Can you remember the last time you washed your pillow? We’re not talking about the case, but the pillow itself. Each night, as you lay your head down onto your pillow, you leave behind hair, dead skin, makeup, sweat, dirt, and more. Over time, these things begin to build up, tinting your once-pristine pillows more yellow than white. Instead of tossing your yellowed pillows in favor of new ones, we’ll show you how to whiten them up in the washing machine or by hand. Then, we’ll show you how to keep your pillows whiter for longer, so you can rest easy every single night.
Remove the pillowcases and check the pillow’s care tag. As a basic rule of thumb, always check care tags before laundering something. While most pillows are machine washable, some might require dry clean or spot cleaning only, as either the fabric or the pillow’s filling will degrade in the wash.[1] Generally, you can launder down and polyester pillows. Avoid laundering foam, latex, or bamboo pillows.- Before you pop it in the wash, make sure your pillow doesn’t have a symbol of a basin of water with a hand in it. This symbol indicates that the pillow is hand-wash only. This applies to most foam pillows.
- Similarly, a basin of water with an “X” through it indicates that you should never wash the pillow yourself. Take it to a dry cleaner instead.
- Washing a pillow contrary to the care tag may void any warranties, or could even release toxins, in the case of some foam pillows.
- 2Spot treat any miscellaneous stains with a textile stain remover. Spray any food, makeup, or other stains with a commercial stain remover to loosen them before the wash. This also helps loosen the yellow stains caused by sweat or other bodily substances.Saturate the spot with your cleaner, let it sit for about 15 minutes, then wipe the cleaner away with a rag soaked in warm water.
- Or, mix 1 tbsp (6 g) of baking soda with 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of water to make a simple paste to substitute for a commercial cleaner.
- 3Launder pillows with laundry detergent, dish soap, vinegar, and washing soda. Your standard detergent may not be strong enough to rid your pillow of the yellow. To help it whiten up those pillows when washing them in a machine, add 1 cup (240 mL) of dishwasher soap, ¾ cup (6 oz) of washing soda, 0.5 cups (120 mL) of white vinegar, and 3 tbsps (44mL) of regular laundry detergent. Place these ingredients in the drum of your machine.
- Or, add 0.5 cups (120 mL) of your standard detergent and an equal amount of white vinegar, if you don’t have those supplies.
- Alternatively, launder your pillows with 0.5 cups (120 mL) of laundry detergent, ¼ cup (45 g) of borax, and 0.25 cups (59 mL) of bleach in the drum for a stronger clean.
- Only wash 2 pillows at a time for a thorough clean that’s easy on your laundry machine.
