Pillows

[jec2]

How often do you buy new pillows for your bed? What do you do with the old ones? Goodwill or trash?

I have some that are OLD, but I love them. Yet, I'm thinking I should get some new ones (a task I deplore since I alway seem to end up with ones that are either too soft or too hard).

[StaceyKim]

I am always buying new pillows! Probably every year I get a new one for my bed and I move the "old" pillows to some of our extra guest rooms. I change guest pillows probably every couple years as they don't get used *that* much.
The Company Store is always having sales on pillows or check your local papers for pillow sales! Oh and I would buy pillow covers too as they help your pillows last longer.
We had a spring cleanup in my town and everyone puts all their old stuff out at the end of the driveway and people from all over and come and take what they need (I had never seen so many cars on our street!). I put the old pillows outside and they were taken. If they are *really* old I would just toss them 'cause they probably have MITES inside them.
HTH

[jk3]

We use some old ones that we love. I recently saw an Oprah that made me change my mind about loving the old pillows. The mites issue is pretty serious so the "expert" recommended new pillows every year. Still have not switched to new pillows yet but it's on the list!


Jenn
DS 6/3/03

[Marisa6826]

We received two down pillows from LL Bean as a wedding gift and they're starting to "deflate". I think that LL Bean has some sort of deal where you send them their pillows and they fix them up, restuff them, etc.

Might be worth looking into. I think The Company Store might do the same thing.

Nothing is better than your "own" pillow ;)

I only throw out the rattiest ones, the others, I sometimes double up and use to stuff pillow shams.


-m

[jec2]

I recall this and I am now pretty grossed out thinking about my old pillows.

[jec2]

have you bought pillows from them? they have a VERY reasonably-priced pillow and then a very expensive choice. Wondering if the reasonobly priced "plump & fluffy" are nice. They are 95% feather and 5% down. I'm thinking that more down is better.

[StaceyKim]

yes, i buy pillows from them all the time.
i did buy these for our extra beds and they are very nice:
http://www.thecompanystore.com/parent.asp?product=PI84x&dept%5Fid=1220
but i buy the Ultimate White Goose Down Pillows
for me

[papal]

What's this about MITES?? Please share!!

I just throw my pillows into the washer (hot) and dryer (hot with a dry towel) once every few months. does that help ANY??? or should i just get new ones??? How easy is it to make your own? My grandma always made pillows for us.. i stil have mine.. soft and small... sadly, it is on it's last legs..:(

[kransden]

The kids at the dc love little pillows for their dollies, and themselves. So I wash the old pillows and make toy pillows for them out of scrap fabric.

Karin and Katie 10/24/02

[StaceyKim]

old pillows get mites. i have never washed a pillow in the machine..are you supposed to do that? every 3-5 years get a new pillow (according to oprah). i buy one almost every year because they get too mushy for me but that's just me!

http://www.oprah.com/foodhome/home/repair/home_20040413_clean.jhtml

[papal]

I don't know if you are supposed to wash them.. i never really thought about it to be honest! Thanks for the link!!

[kathsmom]

Rashmi,

I saw in one of your previous posts on this thread that you washed your pillows. How do you keep them from getting lumpy? I do need to get new pillows, but would love to find a way to wash them without the insides shifting and getting lumpy. Do you use the feather or down pillows? Mine are not foam, but they are some sort of synthetic material.

Thanks for any information you can provide!

[papal]

Toni, we have both kids of pillows.. some are down pillows, some are synthetic down pillows, one is cotton-stuffed (my grandmom made it for me.. adult-lovey! ) and a couple are foam type (i have not wahed these, we never use them.. i hate them).

Ok, for the ones i have washed.. i just put them in the HOT cycle with a little detergent.. rinse a couple of extra times. Then i put them in the dryer on HOT with a dry towel (speeds up drying time). You can put a couple of tennis balls in there to get rid of lumps.

hth

[jec2]

We've washed ours (down pillows) before too and I thought that doing so would be sufficient to keep the ickies away...pillows aren't cheap! We never had probems with clumping. I used a large dryer to dry and put in tennis balls (I washed them with the pillow too) to keep the pillows bouncing around.

[kathsmom]

Rashmi and Juliet,

Thank you for your replies! Do either of you have a top loader washing machine? That's what mine is and I wonder if putting the pillows in the machine around the agitator is what is causing them to be so lumpy. I did get a new top loader washing machine this week so I wonder if it would be more gentle on the pillow than my old washer (which was 15 years old).

I have not heard of using the tennis balls, but I will definitely give it a try. I have to buy new pillows for us anyway, but it is nice to know how to wash them.

Thanks again!

[papal]

Mine is a top-loader with the agitator in the center. no lump problems. :)

[jec2]

Same here, top-loader. BUT you can take them to a laundromat and use their over-size washers (large front-loaders). I've done that before in our apt. bldg. and it works great.

[kathsmom]

Rashmi and Juliet,

Thanks for letting me know! I will definitely try to wash and dry them with tennis balls next time. I might try to find a laundromat just in case though!

Thanks again! Now I just have to find pillows that we like.