Cleaning substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows: 6 reasons not to wash them

99% of the "advise" on the internet about washing your substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows is technically flawed

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The internet is awash with well-meaning but technically inaccurate “advise” about washing your substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows, either at home or at a dry cleaning facility.

Here's an example courtesy of the experts at Good Housekeeping  (July 27, 2023):

“Most down and fiberfill pillows are machine-friendly, which means you can just toss them in the washing machine for a refresh. Be sure to wash two pillows at a time to keep the washer balanced, ensuring an all-around clean. While any washing machine will do, front- or top-loading machines without an agitator (a.k.a. the large spindle in the middle of some machines) are your best bet. If an agitator-style top loader is your only option, place the pillows in the tub vertically to lessen the chance of them getting damaged by the agitator. It goes without saying that you should always read your pillow's care label and follow the directions accordingly. If you clipped off the tag or can't find the instructions, use this step-by-step as your guide:

1. Select the gentle cycle and use warm water. Then, add an extra cold water rinse.

2. Add a small amount of detergent...

3. Tumble the pillows dry on low heat, fluffing and turning them often. Stop the dryer a few
times throughout the cycle to fluff them and break up lumps by hand.”

And another example courtesy of the experts at Well + Good (August 5, 2023):

“The best way to clean your pillow depends on its material. Using your washer and dryer is the path of least resistance toward clean pillows, and works for pillows filled with down feathers or synthetic fibers. Before you do anything, be sure to read and follow any care tags on your pillows, which give specific instructions for how to clean them."

Note the generalizations in all this “advise”...

1. The unending lack of understanding about the difference between down and feathers. "Down feathers” don't exist. It's either a down cluster or a feather; it can't be both.
2. Any down, feather, fiber fill or solid foam pillow can be washed using the exact same procedure and it makes no difference whether it's a $250 Hungarian down bed pillow from Duxiana or a $2.50 ground up foam bed pillow from My Pillow.
3. Follow the directions on the care label -- but, notwithstanding any instructions to the contrary, go ahead, ignore the instructions and wash them anyway.
4. Any washing machine — front- or top-loading — will do.‍‍
5. Load your pillows in a washer. Wash. Remove.
6. Tumble dry. Stop. Fluff. Break lumps.
7. Repeat step 6 multiple times until you think that your pillow is dry.

This flawed “advise” is often reinforced by many manufacturers and retailers of substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows who include words such as “machine wash” or “wet clean” in their product literature and/or on the care labels attached to their pillows.

Of course, there will always be those who'll claim that they've always washed their substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows and they come out "just fine”.

Take this unsolicited comment we received (July 29, 2023) in response to this Position Paper:

“I read your article about washing down pillows. Funny, I have been doing this for 40 years, never having a problem with mold or issues in any way, shape or form. In this day and age, I trust NO ONE, especially someone from the industry who hopes people will just throw out their pillows and buy new ones. Anything less hurts your bottom line, am I right? Of course, I am.”

It would appear that this reader hasn't read and, more importantly, hasn't understood this Position Paper.

At WHITE KNIGHT pillowCARE, it is not our intention to convince those who think that washing their substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows is “just fine.”

Nor is it our intention to convince anyone that they ought to throw out their substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows and buy a brand new pillow from us.

‍After all, we don't manufacture nor do we sell down pillows.

For those who believe that washing their pillows is “just fine”, we say: “if that works for you, jump right in.”‍

On the other hand, for those of you who are seeking results that far exceed “just fine”, our aim is to provide you with the information necessary to make your own informed decision based on existing scientific research.

Let's start here...

Let's start with our caution that you should not wash or wet clean your substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows in water – either at home or at a dry cleaning facility.

This caution is particularly relevant, if you're looking to ...

• Deep clean and refurbish your favorite substantially down or down/feather mix bed pillow (i.e., the pillow that you believe is integral to your sleep),
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• Deep clean both the exterior and interior fill of your substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows, or
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• Protect your investment in your high quality/relatively expensive substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows.

And it makes no difference whether you or your dry cleaner uses a front load home washer, a top load home washer or a large industrial/commercial washer.

And it makes no difference whether you add one or more of the following to your washing routine: baking soda, bleach, dishwashing liquid, hydrogen peroxide, laundry detergent, lavender oil, non-chlorine bleach, regular vinegar, sodium bicarbonate, stain removing liquids and white vinegar.

In our opinion, there are 6 reasons not to wash or wet clean your substantially down and down/feather mix pillows:‍

1. It's highly unlikely that washing will get your exterior/outer pillow shells pristine clean

The exterior shells of your substantially down and down/feather mix pillows might be yellow, dingy and stained because of the accumulation of perspiration, saliva, blood, hair oil, creams and lotions.

And the both the exterior shells and the interior fill might have developed an odor due to perspiration, saliva, blood, hair oil, creams, lotions, and an army of bacterial and viral pathogens (bacteria and viruses that can cause disease).

You might believe that you can restore the exterior pillow shells of your bed pillows to their original, pristine white and remove all their odors by merely washing the entire pillow.

The problem is that the likelihood that you can restore your yellow, dingy, stained and odorous exterior pillow shells to their original, pristine white by washing the entire pillow is close to zero.‍

Why do we say that?

Because WHITE KNIGHT pillowCARE is a division of RAVE FabriCARE, nationally recognized as one of the nations’s premier dry cleaners.

One of RAVE FabriCARE’s specialities is restoring yellowed/dingy/stained garments that were originally white to as close to their original condition and brightness as possible. Using a wide array of water-based and solvent-based processes that we’ve refined over a 35 year period.

If RAVE FabriCARE cannot safely, consistently and completely restore the “average” yellowed, dingy and stained pillow shell to it’s original, pristine white – after the fill has been removed – how will you do so at home – with the fill still inside the pillow – using products sitting on the shelf in your laundry room?

Aside: If you decide to wash your substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows at home, we'd recommend that you not use sodium hypochlorite (aka bleach) or sodium percarbonate (a key ingredient in products such as Oxyclean) to "whiten" the outer shells (aka tickings or casings).

There’s no surer way to destroy the long term resiliency of the down fill or down/feather mix fill inside your bed pillows – the most valuable part of any substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillow.‍

2. It's highly unlikely that washing will get your interior substantially down fill or down/feather mix fill pristine clean

Whenever a columnist, blogger or Helpful Heloise on the internet recommends that you should wash your substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows, they often include comments such as:

• “washing your down or feather pillows in hot water will kill the dust mites in the fill of your pillows”
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• “washing your down and feather pillows in hot water will remove the dirt and dead skin cells in the fill and kill the bacteria in the fill.”

Really? ‍

It’s one thing to consider washing your substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows if your objective is to “clean” the exterior pillow shell.

But it’s quite another thing to believe that washing the entire pillow will:‍

• ‍kill the live dust mites embedded in the fill contained within that pillow shell
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• significantly denature (or deactivate) the Der f 1/Der p 1 protein allergens in the dust
  mite feces – the primary triggers of asthma and allergies - embedded in the fill contained within that pillow shell
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• kill the bacterial and viral pathogens (bacteria and viruses that can cause disease) embedded in the fill and contained within that pillow shell
  t home‍
• remove any of the down dust (minute particles that have broken off the down clusters and waterfowl feathers), dead skin cells (commonly called dander), dead dust mites and dust mite feces embedded in the fill and contained within that pillow shell
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• remove all other contaminants embedded in the fill contained within that pillow shell.

Before you conclude that washing the entire pillow will accomplish all – or even just one – of these objectives, you might want to consider this:
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2 (a) Home or commercial washers don’t reach USDA-specified temperatures‍

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations require that down and/or feathers imported into the USA by pillow manufacturers must be either partially washed or fully washed outside the USA.

And if the down and/or feather is only partially washed, the down and/or feathers must be fully
washed in the USA before use.

In order to qualify as fully washed, the down and/or feather must be washed at a minimum of 120 degrees Celsius (248 degrees Fahrenheit) for a minimum of 30 minutes.

For all who say that they've washed their down pillows for years and they turned out “just fine, that’s worth repeating...‍

According to the USDA, clean down and/or feathers means down and/or feather that’s washed at 248 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes – OUTSIDE OF THE PILLOW SHELL.

Repeat: 248 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes – OUTSIDE OF THE PILLOW SHELL.

If you’re lucky, the hot water in your home or laundromat washer might reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Might reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit !

THAT’S HALF THE REQUIRED TEMPERATURE.

So much for all that internet-based “advise” that you can “completely clean” your substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows by washing them in a home washer at home or at a dry cleaning facility.‍

2 (b)  Home or commercial washers don’t reach research-specified temperatures‍

Numerous scientific studies have concluded that a constant temperature 140 degrees Fahrenheit or more for a minimum of 20 minutes or more is required to kill dust mites by hot water.

‍Repeat:  a constant temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit or more for a minimum of 20 minutes or more.

But hot water heater manufacturers typically set the temperature on your hot water heater at a maximum of 120 degrees Fahrenheit. ‍

THAT'S 20 DEGREES LESS !

Why do they set the maximum at 120 degrees?

Because temperatures over 120 degrees can cause scalding and/or severe burns in a matter of seconds. For example, water that reaches 140 degrees Fahrenheit can cause third degree burns in 5 seconds.

Furthermore:

• the hot water in the pipes feeding your washer may be far less than 140 degrees Fahrenheit even if you reset your hot water heater to 140 degrees (which you probably won't), and
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• it’s highly unlikely that your washer can maintain a constant temperature of 140 degrees for a minimum of 20 minutes or more.
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2 (c)  Washing won’t denature (or deactivate) the Der f 1/Der p 1 protein allergens‍

Washing will do little to denature (or deactivate) the Der f 1/Der p 1 protein allergens in the dust mite feces – the primary triggers of asthma and allergies – left behind by the dust mites you’ve just allegedly killed by washing in “hot water”.

And that’s even if your water temperature reached 140 degrees Fahrenheit in the first place and you were able to hold that temperature constant for a full 20 minutes or more.‍

2 (d)  Water may not adequately penetrate the exterior pillow shells‍

It’s difficult to keep a substantially down or down/feather mix bed pillow submerged in water. Substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows tend to “float” on the surface of water even when you try to hold them submerged in water.

Why “float?

Because the exterior pillow shells of most quality substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows are (or should be) relatively tightly woven (compared to pillows shells used for synthetic pillows), making it difficult for water to penetrate the exterior pillow shell in the first place.‍

2(e)  Down clusters and feathers are designed by nature to repel water‍

Even if water fully penetrated the outer pillow shell, goose and duck down clusters and feathers are designed by nature to repel water.

The ability of down and feathers to repel water is how nature protects geese and ducks from water and cold.

Summary

While washing might marginally improve the cleanliness of the exterior pillow shell, washing will do little, if anything, to:

• ‍kill the live dust mites embedded in the fill contained within that pillow shell
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• significantly denature (or deactivate) the Der f 1/Der p 1 protein allergens in the dust mite feces – the primary triggers of asthma and allergies - embedded in the fill contained within that pillow shell
  ‍‍
• kill the bacterial and viral pathogens (bacteria and viruses that can cause disease) embedded in the fill contained within that pillow shell
  ‍
• remove any of the down dust (minute particles that have broken off the down clusters and waterfowl feathers), dead skin cells (commonly called dander), dead dust mites and dust mite feces embedded in the fill contained within that pillow shell
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• remove all other contaminants embedded in the fill contained within that pillow shell.

These are the science-based facts.

Not advise from some Helpful Heloise on the internet.‍

3. Washing requires a large commercial washer

If you ever decide to wash your substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows, you should be using a large commercial washer.

And you probably don’t have one at home.

Washing your pillows in a front load washer or a top load washer at home is always a risky proposition because the fabric of the exterior pillow shells of your pillows – already weak from the acids and salts present in the perspiration that's accumulated over time on your pillow shell – might tear open during the wash and you’ll end up with nasty mess on your hands.

And even if you dropped off your substantially down or down/feather mix bed pillow at your local dry cleaner for washing in a large commercial washer, your dry cleaner may reject the work for two reasons:

• Your cleaner might recognize that the risk and time involved in washing or wet cleaning and drying your substantially down and down/feather mix pillows far outweighs the likely reward.
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• Your cleaner might recognize that they might have a nasty mess on their hands and a consequent replacement liability should the pillow shell tear apart during the wet cleaning and/or drying process.

But, then again, you might be in luck: You might be able to find a dry cleaner so desperate for your dollars that they might not recognize the possible pitfalls and time investment associated with washing and drying your substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows.‍

4. It's highly likely that surfactants in your laundry or dishwashing detergents will ruin your down fill or down/feather mix fill

The quality of the down in your substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows is largely determined by the fill power (aka "loft") of the down.‍

Fill power is, in turn, largely determined by the size of the hundreds of thousands of down clusters (each individual piece of down is called a "down cluster") in each pillow.

Each down cluster has filaments (think: long, thin fibers) radiating out in all directions from a central point (think: head of a pin).‍

Each of these filaments are coated with minute particles of oil. The oil on the filaments gives the filaments their unique structure. And it's the unique structure of the filaments that gives down, amongst other things, it’s wonderful ability to loft after it’s been compressed and then released.‍

Now here’s the rub: Most laundry or dish washing detergents contain surfactants. And one of the primary functions of surfactants is to dissolve or attempt to dissolve oils.‍

So let’s assume that you’ve decided to wash your substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows in an attempt to restore brightness to your exterior/outer pillow shells and eliminate odors.

And, because you rightfully suspect that water alone won’t remove all the oil-based stains and/or odor from the pillow shell, let’s also assume that you decide to throw in some laundry or dish washing detergent in order to boost the stain and odor removal process.

What happens to the oil particles on the filaments of each down cluster?‍

The oil dissolves !‍

And what happens when the oil dissolves?

The down clusters loose their unique structure – their ability to loft – and your down fill or down/feather mix fill looses it’s functional and monetary value.‍

Think “flat souffle”.‍

5. It's highly likely that washing will dissolve the "down proofing" of your exterior/outer pillow shells

If you’ve ever had your pillow “cleaned and fluffed” by a dry cleaner, linen store or “pillow refurbishment” service, they probably used a cheap, striped/patterned/floral, white or colored, cardboard-like, 180 to 210 thread count exterior/outer pillow shell.

At WHITE KNIGHT pillowCARE, we call these pillow shells “granny pillow shells”.‍

The problem is that the fabric used to construct these granny pillow shells is NOT down proof and feather proof.‍

No, you’re wrong, you might say.

They’re definitely down and feather proof, you say. Says so right here on the label: “Down and Feather Proof” and “Finest In The World”!

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the fabric is NOT down proof and feather proof.

Not at the time of manufacture.

Not after use.

Not now.

Not in the future.

‍We’ll explain...

The claim that these exterior/outer pillow shells are “down and feather proof” is based solely on the fact that these pillow shells have been heavily starched or sized to prevent any initial leakage of down and/or feathers.‍

This starching or sizing process results in a pillow shell that – WHEN NEW AND ONLY WHEN NEW – would pass the International Down and Feather Laboratory's (Salt lake City) tests for down and feather proofness.

However, the pillow shells fail all IDFL tests for down and feather proofness AFTER THE PILLOW SHELL HAS BEEN WASHED.‍

Why?

Because the water-soluble starch or sizing dissolves as soon as the pillow is washed. And what happens when the starch or sizing wholly or partially dissolves?

The down and/or feathers begin leaking through the exterior/outer pillow shell.

The fact that these pillow shells fail the IDFL’s tests for down and feather proofness AFTER WASHING is proof positive that the fabric used to construct these exterior pillow shells was NOT down and feather proof BEFORE WASHING.‍

Truth is, you may not even have to wait for the exterior/outer pillow shell to be washed in order to notice the leakage of down and/or feathers.

Within a few months after you start using your “newly-refurbished pillows”, the starch or sizing will begin to soften and “powder off”. And, as soon as that process begins, the down and/or feathers will begin to leak through the exterior/outer pillow shell.‍

6. Drying requires a large commercial dryer

Once you’ve decided to risk washing your substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows, you’ll need to dry them in a large commercial dryer.

And you probably don’t have one at home.

If you use your home dyer, you’ll need to dry your substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows – one at a time – for 2 to 4 hours.

‍Not the typical 36 to 48 minutes you might regard as a “normal” cycle time.‍

This step is critical: if your down or down/feather fill is not 100% dry when you remove your pillow from the dryer, the down and down/feather fill will soon develop mold and mildew and develop musty odors.

The notion that you can “prevent mold and mildew and the development of musty odors” by squeezing the excess water out of your pillow before putting the pillow into your home dryer is highly suspect.

There is no scientific basis to this notion.‍

Furthermore, the notion that you can “break up the fill and/or shorten the drying cycle” by throwing a bunch of tennis balls or sneakers into the dryer together with your pillow is also highly suspect.

There is no scientific basis to this notion either.
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Summary

When it comes to washing your substantially down pillow or down/feather mix pillow in water, the issue is not the water itself.‍

Getting down and feathers wet isn’t the issue. After all, geese and ducks have been romping in lakes, ponds and in the rain for ages.

The real issues are as follows:

• Will washing get the the exterior pillow shell pristine clean?
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• Will washing get the interior fill clean? Including killing the live dust mites, significantly denaturing (or deactivating) the protein allergens in dust mite feces, de-dusting the fill of small pieces of broken down clusters and feathers, dead skin cells, dead dust mites and dust mite feces, killing the bacterial and viral pathogens, and removing all other contaminants?
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• Will washing break or tear the pillow apart?
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• Will the surfactants in the laundry or dish washing detergent destroy the fill power or loft of the down?
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• Will washing dissolve the starch or sizing used to “down and feather proof” your granny pillow shells if those pillows have been “professionally cleaned” on a prior occasion?
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• Will the pillow dry completely so as to avoid mold, mildew and the development of musty odors?

Again, there’ll always be those who say that they followed Good Housekeeping's advise and washed their substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows.

And “they came out just fine”.

The only question is this:

What’s your definition of “just fine”?

“Fine” as in "like new"?  

Or “fine” as in "just passable"?