How To Wash and Clean Pillows (By Fill Type)

Most pillows can be machine-washed two at a time on a gentle cycle with a small amount of mild detergent, then dried until the center is dry — not just the surface. Down and feather pillows need extra rinses and low or no heat. Memory foam and latex should never go in the washer or dryer; spot-clean them and air-dry flat. Check the care label first. Wash pillows about every six months (more often if anyone has allergies), and replace them when they stay lumpy, yellow, or musty after a proper wash.

Safety first

• Read the tag. If it says spot-clean only, do not machine-wash. Foam and latex tags almost always do.
• Do not overload the washer. Two pillows balance a top-loader. One bulky pillow plus a bath towel can unbalance a front-loader and strain the drum.
• Dry until the core is dry. A damp pillow grows mold and mildew. Squeeze the center after drying. If it feels cool or clumpy, keep drying.
• Skip chlorine bleach and fabric softener on down, feathers, and foam. Bleach weakens fibers; softener coats fill so it clumps and holds odor.
• Heat vs. fill. Hot water (about 130°F / 54°C) and a hot dryer help kill dust mites on washable fills. Foam and latex cannot take that heat — use a zippered allergen cover instead, and wash the cover with your sheets.

How often should you wash pillows?

Wash the pillows themselves about every three to six months. Wash pillowcases weekly with the sheets, and wash a zippered pillow protector as often as the maker allows (often weekly or every other week). That protector is what actually keeps sweat, oils, and dust-mite allergen out of the fill.

Replace pillows about every one to three years, or sooner if they will not fluff, smell musty after drying, or leave you with a sore neck. Manufacturer guidance beats a calendar.

Used pillows do collect dust-mite allergen, skin cells, and fungi. A University of Manchester study found a substantial fungal load in regularly used pillows, including Aspergillus fumigatus. That fungus is mainly a concern for people who are severely immunocompromised — not a typical healthy sleeper — but it is a solid reason to wash, cover, and eventually replace pillows rather than keep them for a decade.

The old line that “10% of a pillow’s weight is dust mites” gets repeated a lot; treat it as folklore, not a lab measurement. The practical takeaway is the same: wash, cover, replace.

Before you wash

1. Strip the case and protector. Pretreat stains on the shell (a drop of dish soap or an enzyme laundry spray), not by soaking foam.
2. Check zipper seams and stitching. Repair small tears so fill does not dump in the drum.
3. Use a front-loader or a top-loader without a center agitator when you can. An agitator beats pillows up.
4. Liquid detergent, less than you think — about a tablespoon for two pillows. Powder clumps in fill.
5. Run an extra rinse. Leftover soap is what makes pillows smell sour later.

How to wash polyester and other synthetic-fill pillows

Polyester is the usual machine-washable fill: inexpensive, washable, and it dries faster than down.

1. Wash two pillows together on a gentle or bulky cycle in warm water. Warm is enough for most households; use hot only if the label allows it and you need to reduce dust mites.
2. Add a second rinse.
3. Move them to the dryer promptly. Dry on low or medium with two or three wool dryer balls so the fill does not mat. (Tennis balls work in a pinch, but they can scuff the drum and, on high heat, degrade. Wool balls are kinder.)
4. Expect 60–90 minutes. Pause once or twice to break up clumps with your hands. Do not trust the auto-dry sensor — it often stops while the core is still damp.

How to wash down or feather pillows

Many down brands allow a gentle machine wash. Hand-washing is gentler if the pillow is old, thinly stitched, or the machine is a harsh agitator top-loader.

Machine: cold or warm water on gentle, mild low-suds detergent, extra rinse. No fabric softener. Dry on low or no-heat with dryer balls until the center is dry and the clusters feel separate, not glued. That can take longer than a polyester pillow — keep going in 20-minute bursts rather than blasting high heat, which can scorch the shell and melt fat in the feathers.

Hand-wash: fill a tub with lukewarm water and a little mild detergent. Press the pillow under until it is fully wet. Gently squeeze (do not wring or twist). Drain, refill with clean water, and squeeze until the water runs clear. Press out water in a thick towel, then air-dry on a rack, flipping often, or finish on no-heat in the dryer with dryer balls.

How to clean memory foam or latex pillows

Do not machine-wash. Do not put them in the dryer. Agitation tears foam; heat can shrink, crumble, or off-gas it. Foam is not “mite-proof” — mites live on the skin flakes on the surface — so a washable encasement matters more here than on polyester.

1. Remove the cover and wash that as labeled.
2. Spot-clean the foam with a cloth barely damp with cool water and a drop of mild detergent. Blot. Do not soak.
3. If the whole pillow truly needs a refresh, submerge it in a sink of lukewarm water with a little detergent, press gently, and rinse until the water is clear. Never twist.
4. Press in towels, then air-dry flat on a rack with a fan. A thick foam pillow can take 24 hours or more. Do not use it until it is bone-dry all the way through.

How to clean buckwheat (and similar hull) pillows

Never wash the hulls. Water ruins them and can mold. Unzip, pour the hulls onto a sheet pan, and air them in indirect sun or a dry room for a few hours. Wash only the empty shell by hand in cold water, dry it completely, then refill.

How to dry pillows so they do not mold

• Washable fills: low or medium heat, dryer balls, 1–2 hours, fluffing by hand in between. Finish with a 10–15 minute no-heat tumble if the shell feels dry but the core does not.
• Down: prefer low or no heat. High heat is the usual way people ruin a good down pillow.
• Foam and latex: air only.
• If you need to kill dust mites on a washable pillow and your washer never hits 130°F, a dryer cycle that actually gets hot (often 15–30 minutes above about 130°F on a normal home dryer) does more than a lukewarm wash. Foam still cannot take that — rely on the cover.

Keep them cleaner between washes

• Zip-on protectors, then a regular pillowcase.
• Fluff daily so moisture and fill redistribute.
• Air them on a dry, sunny afternoon once a month if you can, or a no-heat dryer cycle for washable fills.

When to call it

If a pillow still smells after a full dry, stays lumpy, or the shell is stained through, replace it. Washing cannot rebuild collapsed foam or broken down clusters. For a whole-house refresh — mattress, pillows, and bedding — a Pro Housekeepers visit can handle the rest of the room while you start with clean fill.

FAQ

Can I wash two pillows at once?
Yes — and you should in a top-loader, so the load stays balanced. In a small front-loader, two standard pillows is usually the max.

Will hot water ruin down?
Very hot water and high dryer heat can damage feathers and shrink some shells. Follow the tag. Gentle wash plus thorough low-heat drying is the usual compromise.

Do dryer balls really matter?
Yes. They keep fill from packing into wet clumps so air can reach the center. Without them, pillows often come out looking dry and still mildewing inside.

How do I wash a pillow if someone in the house has dust-mite allergies?
Use a tightly woven allergen-proof cover and wash that cover and the pillowcase weekly in hot water if the fabric allows. Wash the pillow itself on a schedule the fill can survive, and replace it sooner rather than later. Foam pillows stay in the cover; do not hot-wash the foam.