Why do pillows turn yellow? That dingy yellow shade that bed pillows take on over time is a product of the moisture they absorb as you sleep, including sweat, saliva, natural oils from your hair and skin, and even skin care and hair care product residues. It's perfectly normal for pillows to turn yellow - if a bit gross - but there's a way to restore them to cleaner state!
A few years ago, I found myself mourning the discolored state of my own stained pillows, and had accepted that I probably needed to replace them. But I figured I might as well poke around online to see what I could find out about how to whiten pillows before I chucked them in the trash.
Related: The One Thing You Need To Do Before Switching To Lighter Bedding
That's when I came across the following procedure to clean and whiten yellow pillows and decided to give it a try. The results were so impressive that I wanted to shout it from the rooftops! So that's what I'm doing today: I'm taking to my virtual rooftop to share exactly how to clean yellow pillows.
(Considering that this is one of my most popular posts, I'm far from the only one who's enthusiastic about this laundry hack!)
You'll need:
Related: 31 Surprisingly Brilliant Ways to Use Borax
Directions:
First, check the tag to make sure you can machine wash your pillow. (You can put most feather pillows, down pillows, and synthetic pillows in your washer, but it's better to be safe than sorry!)
Remove the pillow case and pillow protector, if present.
The first step in the cleaning process is to soak your yellow pillow in hot water to give the cleaning agents a head start on dissolving those tough stains. (If you have a top-loading washing machine, you can do the soak right in your washer. For those with front-loading washers, or if your top-loader doesn't have a soak function, you can do the soak in a separate container or your bathtub.)
Related: How to Clean Your Top-Loading Washing Machine (Effortlessly)
Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil on your stovetop. Stir the laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, and borax into the boiling water, and stir until the powdered ingredients dissolve. (You could also pour the water into a bucket and then add the dry ingredients if you don't want to mix cleaning ingredients inside a cooking pot.)
Once the powders have dissolved into the water, pour the water into your washer (or whatever you're using to soak the pillows in), then add the bleach. Then let the pillows soak in the solution for at least 30 minutes (an hour or more is even better), flipping the pillows over about half-way through the soak time to make sure that they're getting saturated on both sides.
Related: Get Your Front-Loading Washing Machine Sparkling Clean (and Germ Free!)
Following the soak, wash the pillows in your washing machine on a normal hot water cycle. (Add an extra rinse, if your washer gives you the option.)
Finally, all that's left to do is dry your pillows. A lot of people ask if you can dry pillows in the dryer, and most of the time, the answer is yes.
Down pillows should be dried on the "fluff" or "air" setting, while synthetic pillows can be dried on low heat. Add a couple of tennis balls or wool dryer balls to the dryer to help fluff the pillows as they dry.
Related: The One Extremely Simple Thing You Need To Do To Your Pillow
This "before and after" features a pillow that our Production Manager Brittany offered up as a test subject. As you can see, this method made a profound difference in the color and appearance of her pillow (and the difference was even more dramatic in person!)
Generally speaking yes, but be sure to check the tag. Keep in mind that memory foam will take much longer to dry, so be sure to give it plenty of time in the dryer on a low heat setting. If you want to dry it outside, make sure there is a nice breeze to provide plenty of opportunity for all that dense memory foam to air out.
Definitely. Follow the same advice above for your down feather pillows-plenty of drying time on low heat. It's best to put them in your dryer with a few dryer balls to help prevent the feathers from clumping as they dry. (Believe me, you don't want to end up with a pillow full of hot, soggy clumps of feathers.
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Have you ever tried washing stained or yellow pillows?