I have a feather pillow in need of washing. It's my hubby's favorite pillow, so I don't want to ruin it! Can I put it in my washing machine on a gentle, cool cycle? Also, if I can, can I dry it on a low air cycle? The pillow was his mom's, and she has sense passed, and there are no tags on it, indicating how to clean. I really don't want to do the dry cleaning route... Thanks, everyone and have a fantastic weekend!
Yes-you can wash a feather pillow in the machine:
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/heloise/feather-pill...
When we lived in Iowa, 20 years ago, we picked up some feather pillows really cheaply at an auction. I then took them to the dry cleaner to have them re-stuffed....
They put the feathers in a machine of some kind, and that might have sanitized them or something, and then put them in a new pillow ticking! (We actually took 3 regular size feather pillows in, and had them combine them into 2 queen size feather pillows.)
The pillows were so wonderful and fresh after that!
I would really check with a dry cleaner to see if they have such a service... it wasn't like they were being cleaned with the typical dry cleaning solutions that stink so much.
I would not try washing it. The feathers will clump together and it will be difficult to get dry. Think of the role feathers play for the duck. The feathers resist water, keeping the duck dry. When you wash them you'll be washing the protective coating off of the feathers. Also feathers smell rather bad when wet and the smell will remain.
My daughter had a favorite feather pillow and I looked into cleaning it. Certain dry cleaners will take the pillow apart, clean the feathers and put the pillow back together again, adding new feathers. It is expensive.
I bought her a new feather pillow and we kept the old one in a pillow case on her bed. She gradually began to use the new one and it eventually felt the same to her as the old one.
I know it's different for your husband since the pillow belonged to his mother. At the same time I would not wash it. Feather pillows are not made to be washed.
I put our down pillows in the washer. Ours don't have any sort of sentimental value, though, so I just put them in on a normal cycle. I toss them in the dryer on low temp and toss in 3 tennis balls. It helps fluff the pillow back up to normal. Hmmm.... Maybe I'll go wash my pillows now... I love how they feel when they're nice & poofy... :)
Check the pillow to make sure there are no broken seams to let the feathers out in washing. Wash normally and put in dryer with tennis balls to help keep the feathers from clumping together.
When we were in Germany the women used to put them on the window legdes in the morning to air out. We don't have those kind of window ledges here in the States.
If you throw away the pillow you will not hear the end of it since it is probably the last thing he has of his mother's memory.
The other S.
PS If you are not brave do check with a cleaners about cleaning it.
OMG, it was his mom's, and she has passed? That means it's really old. My husband had one of those, he got it from his grandmother who had died. I estimated it to be possibly 30 years old. Have you heard the statistics about dust mite poop? I think it's something like after 10 years, a pillow will be 50% dust mite poop. So after 30 years...you do the math.
No other pillow was like my husband's special pillow (because most pillows aren't pure dust mite poop), which also smelled rank, so I spent a long time battling him to let me throw it away. I did, 15 years ago, and I haven't heard the end of it. He still mourns the thing.
You're a better wife than I am, I guess. Yes, you can put feather pillows in the washing machine, but you won't want to dry it on a low cycle, because it takes at least two hours to dry a feather pillow in the dryer, or more. And you want to make sure it's thoroughly dry.
But if the thing was his mom's, and it's old enough, it might just disintegrate, and you will all be the healthier for it.
NO not in the washer!
It will get ruined!
*Oh wait, Robin below says you can!
Or Call a professional.
Or there is something called "Dryel" http://dryel.com/dryel-products/
which my Mom uses for her dry cleaning things. Done in your home dryer.
It refreshes dry clean stuff.
MAYBE you can put the pillow in the dryer and use Dryel to refresh it/clean it.
But I would check with Dryel first, to make sure.
I always wash ours in the washer and dry them in the dryer.
I wash and dry mine all the time.
washer and dryer is perfectly fine for down/feather pillows
http://www.ehow.com/how_###-###-####_wash-feather-pillows...
Nope - don't put it in the washer. You'll ruin it.
Why don't you want to go the dry cleaner route? Ask your dry cleaner if they do it. Not all cleaners do. Perhaps it won't cost as much as you expect.
Dawn
