Spring Cleaning: The Bedrooms - How To Wash Your Pillows

Ok, who else is enjoying some gorgeous springtime weather??  It seems like as soon as I start to see some sunshine, I am reminded of how dirty I’ve let my house get over the winter.  The dust on the windowsills is suddenly more apparent, Pepper and Zeke are shedding fools, which results in tufts of fur rolling across the kitchen floor like tumbleweeds, and the air inside the house seems so stale with the windows closed.

So as soon as Daylight Savings Time hits (Or is it ends?  I can never remember.), I know it’s time to start my spring cleaning.  Now, I know there are bajillions of better bloggers than me out there (here, here, here) detailing their extremely awesome spring cleaning schedules.  That’s not what this post is about. 

This post is about getting your home cleaner.  It’s about cleaning things that are usually overlooked.  It’s about learning some gross facts that will motivate you into cleaning these overlooked things.

This week, I’m focusing on the bedrooms in my house.  I’m talking specifically the beds themselves – the pillows, the duvets and comforters, and the mattresses.

Did you know, over their lifetime, pillows can absorb THREE TIMES their weight in dust, dead skin cells, hair, sweat, bacteria and other yuckies? 

I’m sorry I had to share that with you.

Not really, you needed to know so you’d follow this tutorial and wash your pillows.

Keep in mind that down and polyester-filled pillows are the easiest to wash.  I wouldn’t attempt to wash a memory foam pillow, just because I imagine lots of water getting trapped in the foam and ending up with a moldy pillow.  When in doubt, check the tag on your pillow.

To wash your polyester or down-filled pillows, you don’t need any special equipment.  All you’ll need is detergent and a couple of tennis balls. 

First up, remove any pillow cases, shams, and foofy whatnot from your pillows.  Take a before picture and wonder why your pillows are always so flat.

Hmm...I wonder

Get your washer started on these settings.

If your pillow is covered in those gross yellow (sweat) marks, use the HOT setting.

 

Allow the washer to fill to about 1/3 full; and then add your detergent and bleach if you’re using it

Give the washer some time to distribute the detergent and break it down a bit and then shove your pillows in there like in the picture below.  You’ll need two to balance out the machine for a top-loading washer.

For a front-loading washer, skip the filling step (I guess that’s kind of obvious, huh?) and put two pillows in the washer and let your machine run on the settings above. 

Once your machine has completed the cycle, run it through a second rinse.  

Now that your pillows are nice and clean, they just need to be dried.

Drop one tennis ball inside a knee sock, tie a knot in the sock above the ball and then add a second ball.  Tie another knot so that the sock looks like this.  You’ll need one of these sock and ball contraptions for each pillow you’re drying.   

The tennis balls beat the excess moisture out of pillow filling and help fluff them up.  If you have a couple of dryer balls, they could also be used. 

Run the dryer through one Permanent Press/High Heat cycle and continue until they’re dry.

Check out the difference between dirty and clean pillows!