I used to wash my down pillows often, and they come out perfectly- no bunching after the dryer- like brand new- sometimes I remembered to add a tennis ball to the dryer, sometimes I didn't. Two of my children were prone to nosebleeds that soaked through the protective cover I had on the pillows, so I have a lot of experience with this. I have used both the fancy Miele detergent for down and Tide (Tide more than Miele, as I had this problem more before I got the Miele w/d.)

PS If you ever want to go back to down pillows, the ones from Warm Things last forever. I have yet to throw one out and some of mine are 20+ years old.

I have some very old down pillows that I would hate to get rid of, but in addition to forbidding me to use them, my allergist says that if you have dust mite allergy and your pillows are more than 6 months old, they're too old, so now I just buy super cheap pillows from target. Throwing them out after a year does bother me, though.

I have a cover on my pillows that gets washed weekly with the rest of the linens. The type of pillow I use needs to be replaced annually because it loses its effectiveness in that amount of time.

Every few years. I wash the pillows twice a year and their covers maybe 4 times a year.

Why do pillows wear out so fast? Back in the day I had a down pillow from the time I was small child well into my young adult years. I do wash mine and it restores some of the body but mostly these "my pillows' or other foam ones really do not last. They have become something I replace each year on our wedding anniversary.

I have alternative down pillows from The Company Store. I cover them in mite-proof covers then a pillow protector and finally a pillowcase. I wash the sheets weekly, the pillow protector monthly and the mite-proof cover yearly.

I replace them as needed but I don't have a schedule.

Maire-cate, do the down alternative pillows "squish" like real down?

I do what you do dlm, but give old pillows, towels, blankets etc to the local dog shelters. They really do need them.

That's a great idea, Bumblebeez. Our local shelter only advertises for wanting blankets and towels. I'll find out if they take pillows, too.

I wash the down pillows quarterly. I have a large plastic tub that I set in the shower. I start with an overnight soak in BIZ and hot water. (If there were blood stains, I'd have to address those first with cold water.) I dump the whole mess and squeeze out as much water as I can and rinse in the shower. Next I soak in borax, Dawn, white vinegar and more hot water. Drain, squeeze, rinse. It's important to get most of the Dawn out to avoid choking the front-load washer with suds. Wash two pillows at a time in the washer with my normal detergent on sanitize cycle, vinegar rinse, and an extra rinse cycle. Machine dry with wool dryer balls. It's important to get pillows really, really dry to avoid mold.

Every few years, or when I get divorced. Whichever comes sooner.

I couldn’t begin to tell you how old my bed pillows are, a couple of decades maybe? They are the old fashioned foam filled ones and perfection. I’ve spent lots of money trying to find new ones, but they just don’t cut it. No one makes them like that anymore. I wash pillow cases every week, but have zip covers as well that I wash once a month.

Someone suggested using the foam from carpet padding, so one of these days I’m going to buy some new zipper liners and give it a shot.

Hahaha jakabedy! You're so dark - I love it.

Moxie you have not only made me feel like a total slacker but after reading what you do to wash your pillows I now need a nap. There's no way I'd go through all that and I'm not averse to cleaning.

lukki I remember those old foam pillows - they are heavy as heck as I recall. My grandmother used them in combination with down.

Bumble I just tried calling one of our local shelters but they aren't open yet - if they take pillows I will be happy. Throwing them out just seems so wasteful - of course eventually even the shelters have to toss them but at least they've gotten another round of use.

I have down throws that I keep in a basket for movie watching (I'm always cold until there's a hot flash :-/) and have washed/dried those successfully so not sure why I never tried that with pillows but at the moment the only feather pillows I have on on guest beds and get limited use. I also have non feather guest pillows on the beds as well so anyone with feather issues can put those aside.

cyn I have down alternative and they are good but they are not down. I actually prefer a down/feather mix so there's more oomph to it but also because the mix is more moldable to whatever shape you like - the alternative down pillows are too soft for that. At least the ones I have.

Both DH and I sleep with 2 pillows, one down alternative that replaced our our real down/feather and another that is firmer, some kind of fiber fill I guess and those are the ones that seem to 'break' and need replacing. Such first world problems, eh?

arcy I like your anniversary replacement date - that makes for an easy reminder and a great mini gift to ourselves.

hcbm how do you replace the covers? I'd be willing to give that a try but I have visions of an I Love Lucy episode come to life if I open up a down pillow!

Those of you who use feather/down pillows, don't you get poked in the face? I used down for a while, but would wake up looking like I had a poltergeist living with me...

Is the thread count not high enough on mine or wouldn't that make much difference?

Feathers have quills, down doesn’t.

Since asking that question I did a little research...I was actually mistaken in my thinking of how down was collected. I'll stick to fiberfill.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/23/down-comforters-animal-cruelty_n_1224517.html

DLM, mine don’t have any down in them and the foam isn’t as plentiful as it used to be, but boy, add a clean, crisp and cool pillow case and I’m in heaven.

Pennydesign, it is possible to find companies that only use down from dead ducks.

DLM2000-GW I laughed out loud at your comment about I Love Lucy. Yes, that can happen. First the easiest thing to do is use a pillow protector as the new cover. Just zip it over and never remove it. Or sew a new cover right over the old one. You add another protector over that as the washable one. For a real fix I sew up a cover the size I want in down proof cotton fabric. I take the pillow I want to recover cut open the end and holding the end closed put it in upside down so the open end is in the closed end of the new sack. Then use art clips to keep most of the new sack closed and start to pull out the cover of the old pillow. I shake and push and pound out the old feather and down go into the new sack. I slowly pull out the old one as it empties. However, as you can imagine this can be messy. That is why I do it outside. You probably won't be able to get 100% into the new bag but should get almost all of it. I do know that some people who make down items use special vacuums to remove and blow in the down. If you can have a second person help you hold things it is easier. I have considered wetting the pillow and then just scooping it out in a big wet mass and putting it in a new case, sewing it closed and popping it into the dryer.

It sounds like I do this everyday. I have not had to do this in several years. I have done at least 6-8 bed pillows this way. Each pillow takes longer than you think and you must have a sense of humor for flying feathers.

I do know that the Company Store will redo any down product you bought from them and add additional down if needed. I am not sure if they will do it for other companies products. There are also specialty companies that will do this work.

Good luck if you decide to take this on.

DLM, I should have explained that the process I described is for a really disgusting pillow - probably hasn't been cleaned in a long time or belongs to someone who has an oily complexion and whose head sweats a lot (like my DH). Either BIZ or the borax-Dawn-vinegar mix alone works on most pillows.