Meta Description: Clean pillows can help us relax and get a better sleep, find out how to effectively clean your pillow
Washing your bed sheets is one of the most basic adult thing to do. It also has an impact on healthy sleep hygiene. But aside from bed sheets, you also need to consider the cleanliness of your pillows.
It is very important to keep your feather pillow clean since this is where we lay our heads and it has the closest contact to our face. Whatever is in our pillows can be inhaled by us whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Changing your pillow sheets are sometimes not enough to keep your pillow clean and fresh. There are ways that you need to follow in order for it to smell good and look good. Having a clean pillow, together with having a clean bed sheet can help you have a sound sleep.
Here are some cheap DIY tips for home on how to clean pillows:
1.) Wash your pillow gently
Another step on how to clean pillows is washing them. Pillows need to be washed occasionally so that all the accumulated dust, dirt and the dead skin can be removed. Washing your pillows can also help make it smelling fresh and new. But you have to be careful because you must not do it often or else it will lose its shape. You can wash your pillows twice a year, as it has the same material as that of a mattress.
Most of the synthetic or foam-filled pillows can be washed using a washing machine, but it is better to check the instruction on the label of the pillow before you do so. You also need to select the gentle cycle of your washing machine if you need to use it in order to wash your pillow and you also need to run the load using lukewarm water and the most recommended laundry detergent.
If you have a large washing machine then it can fit two pillows at the same time, if you do this it can help balance the load and it can also allow the lukewarm water and the laundry detergent to circulate effectively.
The agitator on the top-loaders can be a bit tough on pillows so it is ideal to agitate on the gentle cycle for at least a few minutes or on the shortest setting possible if you cannot control the specific time. You can also make a trip to the laundromat so that you can use their front-loaders.
The feather filled, and down pillows should be hand washed only, and not machine washed. You can do this by filling a basin with warm water and you can add the most recommended laundry detergent. After, you can submerge your pillow completely in the mixture and knead it gently.
Drain your basin and press your pillow in it so that you can expel the water that has seethed in before you roll it in a dry towel. You can then put the pillow in your washing machine and run it in the slowest spin cycle that is possible in order to gently extract the remaining water before you hang it outside to dry.
2.)Air it out
The most basic thing to do when it comes to how to clean pillows is by airing it out. You need to give your pillows its much-deserved daily fluffing to help restore it to their normal shape and so that any dust that were stuck in it can be removed.
It is also important to hang the pillows outside at least once or twice a month, you can hang them on a clothesline for at least a few hours so that the fresh air can help get rid of the seethed smell. It is ideal to hang it outside when it is breezy and bright. You can also run your pillows through a dryer on a no-heat cycle to help get rid of the smell and the seethed dust and dirt.
3.)Dry it thoroughly
In order for you to know whether your pillow has retained any moisture, you can weigh it before and after you run it through a clothes dryer. It is important to make sure that the pillow is thoroughly dry or else mildew could develop and it could ruin your pillows.
It is best not to use the auto-dry setting in your machine because the sensors of your machine will only detect the surface that is moist, but it does not detect the inside of the pillow thus it could leave you with a pillow that is still damp on the inside. What you will need to do on the other hand, is to dry it for at least an hour on moderate heat. You can also add a couple of dry towels to make the drying of your pillow faster.
If the weather allows it, you can hang your pillows outside on the clothesline until they’ve thoroughly dried. You need to check and feel around inside of your pillow for moisture. If there are no moisture, then you can use it again. You can also use pillow covers in order to protect your pillows from any substance such as face cream, sweat, dead skin, body oils and more.