When it's nice we sometimes hang out pillows out to freshen, but is there a good way to clean them, can I throw them in the washer? They are not goose down, I think they must be some type of fiber or something. Thanks!

I learned the following from a Kirby salesman. Never bought the vac, but still use the trick.

What he did was suck the down or foam thought the vac and blow it in to an empty ticking.

Then he said you could wash and dry the case and refill it using the same method as before.

Now Mrs. Wow asks me to clean out my shop vac. She opens the seam at the end and sucks out the down or foam. Washes and dries the cases.

She then sews up the seam almost to the end. Now here’s the tricky spot. My shop vac can also be used as a leaf blower. I hold the ticking over the blower end and suck the feathers up and blow them in to the ticking. This also fluffs up the down.

Finish closing the seam and you’re done with nary a lost feather..

Of course this seems like a lot of work for how cheap some pillows are now.

Thanks Wow, lol, maybe I WILL just buy new ones!!!

Yes you can wash pillows (Even the feather ones). Use cold water, a tiny bit of laundry soap. Double rinse with a liquid fabric softener for either foam or feathers.

That's not the tricky part, the tricky part is drying them.

Tumble dry on cool (low warm) for several hours. One pillow at a time for feather pillows. Foam pillows you can line the drum, that may be two pillows end to end bent a bit. If you use fabric softener sheets, toss them in the middle.

Pillows with batting will tend to clump. You can, through the case pull those lumps apart.

Solid Foam pillows should have a removable pillow case with zipper (the ones that are shaped for the neck/head) The foam can be washed by hand - a sink full of warm water with a little laundry soap, you basically squeeze and release a few times, then run warm water as you continue - like washing out a sponge. I found tat the best method of wringing out the excess water in the solid foam pillows is to lay it in the bat tub and roll it up from one end tightly. Wringing or twisting them can rip them (I have ripped one in half before this way) After you get the majority of water out you can tumble dry. An alternative is to use the spin cycle of the was machine a few times, stopping it from refilling with water. This will take at least two pillows in order to keep the balance.

Wet feathers will naturally stink - smells like a wet chicken, not one of the most pleasant smells on earth. No matter how much soap/softener you use. The smell goes away when the feathers are dried.

If possible, hang your pillows out in a sunny location for the day even if they are not wet. A day of natural UV radiation will kill a lot of bugs.

Hanging pillows out on a line is easiest if you take tread and needle and make a couple of loops on two corners – use those loops to attach to the clothes line.

Thanks David, I KNEW I could count on you....Yes, that bug thing is what has me really creeped out, along with that clorox bleach commercial....*shuddering*

Well don't make the mistake I did. I washed an older feather pillow and it washed just fine but when I tried to get the pillow out of the washer it was so heavy the case ripped and I had a washer full of wet feathers! I took as many as I could get and just sewed them into an old heavy pillowcase, then tossed it in the dryer. Needless to say I haven't put it in the washer since. I hang it out side and also use Febreeze. Good luck with yours!

As I replace old pillows, I cover the new ones with mite-proof ticking. So then you remove the cover and bleach it after washing it.

I wash my goose down pillows in the washer, wrapped in a sheet to keep them in the water (they float). I use regular soap, and add chlorine bleach. Spin twice, and dry in a warm dryer for hours. Synthetic pillows are easier, doesn't take as long to dry. I use bleach to kill bacteria. Also note, if the fabric is old and has holes in it, put it in a zippered pillow cover before wash. If the cover is a very tight fabric, more than 200 thread count, very difficult to wash. Have to stand there and keep poking it down into the water.