WEBVTT - How Often Should You Wash Your Pillow?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff Lauren Bogle bam here. Although most pillows have

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<v Speaker 1>a tag giving laundering instructions, not everybody bothers to wash them.

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<v Speaker 1>We may think they're shielded from the day to day

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<v Speaker 1>grit and grime of life thanks to the pillow case

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<v Speaker 1>or else that washing them may ruin them. But the

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<v Speaker 1>standard pillow case is typically only made of cotton or

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<v Speaker 1>of some other easily permeated fabric, rendering the pillows susceptible

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<v Speaker 1>to the grit and grime of life. But we spoke

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<v Speaker 1>by email with Mary Marlowe Laverette, a housekeeping and laundry

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<v Speaker 1>expert with the Spruce. She said, even with a protective

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<v Speaker 1>pillow case, your pillow can be filled with dust mites,

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<v Speaker 1>body oils, and bacteria from your saliva. All of that

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<v Speaker 1>is next to your face and no one wants any

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<v Speaker 1>of that. And it's no small amount of junk either.

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<v Speaker 1>After a couple of years, some ted percent of the

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<v Speaker 1>total weight of your pillow could be due to dead

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<v Speaker 1>dust mites and their waste. And yeah, that's kind of

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<v Speaker 1>gross to think about, but more scientifically speaking, a regular

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<v Speaker 1>close proximity exposure to Any of these contaminants or others

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<v Speaker 1>like pet dander can cause conditions like allergies and asthma

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<v Speaker 1>to flare up. The good news is that laundering pillows

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<v Speaker 1>is a surprisingly easy task and you don't need to

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<v Speaker 1>do it all that often. If you use a zippered

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<v Speaker 1>pillow protector, you'll only need to wash the pillows twice

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<v Speaker 1>a year, although the protectors themselves will require monthly laundering.

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<v Speaker 1>If you don't use a protector every other month ish

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<v Speaker 1>or whenever the pillow looks or smells like it needs it,

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<v Speaker 1>is advisable. There could be times when you need to

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<v Speaker 1>launder your pillows more frequently, but we also spoke by

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<v Speaker 1>email with Mary Zeitler, consumer scientist with Whirlpool Corporations Institute

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<v Speaker 1>of Home Science. She explained if the user applies face

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<v Speaker 1>lotions before going to bed, or if the user has

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<v Speaker 1>oily skin or scalp, washing more often may be needed

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<v Speaker 1>to keep it fresh. We'll add ditto that if you

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<v Speaker 1>sleep with a pet, or have recently had a cold

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<v Speaker 1>or other contagious illness, or if the pillow looks or

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<v Speaker 1>smells musty, So how do you clean your pillow? It's

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<v Speaker 1>vital to check the care directions on the tag. Many

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<v Speaker 1>are machine washable, but some, like those made of memory foam,

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<v Speaker 1>are not. In general, Zeler recommends washing down feather and

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<v Speaker 1>synthetic material pillows in the warmest water considered safe for

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<v Speaker 1>the material, and it can help, especially with top litted washers,

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<v Speaker 1>to do too per load. To help keep the machine

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<v Speaker 1>balanced while it's spinning, use a mild liquid detergent, or

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<v Speaker 1>make sure you dissolve your powder detergent well before adding

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<v Speaker 1>the load, and set your machine on the gentle cycle.

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<v Speaker 1>An extra reincycle can help make sure that all the

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<v Speaker 1>soap is gone when it's time to dry. Use a

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<v Speaker 1>low heat or air cycle setting for as long as

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<v Speaker 1>is an necessary to get all the moisture out of

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<v Speaker 1>your pillows. Any dampness left behind will encourage mold growth,

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<v Speaker 1>but foam pillows are sometimes a completely different animal. They

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<v Speaker 1>can't get excessively wet unless otherwise stated on the care tag,

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<v Speaker 1>so rather than using a washing machine, you can use

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<v Speaker 1>a vacuum cleaner to do most of the work, then

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<v Speaker 1>toss them in the dryer on a no heat cycle

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<v Speaker 1>to shake any additional dirt and grime loose. If any

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<v Speaker 1>spots or other grime are visible, sparingly spot clean with

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<v Speaker 1>water and a mild soap. Today's episode was written by

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<v Speaker 1>Aliya Hoyt and produced by Tyler Clay. For more on

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<v Speaker 1>this and lots of other everyday topics, visit how stuffworks

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio. For

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<v Speaker 1>more podcasts to my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app,

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