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How to Wash and Dry Pillows
Washing pillows is easy when you use a front-loading washer and the right laundry additive for the filling. Whether your pillows are down-filled or made with down-alternative polyester, you can wash them.
How best to wash a pillow depends on what material is used to fill it. Typical fillings are either down feathers or synthetic polyester fiberfill. Polyester is a bleach-safe fiber, so bleaching a down-alternative (synthetic) filled pillow is allowed. Adding Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach along with your favorite detergent is a great way to machine wash these pillows. For synthetic filled pillows with covers that have some color, you can always test the covers for colorfasness to bleach on a hidden part of the cover before washing if you aren’t sure of their colorfastness.
Down-filled pillows cannot be washed with regular bleach. But they can be washed with color safe bleach products like Clorox 2® for Colors Stain Remover and Laundry Additive to get pillows brighter than washing with detergent by itself. This is also a great product to use for any synthetic-filled pillows with covers that don’t pass the colorfastness test.
When washing pillows, using a large capacity front loading washer is recommended by many pillow manufacturers. For drying, using a large capacity dryer is important to allow the filling to dry completely with no damp clumps. Adding clean tennis balls to the dryer along with the pillows helps to poof the filling out. Air drying is not recommended because wet clumps of filling can develop a musty odor when they don’t dry quickly and thoroughly.
Throw pillow inserts can be machine washed, too
When a throw pillow has a removable cover, remove the cover and set it aside before machine washing the insert. For throw pillows with covers that can’t be removed, or covers that don’t allow machine washing, refresh and sanitize them by vacuuming away surface dust, and then spraying them with Clorox® Disinfecting Mist or Clorox® Free & Clear Disinfecting Mist.
Related products
What you need
Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach with CLOROMAX® - Concentrated Formula
Clorox 2® for Colors Stain Remover and Laundry Additive
Laundry detergent
3–4 clean tennis balls
Steps to clean down-alternative pillows with bleach
Check the care label for the filling type.
Confirm that the filling in your pillows is 100% polyester by checking the care label.
TipIf the filling is 100% polyester, then you can use regular bleach to wash the pillow.
Add pillows to washer
Place 2 pillows with the same filling type into the empty washer.
TipWash multiple pillows with the same type of filling at the same time. This helps the washer balance the load so it can spin at a higher speed for better rinsing.
Add laundry products to the dispenser
Add liquid laundry detergent to the detergent dispenser compartment and 1/3 cup Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach to the bleach dispenser compartment (or fill to maximum level).
Program the washer and press start
Select the delicate cycle, increase water temperature to warm, and add an extra rinse if this is an option.
TipIf you can’t pre-select an extra rinse, manually run an extra rinse after the cycle is complete.
Tumble dry
Add 3–4 clean tennis balls to the dryer along with the pillows, and tumble dry on high heat until thoroughly dry.
The steps to clean down-filled pillows are slightly different because you can’t use regular bleach to wash down feathers.
Steps to clean down-filled pillows
Check the care label for the filling type.
Confirm that the filling in your pillows is goose down (or another type of feather) by checking the care label.
Add pillows to washer
Place 2 pillows with the same filling type into the empty washer.
TipWash multiple pillows with the same type of filling at the same time. This helps the washer balance the load so it can spin at a higher speed for better rinsing.
Add laundry products to the dispenser
Add liquid laundry detergent and liquid Clorox 2® for Colors Stain Remover and Laundry Additive together to the detergent dispenser.
Program the washer and press start
Select the delicate cycle, increase water temperature to warm, and add an extra rinse if this is an option.
TipIf you can’t pre-select an extra rinse, manually run an extra rinse after the cycle is complete.
Tumble dry
Add 3–4 clean tennis balls to the dryer along with the pillows, and tumble dry on high heat until thoroughly dry.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do pillows have care labels with washing instructions?
Yes, pillows are typically required to provide care instructions. Depending on the age of the pillow and how it has been cared for, the care label may not be legible if it is still attached to the pillow. When you aren’t sure what materials were used to construct a pillow, use Clorox 2® instead of Clorox® Bleach.