How to wash a synthetic pillow in a washing machine

A pillow is an indispensable item in the home, as people use it every day, sometimes several times. Modern manufacturers strive to ensure that bedding requires washing as little as possible, but our faces constantly touch pillows, and allowing dust, dirt, and bacteria to accumulate is unacceptable. It would be wonderful to be able to machine-wash a synthetic pillow, but is this even possible?

First, let's prepare the product

The problem is that pillows made of synthetic padding vary greatly, and some are machine washable, while others are absolutely not. How do you know if your pillow is machine washable? You need to conduct a fairly simple test: place the pillow on a horizontal surface and place a heavy object in its centerThis can be anything that you think could leave a significant dent in the pillow. After holding the item on the padding for a while, remove it and observe how quickly the dent disappears. If it does, everything is fine and you can proceed to washing.

Why do test results vary between different synthetic pillows? It all depends on the density of the filling. If a pillow is poorly filled with synthetic filling, as indicated by a persistent dent, the filling will simply clump up after washing, ruining the pillow.

The nuances of machine washing

First of all, it's important to note that synthetic padding is a very porous fabric and absorbs absolutely everything it can. For this reason, it's essential to choose a liquid-based detergent instead of a powdered one. Otherwise, the detergent particles won't dissolve well and will settle on the garment, causing streaks. Furthermore, the unpleasant chemical smell and its effects on your skin are not ideal.

Important! To ensure your pillow is washed thoroughly, set your washing machine to maximum spin and add a rinse cycle.

The remaining washing parameters shouldn't be too aggressive. It's best to use a delicate cycle or the "Hand Wash" program, and the lowest possible water temperature—30 degrees Celsius.

It's also recommended to wash pillows in pairs. If you add just one, it will flutter around the machine, being pulled by centrifugal force to the walls, reducing washing efficiency. Adding three pillows risks overloading the drum. But two pillows in the washing machine are the best option; they will balance each other out, and their weight will not exceed the permissible load weight.

Don't worry about damaging your pillow if you spin it too hard. On the contrary, the synthetic padding will tuck in nicely, and the pillow will become soft.

Let's dry the pillow so as not to spoil it.

Many people mistakenly believe that the most important thing in caring for a pillow is washing it correctly, while drying it is completely irrelevant. This is a fundamentally wrong idea. Even if you wash it correctly, you can ruin all your hard work by drying it incorrectly. Here are some recommendations for drying synthetic pillows:

1. Don't hang the pillow until it's completely drained. You can do this by placing it in the bathtub or sink and leaving it there for a while.
2. Where you dry your pillow isn't critical. The better the ventilation, the faster it will dry. Therefore, a balcony or even an open space is the best option. If that's not possible, set aside a well-ventilated room for your pillow. After all, if your pillow hangs un-dried for too long, moisture will accumulate inside, leading to bacteria growth and an unpleasant odor.
3. Keep heating appliances and any sources of fire or heat away from synthetic padding pillows. High temperatures negatively affect the quality of the fibers, which can lead to deformation of the product.

Remember! Proper care of your product will prolong its service life.

Following the above machine washing and drying guidelines isn't all that difficult. And once you do it once, it'll be automatic.

   

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