How to wash pillows
The fill decides everything. Down, feather, down alternative and polyester pillows are usually machine washable: two at a time, gentle cycle, a small amount of mild liquid detergent, extra rinse, then a long dry on low heat with dryer balls. Solid memory foam, latex and buckwheat pillows must never go in a machine, and are spot cleaned instead.
Read the care label before you do anything, because it overrides every general rule here. Two details cause most of the damage people blame on the wash: using too much detergent, which leaves residue that makes fills clump, and taking the pillow out before it is bone dry, which leaves damp fill inside a case that feels dry on the outside. Washing two pillows together is not about saving time, it keeps the drum balanced. And if it is yellowing you are trying to fix, that is sweat and body oils rather than dirt, and a protector prevents it far better than any wash removes it.
First, can it go in the machine?
Almost every ruined pillow comes from skipping this question. A washing machine works by agitating fabric in water, which is fine for loose fill that can move and dry out, and destructive for a moulded block of foam that cannot. So the first decision is binary, and it is made by the fill rather than by the brand or the price.
The rules fill by fill
The same pillow shape can hold completely different materials, so the label on the fill is what you are really shopping and washing. Here is what each one needs.
| Fill | Machine? | How to wash | Drying |
|---|---|---|---|
| Down and feather | Usually yes, gentle | Warm or cool, small amount of mild liquid detergent, extra rinse. Front loader if you have one. | Low heat, long, with dryer balls. Break up clumps by hand between cycles. |
| Down alternative and polyester | Usually yes, gentle | Same as down. These take on a lot of water, so an extra spin helps. | Low heat with dryer balls. Cheaper fills can clump for good, so do not over-wash. |
| Cotton and kapok | Check the label | Some are washable on gentle, some are not. The label decides, not the fibre. | Low heat or air dry, and expect a long dry time. |
| Memory foam (solid) | Never | Spot clean only. Agitation tears the foam and a soaked core may never recover. | Air dry away from direct heat, fully, before use. |
| Latex (solid or shredded) | Never | Spot clean only. Do not soak, wring or tumble dry. | Air dry flat, out of direct sun and heat. |
| Buckwheat | Never with the hulls in | Empty the hulls out, wash the empty casing, and air the hulls in the sun. | Casing dries fast. Hulls must be bone dry before they go back in. |
| The cover or protector | Yes, and this is the one to wash often | Normal wash with your sheets. It is doing the job of keeping the pillow clean. | Per its own label. |
Not sure what is inside yours? The fill types, what each one feels like and what each is best for are set out in our guide to choosing a pillow.
The five-step machine wash
For a washable pillow, this is the whole routine. It is short, and every step exists because skipping it causes a specific problem.
- Check the label, then check for damage. A small hole or a worn seam turns into a drum full of feathers. Repair it first, or skip the wash.
- Wash two at a time. Two pillows on opposite sides keep the drum balanced, so the machine does not thump and lurch through the spin. This matters more in a top loader with a central agitator, where a single pillow gets wrapped and pulled.
- Use a small amount of mild liquid detergent. Less than you would use for clothes. Excess detergent does not rinse out of a thick fill, and the residue left behind is what makes down and polyester clump. Skip fabric softener entirely.
- Gentle cycle, warm or cool water, extra rinse. The extra rinse is the step people skip and the one that decides whether the pillow comes out soft or stiff. An extra spin afterwards pulls out water and shortens the drying time.
- Dry longer than you think. Low heat, dryer balls, and pull the pillows out to break up clumps by hand once or twice along the way. See the next section, because this is where most pillows are actually ruined.
Drying, which is where pillows get ruined
A pillow can look and feel dry on the outside while the middle of the fill is still damp, and damp fill inside a closed case is how a freshly washed pillow ends up smelling worse than before it went in. Give it far more time than seems reasonable, on low heat rather than high, and check the middle by squeezing the core rather than the surface. If in doubt, run another cycle.
Dryer balls, or clean tennis balls, are what keep the fill from setting into lumps. They bounce through the load and break up clumps as the pillow tumbles, which is why a pillow dried with them comes out lofted and one dried without them comes out flat and knotted. Wool or plastic dryer balls are the safer choice: tennis balls work, but they can transfer colour or a rubbery smell, so put them inside clean socks if you use them.
Air drying works too and is gentler, it just takes a day or more. Lay the pillow flat rather than hanging it, turn it every few hours, and give it good airflow on both sides. A breezy spot or indirect sun is ideal. Strong direct sun for hours is not, especially on any pillow with foam or latex in it.
Foam and latex: spot cleaning, and nothing else
Solid memory foam and latex are moulded materials, not loose fill. Put them through a wash cycle and the agitation tears the structure while the water is absorbed deep into a core that takes days to dry, so what comes out is a heavier, misshapen pillow that may never return to its original loft. Tumble drying adds heat damage on top. This is the same rule we apply to cleaning a mattress topper, and it is one reason our latex pillow picks say plainly in their own care notes that these pillows are spot clean only.
To spot clean: dab the mark with a cloth and a little mild detergent in water, blot it with a clean damp cloth to lift the residue, then press with a dry towel and let the pillow air dry completely, flat and away from direct heat or sun. Do not soak it, do not wring it. For a shredded latex or shredded foam pillow, some have a removable inner case you can empty and wash, which is worth checking before you assume nothing can be cleaned.
The honest version: for foam and latex, the cover and a pillow protector are what actually get washed. That is not a workaround, it is how those pillows are designed to be kept clean, and it is why a protector is worth more on a foam pillow than on any other kind.
Yellowing, and how often to wash
Yellow patches are sweat and body oils, along with moisture from damp hair and humid air, soaking through the pillowcase over months and oxidising. That is a staining problem, not a sign the pillow has failed, and it explains why the marks sit where your head and neck rest. Washing lifts some of it, and older, set-in yellowing generally does not come all the way out. The thing that actually prevents it is a protector under the pillowcase, because it stops moisture reaching the fill at all.
On frequency, the usual advice is to wash a washable pillow two to four times a year, and the pillowcase and protector along with your sheets. Treat that as a starting point rather than a rule: a pillow used by someone who sweats at night, or one on a bed shared with a pet, needs it more often than a guest-room pillow that is slept on twice a year.
There is also a point where washing is the wrong answer. If a pillow stays folded instead of springing back, has a permanent flat spot, or leaves you propped too high or dropped too low, it has lost the support you bought it for and a wash will not bring that back. Our guide to choosing a pillow covers when to replace one and what loft to replace it with, and our pillow picks cover the options by sleep position and by material.
Common questions
Can you wash pillows in the washing machine?
It depends entirely on the fill. Down, feather, down alternative and polyester pillows are usually machine washable on a gentle cycle, two at a time so the drum stays balanced. Solid memory foam, latex and buckwheat pillows are not: the agitation tears foam apart and a soaked core may never recover its shape. Read the care label before anything else, because it overrides every general rule.
How do you wash down and feather pillows?
Wash two at a time on a gentle cycle in warm or cool water, using a small amount of mild liquid detergent. Too much detergent leaves residue that makes the down clump, so use less than you would for clothes and add an extra rinse. Dry on low heat for a long time, with dryer balls to keep the down separated, and break up any clumps by hand between cycles.
Can you wash a memory foam or latex pillow?
Not in a machine. Both should be spot cleaned only: dab the mark with a cloth and a little mild detergent, blot it with a clean damp cloth, then let it air dry completely away from direct heat and sunlight. Never soak, wring or tumble dry either material. Wash the removable cover or a pillow protector instead, which is what those are for.
Why do pillows turn yellow?
Sweat and body oils, mostly, plus moisture from damp hair and humid air. They soak through the pillowcase over months and oxidise, which is what turns the fabric yellow. It is a staining problem rather than a sign the pillow is unsafe. A pillow protector under the case is the thing that actually prevents it, because it stops moisture reaching the fill in the first place.
How do you fluff a pillow?
Hold it by opposite ends and push them together and apart a few times, then turn it and repeat on the other axis. Give the sides a few firm slaps to redistribute the fill and finish with a shake. For down and shredded fills, twenty seconds of that most mornings does more than any wash. A short tumble on low with dryer balls revives a pillow that has gone flat.