throw 'em away. 
Thanks, everyone. Will forward to my wife, let her handle the problem.
So the pillows could be smoker’s yellow like the ceilings in a smoker’s house.
I had never considered that.
Night sweats can stain the pillows too.
We have used a product called Yellow Out with great success, often where bleach fails. It is available at most grocery stores here in the laundry section.
filmyak, do you have iron in your water? Iron can react with bleach and turn things yellow, IIRC. Try the yellow out.
You might also try using a detergent with bluing agents in it (or do they all).
Sounds like you have made the same discovery I did - that for expensive down pillows, it’s best to put them in a pillow protector (like a snug-fitting pillowcase) and THEN put the pillowcase over that. You get two layers of cotton instead of one to protect your pillow, as well as keep the feathers encased.
And bleaching the whatsit out of the case or protector is a lot easier than trying to degunk the pillow.
FWIW, I’m an egghead (hence the name) so all my head sebum goes straight onto my pillow rather than into the hair like for all you shaggy types. Yes, that’s right, nice yellow patch.
I have washed our down pillows on the gentle cycle and put them in the dryer and they come out clean and undamaged. Real down is just feathers, right? Aren’t feathers made to get wet and survive? It says right on the tag that they are down, and machine washable. I wash our down comforter too. It takes a while to dry but they come out nice and puffy. You need a pretty large capacity washer / dryer to do this though.
If the whole pillowcases are evenly yellow then it is probably something in your water or the bleach that is doing it. If you have yellow spots / streaks then your sweat or drool or whatever is the culprit.
I have washed our down pillows on the gentle cycle and put them in the dryer and they come out clean and undamaged. Real down is just feathers, right? Aren’t feathers made to get wet and survive? It says right on the tag that they are down, and machine washable. I wash our down comforter too. It takes a while to dry but they come out nice and puffy. You need a pretty large capacity washer / dryer to do this though.
If the whole pillowcases are evenly yellow then it is probably something in your water or the bleach that is doing it. If you have yellow spots / streaks then your sweat or drool or whatever is the culprit.
I get yellow head-shaped areas on my pillows too, and I always assumed it’s hair and face oil. I have gotten pillow protectors and just replace them when they start looking too bad. I don’t like the idea of bleach so even though they are yellow, if I know they’re clean I don’t worrk about it.
I have switched to darker pillowcases, though, since even white with dark stripes ones start looking icky.
If it’s oil, try ammonia in the wash instead of bleach. Ammonia works better on oily stains. Do not use both together! Danger! Danger! Danger!
The problem in this thread is exactly why I only go with dark-colored or patterned pillowcases (something busier than stripes- a nice oversized flower pattern works).
Doesn’t the loud pattern keep you awake at night?
(Sorry.)
This is my strategy too – except that problems arise when I use benzoyl peroxide on my face in an attempt to beat my acne into submission. I now have a few pillowcases (and even sheets) with large discolored spots on them.