How to wash a feather pillow at home

Today the trend of using feather pillows and feather beds is returning. There are several reasons.

Expert opinion

Natalya Osadchaya

Feather, as such, is capable of maintaining temperature 4 times better than synthetic materials, and 2 times better than sheep's wool, often used to make blankets. In addition, it absorbs 100% moisture, is lightweight, and provides maximum comfort. But... Millions of mites, accumulated dust, sweat, saliva, fat - all this is “hiding” in the pillows on which you lay your head every night.

Despite maintaining perfect cleanliness in the house, many people forget about down pillows. Do you also regularly change your bed linen without paying attention to these elements? But they collect more dirt than you can imagine. Therefore, look at how to clean feather pillows at home, thereby ensuring your home is impeccably clean.

Dry cleaning services

The least troublesome, but at the same time expensive method is dry cleaning. It has a minus, which is quite relative, and there are many more pros.

Cons: the feather can dry out over time due to frequent drying and airing, which will affect the volume and softness of the pillow.

Pros:

Dry cleaning (carried out by a stream of air under high pressure) not only removes dust and dirt from feathers and down, but also fluffs them up.
The use of an ultraviolet lamp when cleaning helps to destroy dust mites and disinfect in general.
It may be suggested to replace the old bedstead with a new one.

Features of cleaning sofa cushions

Sofa pillows, unlike sleeping pillows, attract more dust and dirt. They often contain pet hair, food stains, and spilled drinks. As a result, they not only lose their attractiveness, but also begin to smell unpleasant.

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It is best to take your sofa cushions to the dry cleaner. There they will be restored to their original appearance, stubborn stains will be removed, and unpleasant odors and dust will be removed.

If you want to wash the sofa cushions yourself, you need to study some nuances:

Vinyl products are wiped with a damp cloth and dishwashing detergent. After this, they are wiped with a damp, clean rag or sponge and dried in the fresh air.
To clean sofa cushions, use a vacuum cleaner with special furniture attachments to remove dust, hair, and dirt.
Old stains are treated with cleaning products. But before applying the product to the product, it is necessary to check its compatibility with the material on the reverse side.

Attention! It is not recommended to machine wash sofa cushions. It is enough to vacuum them or treat them with a steam generator and dry them in the fresh air.

What you need to know before washing

If you decide to wash your feather pillow yourself, then regardless of the method chosen, it will take enough time.

The most time-consuming process is to dry the feathers and down of birds after washing them. The pillow can be a mixture, that is, down and feathers, so cleaning must be carried out in several stages at time intervals.

Choose a detergent. In this case, laundry soap, washing gel, and liquid products for down items, woolen or delicate fabrics are suitable. It is not recommended to use chlorine bleaches or powders.
Find a place where you can dry everything. It is better to dry in the open air, as ultraviolet light disinfects. Therefore, it is better to wash in the warm season. Drying may take 2 to 3 days. It is important to dry the feather well, otherwise it will acquire an unpleasant odor and may become moldy. If a musty smell appears, you should wash the pillow again. You can dry the feathers and down with a hairdryer, for example, if the weather becomes cloudy and damp.
Using the product label, determine the feathers and down of which bird is contained in the filler. If they are waterfowl, then they can be washed; chicken ones are difficult to dry after washing; due to contact with water, they can turn into dust.

Erase entirely or remove contents

Of course, there is often a desire to reduce the time spent on the process. Therefore, many people wonder whether it is possible to remove dirt from the feathers in a pillow by washing it entirely. The answer is negative. After all, when the filler absorbs moisture, it will become impossible to wash it; the pillow will simply be heavy. Thus, it will not be possible to carry out high-quality cleaning of all negative formations in it.

And washing in a machine is not recommended. After such washing, the feathers will stick together, and it will no longer be possible to separate them again. As a result, sleep will be uncomfortable, the pillow will lose its original appearance.

Next, we will talk in more detail about how to clean feather pillows at home.

Washing feather filling in batches (manual)

You can achieve the desired result only by washing the feathers in parts.

Hand washing steps:

In a large basin, dilute a solution of warm water (30-40°C), ammonia (teaspoon) and a crushed bar of laundry soap (grate on a coarse grater, or cut into small slabs with a knife).
Open the napkin (cut or rip) and move the feathers from it in parts into the prepared solution.
Soak for 2.5-3 hours.
Prepare clean warm water for rinsing. Rinse the feathers (take them in your palms and rub them against each other). You can use a colander and tap water to rinse.
Place the rinsed and slightly wrung out feathers into bags made of gauze or any dense material.
Tie the gauze bags tightly (you can sew them up) and place them in a pillowcase made of thick material in the washing machine, setting it to the “spin” mode (if there is a “gentle mode” function, it is better to choose it). Without machine drying, the feathers may dry out, but there is a chance that they will not dry well and will begin to emit an unpleasant odor.
After spinning, place the bags in a sunny, ventilated room on a terry towel to absorb moisture. You can dry it outside at air temperatures above 25°C.
Turn the bags over and stir their contents 3-6 times a day.
Wash the bedcloth in the usual way, carefully rubbing the underside of it with laundry soap.
Place the feathers in the bedding after they are completely dry and sew it up.

How to wash down feather pillows

It’s worth starting with the choice of funds. Before washing down pillows, you need to remember the properties of down. It consists of thousands of threads that easily intertwine into a continuous tangle. In addition, it retains solid particles well, so granular washing powder is not the solution.

Small grains will remain in the padding even after 3-4 rinses, and this can lead to allergies or hives.

The most suitable means are:

Liquid laundry detergents. It is better to wash down and feather pillows in the washing machine using balms or capsules. They are easily washed out and do not damage the structure and quality of the padding.
Food acids. Vinegar and lemon juice, surprisingly, do a good job of cleaning down pillows. They effectively remove grease stains and dirt. Just remember that the vinegar will leave a smell that will take a long time to dissipate. In this case, lemon juice is much more effective, but before use it must be dissolved in hot water.
Oily shampoo. If there are no other products at hand, take regular shampoo. The same contaminants that accumulate on the hair penetrate the pillowcase and down. In this case, shampoo will help no worse than balm.

Machine wash steps

Rip open the napkin and place the feathers in small gauze bags in 7 or 10 layers, maybe more, or better yet, made of dense material, such as calico.
Place bags with feathers in a washing machine in a special case or pillowcase. This will prevent the gauze bags from tearing and prevent feathers from clogging its filters.
Wash at 30-40°C on a gentle cycle.
Then place the bags individually on a terry towel laid out on a table or other flat surface in a ventilated, sunny room.
Turn the bags over every 2-3 hours and, if there are any lumps, knead them.
Fill the bedding with carefully dried feathers and down and sew it up with a linen seam. It is better to use a new bedstead made of dense fabric (linen, teak, calico). Teak is more preferable; it holds feathers well inside itself and does not absorb dust. Despite the novelty of the material, it is recommended to wash it from the reverse side with laundry soap and dry thoroughly. This will keep the feather filler clean longer.
When machine washing and spinning the feather, you can put 2-3 tennis balls wrapped in a clean sock in the drum. This will prevent the feathers from packing in the bags; when rinsing, it helps to quickly wash out the detergent, and when washing, the dirt. The main thing is not to fill all the space in the drum with bags of feathers so that the balls can move.

Washing in a washing machine

Washing down in the washing machine. the machine may take less time, but then you need to follow a number of rules so that it does not stick together and does not break the machine itself. This process includes the following steps:

you need to get a special cover so that fluff does not get into the mechanism and break the washing machine itself;
gauze bags are made thick; for this, the gauze is folded into several layers, and they should be sewn securely. Only in such bags the fluff will not fall out anywhere.
after washing, the bags are also dried in the sun, with good ventilation, but they should be turned over often, checking for lumps that need to be smoothed out;
Also, after complete drying, the feathers are returned to the napkin, which is sewn together.

Steam cleaning

It is especially preferable for chicken feathers, since water has a negative effect on it.

At the dry cleaners

When handing over pillows, you should pay attention to how many down and bird feathers are placed in the pillowcases; there can be from one to five. The size of the pillow after cleaning using special equipment will depend on this, because the cleaned feather fits into one pillowcase.

Feathers and down are poured into a special compartment, where cleaning occurs with water vapor at a temperature of 120°. Then they are dried with warm air and removed from dust. After this, a new bedside table is filled with them. Wet processing restores the volume and softness of the feather filler, and high temperature disinfects well, like ultraviolet lamps.

At home

Steam cleaning is done using a hand steamer, a steam generator or an iron with a vertical steam function. These devices eliminate germs, bacteria and dust mites from the top of the filler, effectively clean the pillowcase, and help get rid of unpleasant odors (sweat, old perfume, deodorant).

This procedure is not equivalent to washing, but it helps to clean, renew the filling and padding, and will protect against the proliferation of dust mites in them. It is advisable to carry out such cleaning of feather pillows after suffering from a cold.

Heat the water in the appliance to the minimum temperature.
Place the pillow in a vertical position (place it on a chair, hang it on a rope).
Steam each side two to three times.
Dry in a well-ventilated, sunny area. At intervals of 30-60 minutes, straighten and fluff the filler with your hands.
After drying completely, put on a pillowcase.

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Chemical cleaning of down and feather products

If you're not excited about the prospect of devoting several days to the labor-intensive procedure of cleaning grandma's pillow, the easiest way is to turn to the experts. How does this happen?

In your presence, a dry cleaning employee will tear open the old pillowcase and shake out the filling it contains into a special machine for cleaning pillows.

The automatic machine will clean the down and feathers in detergent and disinfectant solutions, after which the cleaned filler will be treated with hot steam, during which dust mites are killed.

Pollution prevention and care

Pillows with feather, as well as down filling, require cleaning once every 6-7 months, and washing once a year. In addition to this it is worth:

after sleep, fluff up the pillow with your hands, do not immediately make the bed, but let the bedding air out;
Dry outdoors every summer out of direct sunlight;
air the bedding once a month: if the weather permits, then in a shady courtyard or on an open loggia, or opposite an open window in the apartment;
Vacuum the pillows once every two months. This will eliminate the accumulation of dust in them.

You can significantly reduce the level of contamination of your pillow by putting an additional 1-2 chintz pillowcases on it.

photo: depositphotos.com/paulmhill, snyfer

Caring for feather pillows

Pillows, blankets and feather beds, like everything else in this world, inevitably age. The speed of this process depends on the environment in which they are located and how they are cared for. How to keep bedding with natural filling fresh and youthful, what needs to be done for this.

Let's start with the situation that you sweat a lot at night, then in the morning do not forget to put the pillow on a warm radiator or take it out to the balcony in the sun. Down and feather products are a hygroscopic material, so sweat is absorbed, and if not dried, the process of decay will begin.

Next, after sleep, fluff up your pillow and shake the blanket. This will help the bedding to be saturated with air, they will become soft and light. Our beds also need to be ventilated. After shaking, leave the bed unmade for a while and open the window. It is important that the room is not humid or damp. At high humidity, natural filler will absorb excess moisture and become heavy.

Sometimes on a sunny day in the summer, take the blanket out onto the balcony or veranda and let it hang in the breeze. The filler, no matter what, will dry, ventilate and be saturated with the smell of herbs and flowers.

If you do not use items for a long period of time, place them in a fabric cover. The cover should be of such a size as to ensure loose packaging of the product. It is impossible to store bedding in plastic bags, air exchange is necessary, and the air humidity in the storage area should not be higher than 65%.

Disinfection of the filler

Sebum, dust, microflora and mites densely “inhabit” the pillow. Ensure yourself a healthy sleep by getting rid of uninvited guests. The filler is disinfected in the following ways:

Ferry. This is discussed above.
Drying in the sun.
Withstanding in the cold.
Using chlorine bleach. You need to soak feather bags in it before washing.
Add 3-4 drops of lavender, cypress, and tea tree oils to the laundry detergent. Their scent repels dust mites.
After pre-soaking the feathers in the following composition: 10 liters of water, 100 ml of ammonia 10%, 1 tsp. boric acid, 500 g of soap. After an hour, put the feathers in the wash.

"Solarium" for pillows

The so-called "tanning" of feather pillows is a relatively new cleaning technique, but very effective. The creators of this method are of the opinion that any exposure to moisture, as well as any chemicals, is detrimental to feather filling.

When feathers get wet, they can become deformed, and dust removal will not be as effective and uniform as planned. The essence of this method is that the filler is processed using ultraviolet light. The pillow is placed in a special apparatus equipped with UV lamps. This is where the processing takes place.

This processing method has a number of advantages, which include:

harmlessness to the product itself;
absence of any chemicals during processing;
short time (the entire cleaning takes no more than 8-10 minutes);
The cleaning device consumes a minimum of electricity.

It is noteworthy that exposure to ultraviolet radiation kills a large number of harmful microorganisms that can grow in the filler:

dust mites;
fungi;
viruses;
bacteria.

The only disadvantage of this method is its high cost. Processing one pillow can cost about 500 rubles (the price is not final).

Drying tips

Place the feathers on a dry cloth near the radiator or radiator, but not on the heating devices themselves. Cover with gauze to prevent them from flying around. Leave for 2-3 days. Stir the feathers occasionally: this way they will not stick together and will be more airy.

Another method is blow drying. Maintain a distance of 20–30 cm from the feathers. Dry continuously for up to 10 minutes. After some time, repeat the procedure. But even after this method, you should leave the filler to dry naturally for several hours before returning it to the pillow.

Where can you clean down pillows?

Due to the nature of the filler, cleaned down or feather pillows can be used for no more than six months. After this period has expired, they will have to be washed again.

You can clean a pillow with such a filling either at home or in a dry cleaner, laundry or a special salon where they restore pillows.

Tidying up a pillow at home is not as difficult as it seems, but doing it yourself will take a lot of time. In addition, after washing, the filler takes a long time to dry, and the cleaning process will take a long time.

How to properly care

Proper care will help simplify the washing process and extend the life of the textile product itself. First of all, you should study the manufacturer's recommendations, which are indicated on the labels. The following general rules also apply:

you should fluff your pillows every morning;

You cannot go to bed with wet hair on such pillows; down absorbs water too well, which can lead to the formation of mold in it;

put a pillowcase on the product;

In spring, it is advisable to ventilate the pillows in the fresh air and sun.

Cleaning pillows yourself will take a lot of time, but will allow you to obtain a product that is safe for health. It is advisable to carry out cleaning once every six months, then sleep will always be pleasant and harmless. The main thing is to act step by step, then you will get a high-quality result.

Dry brushing using baking soda and tea tree oil

Baking soda and tea tree oil are used in the dry cleaning process of pillows. Combining them makes it possible to rid the pillowcase and feather of yellowness, flavors the product, and destroys the so-called bed mites and other microorganisms hazardous to health. They do it like this:

Place 100 g of ordinary soda and 12 drops of essential oil in a bowl that should have a wide bottom and mix well.
The pillow is placed in a basin, distributing soda and oil both along the bottom and on top of the product so that the effect of the mixture is uniform. Leave the pillow in this position for 1 hour.
After an hour, the product is thoroughly shaken out and vacuumed.

This treatment is quite effective; if the pillow is not too heavily soiled, it partially replaces washing. Perform dry cleaning once every six months.

Dry air cleaning

Dry air cleaning is carried out in dry cleaners that have special equipment. You can restore a product in this way in just 15 minutes.

Note! This type of cleaning is also applicable for chicken feathers.

As a result, the cleaned fluff is placed in a new pillowcase, the cost of which is included in the price of the service. The pillow becomes fuller and softer when exposed to an ozonator, which directs a powerful stream of air onto the feathers.

How much this service will cost depends on the salon.