How to wash pillows

What’s inside yours?

The sewn-in care tag names the fill and says whether the pillow can be washed at all. It wins over anything on this page. No tag? Press the middle with your palm and let go:

• It rises back slowly: solid memory foam. No washer.
• It springs back at once and feels rubbery: latex. No washer.
• You can feel loose chunks: shredded foam. Only if its maker says so.
• It’s light and squashy, and nothing pokes through: polyester or down alternative. Washer.
• Quills poke through the cover: feather, or down with feathers. Washer, if the label allows.
• It shifts and rustles like sand: buckwheat hulls. Wash only the case.

“Gel” and “cooling” describe a layer or a cover, not the fill, so go by what’s under them.

Each fill, in one table

Step by step in the washer

1. Strip it. The pillowcase and the protector go in the regular wash.
2. Check the seams. If one has opened or fill is escaping, stop there (Pacific Coast).
3. Two at a time. A pair balances the drum. With one pillow, add a couple of towels (Whirlpool). If the label says to wash it alone, the label wins.
4. With an agitator, stand them up. In a top loader with a center post, load the pillows upright (Sleep Foundation). A front loader is gentler (Purple).
5. A little detergent. About 1 tablespoon of liquid detergent (Consumer Reports), and no fabric softener (Coop).
6. A gentle cycle, in the water the label says. Most makers say cold. Warm is fine for polyester; never hot for down.
7. An extra rinse and an extra spin. The rinse takes out the last soap, and the spin takes out water the dryer won’t have to (Sleep Foundation).
8. Dry it all the way. Below.

Drying, and how to tell it’s dry

This is the real job. The cover dries first, and the fill inside can still be wet when the outside feels dry. A pillow that goes back damp can grow mold (Sleep Foundation), and moisture trapped in natural fill causes clumps and smells (Pacific Coast).

• Low heat, or none if the label says so. Most makers agree; Downlite, which makes down pillows, is the exception with high heat.
• Two dryer balls or clean tennis balls keep the fill moving (Casper, Sleep Foundation).
• Set a time instead of auto-dry. Its sensors feel only the surface (Consumer Reports).
• Expect several cycles. Pacific Coast says there’s no universal number of minutes.
• No dryer? Air-dry it, turning it now and then: 24 to 48 hours for down (Sleep Foundation).

What each maker says

Pillow makers don’t agree with each other, and a few don’t agree with themselves from one page to the next. Your own label comes first. Here is what each says on its current page.

The big split is heat. Downlite says high, and Pacific Coast says never. If your label is gone, low heat for longer is the safer side.

Memory foam and latex

Keep solid foam and latex cores out of the washer: agitation can break up slab foam (Consumer Reports), and machine washing can crack memory foam (Sleep Foundation).

1. Take the cover off and wash it as its own label says.
2. Spot-clean the core with a damp cloth and a little mild detergent. Don’t soak it.
3. For smells, sprinkle on baking soda, leave it a while, then vacuum it off (Sleep Foundation).
4. Let it air before the cover goes back on. Tempur-Pedic suggests rolling the pillow up like a sleeping bag, unrolling it, then rolling it the other way.

Yellow pillows

The yellow is sweat, wet hair, drool, skin oils and face creams, soaked in over time (Sleep Foundation). Before the wash, work a laundry pre-treatment into the stains; Purple also suggests white vinegar and water, left for 15 minutes. Parachute suggests OxiClean instead of bleach.

Chlorine bleach only if the label allows it. The Sleep Foundation warns that not every pillow takes it, and Pacific Coast, Coop and Brooklinen all say no bleach. To keep it from coming back, the Sleep Foundation suggests a pillow protector between the pillowcase and the pillow.

How often to wash pillows

Twice a year, in CozyHaus. The makers range from about once a year (Coop) to about once a season (Pacific Coast), and Consumer Reports would like four times a year. With a pet in the bed, eating in bed or heavy sweating, Purple says every 3 months.

Two things to know. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s weekly wash at 130°F (54°C) is for dust mite allergies and pillows without a zippered allergen cover: a different goal from keeping the fill in shape. And Downlite warns that washing too often can break the filling down.

Pillowcases go every week, with the sheets. A pillow that stays flat after a good wash and dry may be done: the 2-minute test tells you.

Skip these mistakes

• Trusting the dryer’s auto-dry setting.
• High heat on down, unless the label asks for it.
• Foam or latex in the washer, or soaked in the tub.
• Washing a pillow with an open seam.
• Putting it back on the bed before the middle is dry.
• Washing a new pillow you might return: Pacific Coast won’t take back anything that’s been washed.

Questions people ask

Sources

• Time, steps and how often: the CozyHaus chores Wash the pillows and Air the pillows in the sun.
• Sleep Foundation, How to Wash Pillows (updated 31 January 2023), How to Wash Down and Feather Pillows (updated 16 June 2025) and Why Do Pillows Turn Yellow? (updated 3 February 2023)
• Consumer Reports, How to Wash a Pillow (updated 7 March 2025)
• Pacific Coast, FAQs and How to wash down pillows without damaging the fill (updated 4 September 2026)
• Coop, Care instructions
• Purple, How to wash a pillow (updated 17 December 2024)
• Casper, How often to wash your pillows
• Downlite, Pillow care tips (6 January 2025)
• Brooklinen, Care guide
• Parachute, Care
• Saatva, The Saatva Pillow, care instructions
• Tempur-Pedic, Product care
• Hullo, FAQ
• Whirlpool, Washing large loads or bulky items
• Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Control indoor allergens

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