How to Wash and Whiten Pillows
Wondering why pillows turn yellow and dingy and how to fix them? Washing pillows is easy, learn how to wash and whiten pillows in the washing machine with this easy step-by-step tutorial.
I learned a little something new last week…did you know when a three year old chugs a bottle of his daddy’s gatorade he’ll have no less than 3 accidents that night? Yep.
After that hard lesson was learned I thought I’d take the opportunity during the mountains of laundry I was doing the next day to share a few tips for washing and whitening pillows!
Why do pillows turn yellow?
If you’ve read my other laundry posts you’ll know that I’m a stickler for washing linens once a week. A microbiology course in college gave me the big time eebie-jeebies about what we may not be able to see in those beds.
When it comes to pillows however, I usually wash them every few months. Even with regular washing pillows can develop an odor and yellow stains over time-sweat, saliva, oils from your skin…you name it…it’s not pretty. Luckily it isn’t hard to fix.
How to wash yellow pillows
Before we start, check the label on your pillow to make sure it is machine washable. Most feather pillows, down pillows, and synthetic pillows are machine washable but it is better to be safe than sorry and check first.
The number one rule of pillow washing is to wash two at a time to keep the load balanced during the spin cycle!
Remove any pillowcases and pillow protectors.
Position your pillows on opposite sides of your wash basin and select HOT water and extra rinse options, if you don’t have an extra rinse option you can manually run a rinse cycle afterward.
Add your laundry detergent and 1 cup of bleach to your washer (following washer instructions.) Run the hot wash cycle.
For Severe Staining
If your pillows are severely stained it can help to do a hot water soak prior to running them through the wash to give the detergent time to break up stubborn stains. If your machine has a soak function you can use that. If your machine doesn’t have that option, you can use your bathtub and some Dawn dish detergent dissolved in hot water and soak them for 30 minutes to an hour before transferring to the washer.
How to Dry Pillows After Washing
Depending on what type of pillows you have you’ll need to adjust the dryer settings appropriately-down pillows need to be dried on the air cycle while synthetic pillows can be dried on the low heat setting. (Do NOT dry memory foam pillows in the dryer-hang them outdoors or in a place with good air circulation to air-dry!)
Add a couple of tennis balls (clean of course) or wool dryer balls to the dryer to help fluff the pillows as they dry. If possible, lay your pillows out in the sun after running through the dryer. (I learned that from my friend Kelly over at View Along the Way in her article about how she keeps white slipcovers clean with kids!)
There you have it! Bright clean pillows!!
When’s the last time you cleaned your pillows?
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I am so happy to find this post on how to wash pillows. I haven’t been able to find a dry cleaner that will clean pillows, and I was never sure how else to get it done. Now I know – and I’m on my way to clean them now! Thank you!!
I hope the tutorial was helpful Katrina!
Yes it was. Tgank you so much fir the information.
Very helpful suggestions to make life easy. Thank you
Thanks for this great post, I find it very interesting and very well thought out and put together. I look forward to reading your work in the future.
I have memory foam pillows. Would this work for them?
Not in my eperience. Just one very expensive ruined piloow.
Just curious, what type of pillows do you have? Mine always fall flat once we’ve used them.
Right now I’m using a memory foam pillow that is keeping it’s shape really well. I bought it at Walmart as a temporary measure when we moved from England back to the US this past summer and were waiting on our household goods to arrive and loved it so much I’ve used it ever since. It was very affordable! ~Melissa
Why do you put tennis balls in?
To fluff the pillows. We don’t have Tommy Boy to do it for us!
Really love to read this post and its seems like a great blog i have ever seen. Just read your article.
Good one. I liked it. Keep going. you are a best writer your site is very useful and informative thanks for sharing!
WOW! Great tutorial Mellisa. Thanks for your effort that you show us those procedures. I always afraid of washing pillow. Because it gets loosen. Though. Is there any DIY way to dry wash? Don’t have idea on it.
I am so glad to read your post. I’ve looked for ways to whiten up my pillow cover effectively but couldn’t. Thank you so much for sharing.
Great! I love these nice tips. Thanks for your sharing
I’ve tried this with the same washing machine(no middle agitator), the pillows do float. you have to manually flip things around. I used the dryer balls with my husband’s gym socks on them. used low heat setting on the dryer for about 2 hours, fluffed the pillows in between. One pillow smelled faintly like cooked chicken; otherwise, my pillows came out great.
These tips are very helpful for me. Now, i will easily wash my pillows easily. Thank you for all these tips.
Sorry but I thought there was going to be something new on how to whiten your pillows. But isnt that a guven laundry detergent and bleach.. I want to add to that for nice whites add borax! It really does make them white and keeps the bleach from yellowing them. *as it does sometimes* a 1/2 to 1 cup borax and your pillows will be beautiful white! Thanks
Actually, I hadn’t considered washing two at a time – to keep it balanced. I found that tip extremely helpful.
I agree. I never use bleach for cleaning, especially pillows. I use my regular laundry detergent, a cup of vinegar and a cup of Borax. The pillows come out like brand new and smell great. Using bleach leaves them smelling like bleach, not what I want to smell while trying to sleep. Bleach is not the answer to achieving “white, bright” laundry.
What if you dont habe a dryer? I habe down pillows. Can I dry them by hanging or will the down clog?
NO!! The feathers mildew ! A down feather pillow takes approximately 4 hours drying time. I then leave it on ” woven ” chairs, shake it daily, to dry it more.
Mildew would give you breathing problems.
Any pillows you dont want to wash, put in sun..dor a sun barh. what I normally do is I take my feather pillows and I put them in my car in the back window Dash or the front window Dash and I leave them there because the heat from the Sun kills bacteria. I learned this when I lived in Cuba the sun works wonders
Great idea!! ~Melissa
Yrs that down is sometimes a mess when washed!
My grandmother used to wash her feather pillows, but ONLY in the hottest part of summer, so they would dry thoroughly. She washed them early in the morning, then hung them outside, shaking vigorously every hour or two, for the remainder of the day. It was a lot of work, but was only done once a year.
I am so lucky to read your post. I’ve looked for ways to whiten up my pillow cover effectively for a long time. Thank you so much!
I have tons of pillows on my bed, but only use one. It’s be great find another brand that will foster a good night rest.
This post makes me want to strip the beds and wash everything right now.