How To Wash Pillows In The Washing Machine {Easy}

Did you know that while your pillow cover does protect your pillow from dirt, oils, and sweat, it’s not actually 100% protected? It’s actually super important to wash your pillows! That’s what you sleep on! Here is the best way how to wash pillows in the washing machine without ruining them.

Over time, natural oils from your body as well as sweat and other gunk will seep into your pillows and get them dirty.

This can cause a yellow discoloration in the fabric of your pillows, leave a few stains and be unsightly. Kinda gross, right?

Even with a pillow protector, unwashed polyester, memory foam pillows, latex pillows or synthetic pillows can breed dust mites and bacteria over time and cause issues for allergy and asthma sufferers. So important to wash your pillows for your health and skin you all.

BUT, you should know that you can actually clean your pillows and revive them instead of tossing and buying new ones! You guys know I’m all about frugal- even when it comes to repurposing those pillowcases.

In this post, I am going to share the most effective way to wash pillows: in the washing machine!

How to Wash Pillows, the Simple Way

Before I share step by step how to wash your pillows, here are a few simple pillow washing tips I recommend looking!

1. Check the care label tags on your pillows to see if they are machine washable.

In most cases, you can safely wash synthetic and down pillows but you never know! I would still double-check on how if they are able to be cleaned in this way. It will tell you exactly how to do the washing and drying.

Better be safe than sorry.

2. Make sure your pillows are a good machine fit.

Double-check and make sure how many pillows will fit in your washing machine.

With our washing machine, I can fit two pillows in a spin cycle pretty easily, and so I just wash two at a time.

3. Don’t overstuff your washing machine with pillows!

DO NOT just stuff what you can and call it a day. You should not wash more than two pillows at a time because there won’t be enough space for the pillow to move freely. The pillows will probably not be cleaned and you might break something.

Also, I don’t know about you, but washing machines are expensive and I like to save my $$$.

4. Remember to remove your non-white pillow cover.

Remember to remove the pillow cover so your pillow can be treated properly.

Not only that, it would be a disaster to ruin your color pillow cover with bleach. It’s like spot cleaning and you’ll end up with LOTS of spots. Not nice. I know! because it happened to me once.

5. You can throw your pillow covers into the same load.

Chances are your pillow covers also need a makeover, and they don’t take that much space to wash in the same load.

AND only if they are white and washable, you might as well get them nice and clean with a mild soap solution, killing two birds in one stone.

Don’t be afraid to throw them in!

6. Wash two pillows at a time or throw in some towels.

You should wash two pillows at a time to keep the washing machine balance. The washing machine is going to work harder when it’s unbalanced. You don’t want any potential damage.

If you only have one pillow to wash, you can throw in some white towels or mattress protectors to help with the balance. BUT remember not to overload it. Please use your best judgment.

7. Turn your pillow from yellow to white evenly.

Dissolve the cleaning solution completely before adding in the pillows, so you know it’s evenly distributed. Don’t sprinkle clumps of soap won’t do the trick. You can mix the solution together before pouring it into the washing machine or if you have a top-loading washing machine, make sure to manually turn the agitator a few times to give it a swirl.

For products and exact measurements, continue to read and follow the instructions below to turn your pillow clean and white.

How To Properly Wash Pillows In The Washing Machine And Dry It

Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to get fluffy and clean pillows by washing them in your top or front-loading washing machine, and how to properly dry them.

1. Get the products you need to wash your pillows

Here are the supplies and exact measurements you need. And these products you don’t have to go buy because you might already have them at home.

1/2 cup laundry detergent (Whatever detergent you use works. I generally use Tide.)
1/2 cup baking soda (substitute with Borax if necessary)
1 cup bleach

2. Follow these instructions for the TOP-LOADING washing machine

As previously stated, make sure the tags say it is machine washable. You don’t want to ruin your pillows. Most down and synthetics are safe to be washed.
Start running your washing machine on the longest cycle using hot water.
Add in your laundry detergent soap, baking soda, and bleach, and then place two pillows in the washer. It usually is best to select a gentle cycle. (Add in an extra rinse cycle if you prefer)
After your washer fills up with hot or warm water (lukewarm water is also a good choice), turn it off and let your pillows soak for 1 hour. You can go push the pillows down and move them once during the wait time if you want to help make sure that all areas of the pillow get treated.
After the hour duration is up, run the rest of the washing cycle like you normally would.
Toss pillows in the dryer (see setting preference below) to get them dry and avoid dampness. Be careful and determine if your pillows can be put under direct sunlight for extra drying.

Note: I generally wash my pillows about once a month to every other month. You can add a washing pillow to your cleaning routine and do it as often as you would like.

3. Follow these instructions for the FRONT-LOADING washing machine

As previously stated, make sure the tags say it is machine washable. You don’t want to ruin your pillows. Most down and synthetics are safe to be washed.
Add in your laundry detergent soap, baking soda, and bleach, and then place two pillows in the washer. It usually is best to select a gentle cycle.
Start running your washing machine on the longest cycle using hot water.
After your washer fills up with hot water, turn it off and let your pillows soak for 1 hour. Since the machine is front-loading, you can’t open the door and move the pillows around and move them to remove the odors like you could with a top-loading washing machine. (see Tip below for alternative method)
After the hour duration is up, run the rest of the washing cycle like you normally would.
Toss pillows in the dryer (see setting preference below) to get them dry.

Tip: You can soak the pillow in the bathtub with all the cleaning products with hot water for one hour before transferring it to the washing machine. So that you can rotate them and ensure all areas of the pillows are treated and turn white evenly.

3. How To Properly Dry Washed Clean Pillows In The Dryer

After you have washed all your pillows, it’s time to start drying them. The drying process is essential in removing excessive moisture and make your pillows fluffy. Here are some tips you can do without using the vacuum.

Again, make sure to read the label first for cleaning instruction and that the tag says tumble dry. It helps to learn how to read laundry symbols!!

For example, unless specified, a foam pillow can’t be placed in a dryer. The heat from the dryer can melt the memory foam.

Follow these instructions for the specific type of pillow filling:

If you have synthetic or cotton pillows, make sure to set the dryer on “low heat” settings.
For down pillows, set your dry on a “fluff” or “air dry” setting to keep them plump and light.

Make sure the pillows are dried thoroughly. You can speed up the drying process by throwing in some dry towels, and check every 15 minutes or so and turn the pillows in case it gets stuck in one spot.

If you have a tennis ball or two, or wool dryer balls, you can tumble them in to help keep your pillows fluffy and not have the filling piling up in one area of the pillow. And they can help speed up the drying process and you get them done quicker.

Tip: If you are using a tennis ball, put it inside a sock to prevent the color from bleeding. You can also wash to test see if the tennis ball is colorfast or wash it a few times first to run out the dye.

Don’t Throw Out Your Pillows – You Can Easily Wash Them!

See how simple it is to clean pillows? I have been doing this for years and I can’t complain. Using this method to wash your pillows will help you get rid of the dirt, grime, dust, and sweat that seeps into your pillows over time.

Do you wash your pillows or do you replace them?

Love this clean pillow hack? Check Out These Other Cleaning Posts

Which pillow-cleaning tip works the best for you?

Learn How To Wash Pillows In The Washing Machine: The Right Way