Pricing
You pay us for our 6 Step cleaning and refurbishment process and certified pillow shell materials. Not for markups or kickbacks to third parties.
At WHITE KNIGHT pillowCARE, we focus on serving you directly – where ever you may reside in the US. You're paying us for our 6 step PillowPure cleaning and refurbishment process and our certified pillow shells (aka tickings or casings).
More specifically, you're NOT paying for any:
(a) mark up on the price charged to the dry cleaner, linen store or “pillow refurbishing” service by an UNDISCLOSED subcontractor.
(b) commission (aka kick back) received by the dry cleaner, linen store or “pillow refurbishing” service for referring you to a DISCLOSED subcontractor.
At WHITE KNIGHT pillowCARE, we cut out all markups and commissions paid to middlemen.
We don't add a price mark up based on what an UNDISCLOSED subcontractor charged us to do the work.
At WHITE KNIGHT pillowCARE, we do our own work. We don't employ subcontractors.
Because most dry cleaners don't do their own work, they add a mark up (think: handling charge) to the price charged to them by their undisclosed subcontractor and that artificially inflates the final price to you.
Say, the subcontractor charges $20 per pillow. The dry cleaner, linen store or “pillow refurbishing” service then adds, say, $25 per pillow as a Middleman markup and charges you $45 per pillow.
What's more, by using undisclosed subcontractors, they are consciously ceding control over the quality of the “cleaning” processes employed and the quality of the exterior/outer pillow shells used – all without informing you of that fact.
If, after your pillows were returned to you, you were to query any aspect of the refurbishment process, who would you approach? The dry cleaner, linen store or “pillow refurbishing” service or the undisclosed subcontractor?
Say "hello” to the blame game.
The mark up not only leads to higher prices. It also leads to compromised cleaning processes and inferior materials.
Imagine, for a moment, that a “pillow refurbishing” service decides that it’s time to expand their client base. And assume that they conclude that the fastest way to build unit volume would be to target other dry cleaners.
In order get these dry cleaners to switch from their current subcontractor (most dry cleaners do not “clean” their own pillows), they’d have to offer these dry cleaners the opportunity to earn an even greater mark up than that offered by their current, low cost subcontractor.
The only way a “pillow refurbishing” service could afford to provide these dry cleaners with this greater mark up would be for them to severely cut their own costs – and that would mean compromising the quality of their “cleaning” processes employed and the quality of the exterior/outer pillow shells used.
Stated another way, when you entrust your down and down/feather pillows to a dry cleaner who employs an undisclosed subcontractor, the dry cleaner wins, the undisclosed subcontractor wins, and you loose.
We don't receive commissions (aka kick backs) for referring you to DISCLOSED subcontractors
In a variation of this theme, linen stores and pillow manufacturers will often refer you to a “pillow refurbishment” service in return for a commission (aka kick back).
They'll give you the name of a “pillow refurbishment” service and provide you with a form to use. That form has a code identifying them as the source of the referral and is the basis for their eligibility to receive a commissions (aka kick backs) from the disclosed subcontractor.
The commissions (aka kickbacks) not only leads to higher prices. It also leads to compromised cleaning processes and inferior materials.
Imagine, for a moment, that a “pillow refurbishing” service decides that it’s time to expand their client base. The fastest way to build unit volume would be to target linen stores and pillow manufacturers – nationwide.
Recognizing that these linen stores were not offering “pillow refurbishment” services to their clients and that most pillow manufacturers had ceased offering pillow refurbishment services on their own brands of pillows, some “pillow refurbishment” services offer these linen stores and pillow manufacturers the opportunity to earn a commissions (aka kick backs) on every referral to them.
The only way a “pillow refurbishing” service can afford to provide these linen stores and pillow manufacturers these commissions is to severely cut their own costs – and that would mean compromising the quality of the “cleaning” processes employed and the quality of the exterior/outer pillow shells used.
Stated another way, when you entrust your down and down/feather mix bed pillows based on a “referral” from a linen store or pillow manufacturer to a disclosed subcontractor, the linen store wins, the pillow manufacturer wins, the disclosed subcontractor wins, and you loose.
It's quite easy to recognize when commissions (aka kick backs) from a disclosed subcontractor is involved:
Consider this statement from a linen store:
“Also, when necessary or desirable, cleaning your down-filled product should be performed by a professional cleaner experienced with these products. We recommend that you arrange for cleaning through us (emphasis added). Please contact …...”
And consider this statement from a pillow manufacturer:
"Our reconditioning service is no longer available.We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. In order to keep our employees safe during the pandemic, we will be concentrating our efforts on new products.....If you would like to send your pillows to a third party for washing, please contact us for details."
Summary
When you entrust your substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows to WHITE KNIGHT pillowCARE, you’re paying solely for:
- our 6 Step cleaning and refurbishment process, and
- our certified pillow shell materials.
Not for a mark up on the price charged to the dry cleaner, linen store or “pillow refurbishing” service by an UNDISCLOSED subcontractor.
And not a commission (aka kick back) received by the dry cleaner, linen store or “pillow refurbishing” service for referring
you to a DISCLOSED subcontractor.
Pricing - Pillows that are substantially down
Please note: These prices include both the cleaning (de-bed bugging, de-dust miting, de-dusting, sanitizing and deodorizing) of your down fill and a brand new 300 thread count, certified pillow shell.
Unlike some dry cleaners and “pillow refurbishment” services, we don't charge one price (say, $40) to “machine wash” your down pillow and an additional price (say, $30) for a new, low thread count, uncertified pillow shell.
What does “substantially down”mean?
We use the term “substantially comprised of down” because there is no such thing as a bed pillow that’s “100% down”, “pure down” or “all down”.
That's a scientific fact.
Even with today’s rigorous processing methods, it is virtually impossible for a down and feather processor to produce down that doesn’t contain even a small amount of goose or duck feather.
Because there is no such thing as “100% down”, “pure down” or “all down”, it’s important to understand the concept of Net Down Content when you’re purchasing any product that contains down.
Because we know that the pillow can’t be 100% down, you should focus on the Net Down Content of the product.
Is the product 75% down (and up to 25% goose or duck feathers)? Or 80% down (and up to 20% goose or duck feathers)? Or 90% down (and up to 10% goose or duck feathers)?
In general terms, the higher the Net Down Content, the higher the quantity of the down in the pillow.
In our opinion, about 90% Net Down Content – Canadian, Hungarian or Polish – is probably the best that you can hope to purchase.
Guaranteed weights of down added
If you desire to add additional down to your pillow after cleaning, WHITE KNIGHT pillowCARE guarantees that you'll get what you pay for.
In other words, if you desire to add 4.3 ounces of down to your down bed pillow, we guarantee that you'll get exactly 4.3 oz and you'll only pay for 4.3 oz.
How can we make this guarantee? Because we don't guess at weights and we don't use non-calibrated kitchen-like scales.
Quite the opposite: The weight of the down added is measured on a Mettler Toledo IND570 laboratory-quality scale. Mettler Toledo is the gold standard of laboratory-quality scales. Furthermore, our Mettler Toledo scale is professionally calibrated on an annual basis by Southwestern Scale Company, Phoenix, Arizona.
Pricing - Pillows that are a down/feather mix
Please note: These prices include both the cleaning (de-bed bugging, de-dust miting, de-dusting, sanitizing and deodorizing) of your down fill and a brand new 300 thread count certified pillow shell.
Unlike some dry cleaners and “pillow refurbishment” services, we don't charge one price (say, $40) to “machine wash” your down pillow and an additional price (say, $30) for a new, low thread count pillow shell.
What does “down/feather mix” mean?
We use the term “down and feather mix” because it is obvious (before the fill is removed from the pillow shell) or will become obvious (after the fill is eventually removed from the pillow shell) that the fill is a down and feather mix rather than substantially down.
Why obvious?
Here are some clues:
The manufacturer’s original tag is still present.
The tag will identify the contents. For example, the tag might say something like “75% goose down/ 25% goose feathers”.
All things being equal, the more down in a pillow relative to feathers, the better the quality of the pillow.
For example, a pillow that is 90% Canadian goose down/10% Canadian goose feathers is superior to a pillow that’s 50% Canadian goose down/50% Canadian goose feathers, assuming that the fill power of the down in both pillows is identical.
On the other hand, a pillow that is 50% Canadian duck down/50% Canadian duck feathers, is, in all likelihood, superior to a pillow that is 90% Chinese duck down/10% Chinese duck feathers, because Chinese down is, typically, low fill power down.
Warning: When it comes to the accuracy of pillow tags, what you read is not always what you get. We’ve seen pillows described on the tag as 90% down/10% feathers that are more like 50% down and 50% feather and pillows described on the tag as 75% down/25% feathers that are more like 25% down/75% feathers.
The manufacturer’s original tag is missing or unreadable.
If the tag is missing or unreadable, grab a corner of the pillow and rub the pillow between your thumb and forefinger.
- If the fill feels soft, the pillow’s probably mostly goose or duck down and some goose or duck feathers.
- If the fill feels slightly stiff, the pillow’s probably mostly goose or duck feather and some goose or duck down. That slight stiffness you feel is probably the quill of goose or duck feather.
- If the fill feels really stiff, who knows what you have in there!
Warning: If you have a "chambered" or "core" pillow, and you rub a corner of the pillow between your thumb and forefinger, the pillow might feel soft because it has a 1/2 to 1 inch layer of down surrounding a feather-filled chamber in the middle of the pillow (think: feather pillow in the center of a down pillow). Only when the pillow is cut open, however, will the feather-filled chamber in the middle of the pillow be revealed.
Pricing – Additional charge for supplying additional down for more firmness or support
You may wish to add down to any of your pillows in order to provide additional support or firmness.
For example, you may wish to convert an 18 ounce (medium), substantially down standard pillow into a 22 ounce (firm), substantially down standard pillow by adding 6 ounces of additional down.
Our prices for adding down to any of your pillows is based on your choice of the following fills:
We only offer Canadian down
Our supplier, Feather Industries (Canada) Limited, the largest producer of down and feathers in Canada, has a 70 year history of integrity in an industry where the standards of ethical business practices are, quite often, questionable.
They guarantee the geographical point of origin, waterfowl species (goose or duck), net down content, fill power and cleanliness (as measured by Turbidity Value and Oxygen Number) of every ounce of down we buy from them.
Furthermore, the Hutterite colonies in the Canadian Prairie states of Alberta and Saskatchewan produce some of the finest down in the world.
The Hutterites raise their geese and ducks in vast fields where they range free and are fed a diet of wheat and barley – until they are large and mature.
In general terms, large, mature birds produce large down clusters (ironically, each piece of down is called a "down cluster"). The larger the down clusters in a pillow, the higher the down will loft when compressed and then released. The higher the loft, he higher the quality of the down.
We don't offer “European” down
Unlike other dry cleaners and “pillow refurbishment” services in the USA, we don’t offer “European” down.
Why?
Because “European down” like a Cracker Jack box. You never know what you’ll find inside.
Let's explain...
First, there's no such thing as “European” down. “European down” is not a true country/point of origin.
Only specific countries — Hungary or Poland — are true points of origin.
Second, it's often difficult to identify the true point of origin of “European” down.
After extensive research into a number of the available sources of European down (primarily Hungarian and Polish), we have found it difficult to consistently determine that the down being offered was, in fact, harvested in the country represented to be the true point of origin.
In other words, was the “Hungarian” down actually harvested in Hungary and the “Polish” down actually harvested in Poland?
Or is the down a blend of down harvested in different countries and then represented to be either Hungarian or Polish?
The water is further muddied by the fact that a growing percentage of the down harvested in Europe is trans-shipped to China for washing and sanitizing.
Bottom line: When you buy “European” down, who really knows what you're getting?
We don’t offer Chinese down
Unlike other dry cleaners and “pillow refurbishment” services, we don’t offer Chinese down.
Why?
Because there is a huge qualitative difference between Chinese down and Canadian, Hungarian or Polish down.
Chinese down is typically small cluster, low fill power (i.e., low loft), possibly marginally clean down harvested from young, immature birds and is typically found in pillows offered by known and unknown discount retailers.
Warning: If your “pillow refurbishment” service does not identify the true point of origin and does not provide the technical specifications of the down and/or feathers they use, then, in all likelihood, they’re using cheap, low fill power (i.e., low loft), possibly marginally clean, Chinese down and/or feathers.
After all, if they were supplying Canadian, Hungarian or Polish down and/or feathers, wouldn’t they have trumpeted that fact and provided you with documentary proof as to their origin?
Where are the feathers?
At WHITE KNIGHT pillowCARE, we don’t supply feathers.
Relative to down, feathers are a cheap, low quality product.
So we don’t carry an inventory of feathers.
Think of this as WHITE KNIGHT pillowCARE's down only "guarantee".
No feathers means, that, unlike some dry cleaners and “pillow refurbishment” services, we won't substitute feathers – even very small, fluffy goose and duck feathers – for down should you request more down for additional firmness or support.
We don't add down to down/feather mix bed pillows
Were you to consider adding down to a down/feather mix bed pillow, we'd ask you to reconsider the idea.
Why?
Because down is expensive and feathers are relatively cheap. And because a substantially down bed pillow will loft when the pillow is "plumped up" and a down/feather mix bed pillow can never loft when "plumped up" And that's because feathers can't loft.
In other words, you'll probably notice no difference in the loft of a down/feather mix bed pillow if you added a few ounces of down to that pillow. Adding 4 ounces of down (at a minimum price of $7.50/ounce) will not change the loft of a down/feather mix bed pillow. So why spend the money?
Of course, if you insisted, we'll be more than happy to honor that request.
Not sure which grade of down to choose?
In general, you might want to consider Canadian Hutterite white goose or duck down for your more expensive, high quality pillows.
And you might determine that Canadian white duck down is more than adequate for pillows that were less expensive.
Here’s one other consideration…
Even if your pillows are relatively expensive/high quality, you might conclude that adding a small amount of Canadian white duck down (a relatively high quality product in it’s own right) is “good enough”, particularly if the number of ounces to be added is small relative to the total weight of the pillow.
Let's say you’re considering adding 3 ounces of down to your expensive/high quality, 20 ounce standard substantially down pillow. In this case, you might conclude that adding high quality Canadian white duck down to your more expensive down, will provide the additional firmness and support you desire – but without the higher cost of Canadian Hutterite goose or duck down.
Here's another perspective on the cost differential: Were you to add 3 ounces of Canadian white duck down to your expensive/high quality, 20 ounce standard substantially down pillow, you'll notice a distinct difference in firmness with no perceptible difference in the quality of that firmness.
Of course, if you insist on adding Canadian Hutterite white goose or duck down to your pillow, we'll be more than happy to honor that request.
Not sure how much down is required to provide you with additional support?
There are a number of ways to approach this issue.
We could ask you to assess the level of support you require in your pillows – soft, medium and firm – based on your preferred sleeping position.
The internet is overflowing with information to help you assess the level of support you require based on whether you sleep on your stomach, back or side.
We find that none of this information -- while marginally useful -- rarely helps clients figure out the “right” level of support for them.
Experience tells us that most clients find the following approach to be best:
- Identify your “favorite” pillow – the one that you feel provides the best comfort and support.
- Write “favorite” on the outside of the pillow.
- Send in your favorite pillow together with any other pillows.
- Upon receipt of your pillows, we'll weigh the fill (this is known as the net fill weight) in your favorite pillow, compare the net fill weight in your favorite pillow to the weights in the following table of “standard/average net fill weights” and then call you to discuss your needs.
Based on this discussion, we'll guide you to the right decision on all your pillows.
When you view the net fill weights in the table above, please bear the following in mind:
- These net fill weights ONLY APPLY bed pillows that are substantially down
- These weights DO NOT APPLY to bed pillows that are a down and feathers mix.
And the reason?
Because “standard/average net fill weights” for a pillow that’s contains a down/feather mix does not exist.
Why?
- Because the species of feathers in your pillow – goose and duck (water fowl), chicken and turkey (land fowl), size of the feathers in your pillow, the weight of the feathers in your pillow relative to the down content, and the percentage of feathers relative to down in your pillow can vary dramatically from one pillow to the next.
- Degree of firmness is determined by weight. For pillows that are substantially comprised of down, firmness is determined by how many ounces of down are stuffed into the pillow. For a specific size of pillow, say a standard pillow, the more ounces of down in the pillow, the firmer the pillow.
- Weights are averages. These fill weights are average weights used by manufacturers of bed pillows that are substantially comprised of down. There is no “industry standard” when it comes to fill weights for pillows that are a down/feather mix.
- Fill power is unrelated to fill weight. An 850 fill power standard substantially down pillow weighing 18 ounces is not firmer than a 650 fill power standard substantially down pillow weighing 18 ounces. (But the 850 fill power standard pillow will certainly loft more and last longer than the 650 fill power pillow).
In the above discussion, we identified our approach to helping you determine the “ideal” net fill weights for your substantially down bed pillows.
This approach is based on the fact that there are, for all practical purposes, no guidelines to follow – apart from your own judgement as to what’s best for you.
Suggestion
If you're shipping multiple pillows to us and you’re confident that one of those pillows is your “favorite”, write a note on that pillow with a black marker. For example:
- “this is my favorite”
- “this is my favorite but could be a little firmer”
- “this is my favorite but it could be a little softer”.
Notes like this are a big help. This way, when we call you, we can intelligently discuss your needs and advise you as to the results you can reasonably expect.
Pricing - $7.50 additional charge for adjusting the weight of your pillows
If we are involved in changing the weight of any pillow (other than where changing the weight involves supplying additional down), there is a $7.50 additional weight adjustment charge for each pillow returned to you.
As weight adjustment is accomplished by hand, this additional charge partially compensates for the time involved in adjusting the weights.
Example #1
You send in a single standard down or down/feather pillow. You request that we refurbish that pillow using all the the original fill – after cleaning – in that pillow.
We return a single standard pillow to you.
Because we are not involved in changing the original weight of the pillow, there is no additional $7.50 weight adjustment charge.
When you complete your Inventory of Items Sent form (that's part of the Clean By Mail form), please state that you want us to return a standard pillow using all the original fill – after cleaning – from that standard pillow.
Example #2
You send in a single queen down or down/feather pillow. You request that we convert that queen pillow into a standard pillow using all the original fill – after cleaning – in that queen pillow.
We return a single standard pillow to you.
Because we are not involved in changing the original weight of the pillow, there is no additional $7.50 weight adjustment charge.
When you complete your Inventory of Items Sent form (that's part of the Clean By Mail form), please state that you want us to convert that queen pillow into a standard pillow using all the original fill – after cleaning – from that queen pillow.
Example #3
You send in 2 queen down or down/feather pillows. You request that we convert the 2 queen pillows into 2 standard pillows of equal weight using all the original fill – after cleaning – from those 2 queen pillows.
We return 2 standard pillows to you.
Because we are involved in changing the original weight of the pillows, there is an additional weight adjustment charge of $7.50 per pillow ($15.00 for 2 pillows).
When you complete your Inventory of Items Sent form (that's part of the Clean By Mail form), please state that you want us to convert the 2 queen pillows into 2 standard pillows of equal weight using all the original fill – after cleaning – from those 2 queen pillows.
Example #4
You send in 3 standard down and 2 queen and 1 king down/feather pillows. You request that we convert those 6 pillows into 2 standard pillows of equal weight and 2 queen pillows of equal weight using all the the original fill from those pillows.
We return 2 standard and 2 queen pillows to you.
Because we are involved in changing the original weight of the pillows, there is an additional weight adjustment charge of $7.50 per pillow ($30.00 for 4 pillows).
When you complete your Inventory of Items Sent form (that's part of the Clean By Mail form), please state that you want us to convert those 6 pillows into 2 standard pillows of equal weight and 2 queen pillows of equal weight using all the the original fill – after cleaning – from those pillows.
In this example, please understand that we can either:
- mix all the down and all the down/feather mix together so that you will end up with 2 standard pillows of equal weight and 2 queen pillows of equal weight but that they’ll all be a mix of down and feather, or
- mix (a) all the down together and (b) mix all the feather together and then determine how we can best return 2 standard and 2 queen pillows that are either (a) substantially down only or (b) a mix of down/feather only.
Example #5
You send in a single king down or down/feather pillow weighing 26 ounces.
You request that we refurbish that pillow using all the the original fill – after cleaning – in that pillow. Further, you request that we add new Canadian down to your original, cleaned fill so as to bring the total net weight of the king pillow to 30 ounces.
We return a king pillow to you.
Although there has been a change in the weight of the pillow, there is no additional weight adjustment charge because we are not involved in changing the original weight of of the fill other than supplying additional duck down.
When we supply and add any new down to your original fill, we do not regard that as “involvement in changing the original weight of your pillow fill”. We are partially compensated for that additional effort by charging for the new down at our standard rates.
When you complete your Inventory of Items Sent form (that's part of the Clean By Mail form), please state that you want us to:
- refurbish that pillow using all the the original fill – after cleaning – in that pillow and
- add new down to your original, cleaned fill so as to bring the total weight of the king pillow to 30 ounces.
If you adding down, you also need to specify the quality of the down to be used – Canadian Hutterite goose down, Canadian Hutterite duck down or regular Canadian duck down.
If you don't specify the quality of the down to be used, we'll call you to discuss the relative advantage or disadvantage of using a specific quality of down for a specific pillow.
Example #6
You send in 1 king, 2 queen and 3 standard down pillows.
You request that we convert those 6 pillows into 2 standard pillows each weighing 22 ounces and 2 queen pillows of each weighing 26 ounces using all the the original fill from those 6 pillows.
Further, you request that we supply and add new Canadian down to your original, cleaned fill should those 6 pillows not yield at least 96 ounces of clean down.
We return 2 standard and 2 queen pillows to you.
Because we are involved in changing the original weight of the pillows, there is an additional weight adjustment charge of $7.50 per pillow ($30.00 for 4 pillows) plus the cost the new Canadian down at our standard rates.
When you complete your Inventory of Items Sent form (that's part of the Clean By Mail form), please identify the fact that you want us to:
- convert those 6 pillows into 2 standard pillows each weighing 22 ounces and 2 queen pillows of each weighing 26 ounces using all the the original fill from those 6 pillows and
- add new Canadian down to your original, cleaned fill should those 6 pillows not yield at least 96 ounces of clean down.
If you adding down, you also need to specify the quality of the down to be used – Canadian Hutterite goose down, Canadian Hutterite duck down or regular Canadian duck down.
If you don't specify the quality of the down to be used, we'll call you to discuss the relative advantage or disadvantage of using a specific quality of down for a specific pillow.
Pricing - $7.50 additional charge for pillow resizing, pillow consolidations and pillow splits
When it comes to pillow resizing, pillow consolidations and pillow splits, the combinations are endless. You’re only limited by your imagination and your needs.
Whatever course of action you pursue, you only pay for:
- the final pillow(s) we produce
- for any adjustment made to the weight of the pillow(s) – where we don’t supply the additional down, and
- for any new down that’s added to your pillow(s) – where we do supply additional down
Pillow resizing
Definition: This is where one size of pillow is changed into a different size of pillow WITHOUT ANY CHANGE in weight of the final pillow.
Example #1
You have a “jumbo” pillow (20 x 28) that's either substantially down or a down/feather mix. So it's not a standard (20 x 26) or a queen (20 x 30).
Let’s assume that you are considering refurbishing this “jumbo” pillow.
In this case, you need to make an election: to refurbish this “jumbo” pillow to either a standard or a queen.
In this example, we would charge you for 1 standard pillow that's substantially down or a down/feather mix. Or 1 queen pillow that's substantially down or a down/feather mix.
You need to make that choice: standard or queen.
Because we are not involved in changing the original weight of the pillows (you're getting either a standard or a queen), there is no additional weight adjustment charge.
When you complete your Inventory of Items Sent form (that's part of the Clean By Mail form), please identify the pillow you want returned: standard or queen.
Example #2
Let’s assume that you have 1 queen pillow that you are considering refurbishing.
The pillow is substantially down and has a net fill weight of 20 ounces (net fill weight is the weight of the fill and excludes the weight of the existing pillow shell).
Let’s further assume that you want to resize this queen pillow into a standard pillow.
In this example, we would charge you for 1 standard pillow that’s substantially down.
Because we are not involved in changing the original weight of the pillow, there is no additional weight adjustment charge.
When you complete your Inventory of Items Sent form (that's part of the Clean By Mail form), please identify the fact that you want one queen pillow resized to one standard pillow.
Pillow consolidation (2 or more pillows consolidated into 1)
Definition: This is where 2 or more pillows are consolidated into 1 pillow WITHOUT ANY CHANGE in weight of the resultant pillow.
Let’s assume that you have 2 standard pillows that you are considering refurbishing.
Both are substantially down. One has a net fill weight of 14 ounces and one has a net fill weight of 18 ounces.
Let’s further assume that you want to combine these 2 standard pillows into 1 king size pillow.
In this example, we would charge you for 1 king size pillow that’s substantially down.
Because we are not involved in changing the original weight of the pillow, there is no additional weight adjustment charge.
When you complete your Inventory of Items Sent form (that's part of the Clean By Mail form), please identify the fact that you want your 2 standard pillows consolidated into 1 king pillow.
Pillow consolidation (2 or more pillows consolidated into 2 or more)
Definition: This is where 2 or more pillows are consolidated into 2 or more pillows WITH A CHANGE in weight of the resultant pillows.
Example #1
Let’s assume that you have 6 pillows that you are considering refurbishing: 3 of these pillows – 2 queen and 1 standard – are substantially down and 3 of these pillows –1 king and 2 standard – are a down/feather mix.
Let’s further assume that:
- your goal is to produce 2 standard pillows with a net fill weight of 20 ounces each and 2 queen pillows with a net fill weight of 28 ounces each, and
- that you are not averse to mixing all the available down and feathers so long as you achieve your 4 pillow goal.
In this example, we would charge you for 4 pillows (2 standard and 2 queen) that are a down/feather mix.
Because we are involved in changing the original weight of the pillows, there is an additional weight adjustment charge of $7.50 per pillow ($30.00 for 4 pillows).
When you complete your Inventory of Items Sent form (that's part of the Clean By Mail form), please identify the fact that you want your 6 pillows consolidated into 4 standard pillows: 2 standard pillows with a net fill weight of 20 ounces each and 2 queen pillows with a net fill weight of 28 ounces each and that we can mix all the available down and feathers to achieve your 4 pillow goal.
Example #2
Let’s assume that you have 6 pillows that you are considering refurbishing: 3 of these pillows – 2 queen and 1 standard – are substantially down and 3 of these pillows –1 king and 2 standard – are clearly a down/feather mix.
Let’s further assume that:
- your goal is to produce with 2 standard pillows that are substantially down with a net fill weight of 20 ounces each and 2 queen pillows that are a down/feather mix with a net fill weight of 28 ounces each, and
- that you do not want to mix all the available down and feathers so long as you achieve your 4 pillow goal.
In this example, we would charge you for 4 pillows (2 standard that are substantially down and 2 queen that are a down/feather mix).
Because we are involved in changing the original weight of the pillows, there is an additional weight adjustment charge of $7.50 per pillow ($30.00 for 4 pillows).
When you complete your Inventory of Items Sent form (that's part of the Clean By Mail form), please identify the fact that you want your 6 pillows consolidated into 4 standard pillows: 2 standard pillows that are substantially down with a net fill weight of 20 ounces each and 2 queen pillows that are a down/feather mix with a net fill weight of 28 ounces each.
Pillow splits (1 pillow split into 2 or more pillows)
Definition: This is where 1 pillow gets split into 2 or more pillows WITH A CHANGE in weight of the resultant pillows.
Let’s assume that you have 1 king pillow that you are considering refurbishing. The pillow is clearly a down/feather mix and has a net fill weight of 36 ounces.
Let’s further assume that you want to split this pillow to 2 standard pillows with a net fill weight of approximately 18 ounces each.
In this example, we would charge you for 2 standard pillows that are clearly a down/feather mix.
Because we are involved in changing the original weight of the pillows, there is an additional weight adjustment charge of $7.50 per pillow ($15.00 for 2 pillows).
When you complete your Inventory of Items Sent form (that's part of the Clean By Mail form), please identify the fact that you want your 1 king pillow split into 2 standard pillows.
Excess down and/or feathers resulting from pillow resizing, combinations or splits
If, during the course of resizing, combining or splitting your bed pillows, any excess down or down/feather fill remains, we can, on request, return the excess fill to you in a sealed plastic bag as we cannot reuse your down or down/feather fill for any other purpose, notwithstanding the fact that it's been de-mited, denatured, de-dusted, sanitized and deodorized.
If you do not wish us to return the excess down and/or feathers, please let us know. We will dispose of that fill in an appropriate manner. Your down and feathers are biodegradable and will be sent to the landfill.
Pricing - $25.00 additional charge for customizing the size of our existing pillow shells
We offer 4 sizes of pillow shells:
- 20 x 26 (standard)
- 20 x 30 (queen)
- 20 x 36 (king)
- 26 x 26 (European)
- 12 x 16 (travel/boudoir)
On occasion, we encounter a custom-made pillow, that’s, say, 20 x 33.
In that case, we can customize one of our pillow shells (a 20 x 36 pillow shell) to your exact custom specifications for an additional charge of $25.00 per pillow shell.
When you complete your Inventory of Items Sent form (that's part of the Clean By Mail form), please identify the fact that the pillow has been custom made to non-standard measurements and that you would like us to retain those exact measurements.
Pricing - $7.50 additional charge for “chambered” or “core” pillows with stiff, large quilled feathers
“Chambered pillows” or “core pillows” need to be considered on their individual merits.
There are 3 types of chambered or core pillows:
Type 1 – the core pillow is soft down
These chambered or core pillows wrap an outer layer of “high quality” goose or duck down (typically Canadian, Hungarian or Polish) around an inner chamber of “poor to moderate quality down” (typically Chinese duck down).
When this pillow is eventually cut open in our facility to remove the fill, you’ll end up with a pillow that’s substantially down.
There is no additional charge for Type 1 chambered or core pillows.
Type 2 - the core pillow is fluffy, soft quilled feathers
These chambered or core pillows wrap an outer layer of down (providing the softness) around an inner chamber of fluffy, soft quilled goose or duck feathers (providing light support).
When this pillow is eventually cut open in our facility to remove the fill, you’ll end up with a pillow that’s clearly substantially down.
There’s no additional charge for Type 2 chambered or core pillows.
Type 3 – the core pillow is stiff, large quilled feathers
These chambered or core pillows wrap an outer layer of down (providing the softness) around an inner chamber of large feathers (providing firm support).
When this pillow is eventually cut open in our facility to remove the fill, you’ll end up with a pillow that’s a down/feather mix.
There’s a $7.50 additional labor charge for Type 3 chambered or core pillows as the mix needs to be hand stuffed into your new pillow shell.
No sales tax in Arizona
There is no sales tax on pillow refurbishment services in Arizona.
And we charge no sales tax on orders shipped throughout the USA.
Prices are subject to change without notice
We reserve the right to adjust prices – up or down – in response to changed circumstances.
We will, however, honor all prices reflected on this website that were in effect on the day you dropped them off at our facility or on the day you shipped your pillows to us.
For example, if you dropped off your pillows on the 28th of a particular month and the price went up on 1st of the following month, we will honor the price in effect on the day you dropped off your pillows.
If you shipped us your pillows on the 28th of a particular month and the price went down on the 1st of the following month, we will honor the price in effect on the day you shipped your pillows.
What you need to know about prices at other “pillow cleaning services”
There are basically 3 categories of “pillow refurbishment” service providers that “clean and refurbish” bed pillows:
Low-priced “pillow cleaning services”
Low-priced “pillow cleaning services” are typically offered by almost every local dry cleaner and provided by someone with a truck and an extension cord parked in the alley behind your dry cleaner's place of business.
Their prices range from $10 to $20 per pillow for a standard, queen or king pillow and your local dry cleaner then adds a $10 mark up as a “handling fee”.
The only way these low-priced “pillow cleaning services” can cut prices to this level is to drastically cut corners:
- in the quality of the cleaning process,
- in the quality of the pillow shells they use, and
- in the quality of the supplementary fill they use should you request additional firmness or support for your pillows.
Typically, that “process” will involve:
- a time-abbreviated “clean”
- a cheap, striped/patterned, white or colored, cardboard-textured, 180 to 210 thread count pillow shells, and
- cheap down or feathers of unknown quality from an unknown source (but most probably Chinese) should you request additional firmness or support for your pillows.
What’s more, they don’t offer important auxiliary services designed to return pillows customized to your personal preferences. Such as pillow weight equalizations, pillow re-sizings, pillow consolidations and pillow splits.
Bottom line:
The information provided (what they do, how they do it and why they do it that way) is purposefully vague and minimal, so you really have no idea what you’re getting and what you’re actually paying for.
Mid-priced “pillow cleaning services”
Mid-priced “pillow cleaning services” are offered by a handful of dry cleaners who are a cut above your local dry cleaner.
Their prices range from $50 to $70 per pillow for a standard, queen or king pillow.
The only way these mid-priced “pillow cleaning services” can charge these much higher prices is by unbundling their pillow refurbishment service offering, charging different prices for each separate component of the pillow cleaning and refurbishment process.
For example, they charge:
- one price for “machine washing” the fill (anywhere from $40 to $60)
- another price for supplying a new pillow shell (anywhere from $30 to $40)
- another price for adding down or feathers of unknown quality to your pillow should you request additional firmness or support for your pillows.
What’s more, they don’t offer important auxiliary services designed to return pillows customized to your personal preferences. Such as pillow weight equalizations, pillow re-sizings, pillow consolidations and pillow splits.
Bottom line:
Although the information provided (what they do, how they do it and why they do it that way) is just marginally better than the low-priced “pillow cleaning services”, the cost per pillow quickly accumulates to anywhere from $50 to $70 per pillow.
High-priced “pillow cleaning services”
High-priced “pillow cleaning services” are offered by very few brand name pillow manufacturers (most brand name pillow manufacturers ceased offering pillow refurbishment services during Covid).
Their prices range from $95 to $135 per pillow for a standard, queen or king pillow.
The only problem is that they will only refurbish their own brand of pillow.
What’s more, they don’t offer important auxiliary services designed to return pillows customized to your personal preferences. Such as pillow weight equalizations, pillow re-sizings, pillow consolidations and pillow splits.
Aside:
In the past, quite a number of brand name pillow manufacturers offered this service at prices which were higher than the mid-priced “pillow cleaning services” but still quite reasonable for the service offered.
Post Covid, most of these brand name pillow manufacturers have discontinued this service. And those who still offer this service have raised their prices dramatically so as to discourage potential clients from using their service.
Their position seems clear: Raise prices dramatically, refurbish far fewer pillows, but produce as much or even greater revenue than pre-Covid.
Bottom line:
Although the information provided (what they do, how they do it and why they do it that way), is substantially better than the low-priced or mid-priced “pillow cleaning services”, their prices are typically way too high and their turnaround time is typically way too long for most clients.
What more you need to know about prices at other “pillow cleaning services”
The 3 categories of “pillow cleaning services” identified above (low-priced, mid-sized and high-priced “pillow cleaning services”) have a number of common traits:
They are all purposely vague about the cleaning processes they employ to do 4 things:
- kill the bed bugs and bed bug eggs in your down and down/feather fill,
- kill the dust mites in your down and down/feather fill,
- significantly denature (or deactivate) the allergy-inducing Der f 1/Der p 1 protein allergens in the dust mite feces in your down and down/feather fill, and
- de-dust, sanitize and deodorize the down and down/feather fill.
Fact is, not only are they vague about killing the bed bugs and dust mites and significantly denaturing the Der f 1/Der p 1 protein allergens in the fill, but they skip the first 3 of these 4 cleaning processes completely.
This begs the question: if they’re only completing one-quarter of the cleaning process, shouldn’t they be charging one-quarter of the price?
They don’t disclose the quality specifications of the pillow shells they use
None of their claims relating to the pillow shells used are backed by certifications issued by internationally-recognized, independent, authoritative organizations, such as
- International Down and Feather Testing Laboratory (Salt Lake City, Utah),
- Airmid Health Group (Dublin, Ireland), and
- Testex (Zurich, Switzerland).
In those rare instances where they do, in fact, discuss the “quality” of the pillow shells they use, you’ll only find purposely vague and minimal statements such as:
- “our pillow shells are the finest money can buy”
- “we use pillow shells with a high thread count”
- “our pillow shells are the same kind used in fine retail stores”
- “our pillow shells are the same kind used in 5 star hotels”.
Even – and wait for this – “Finest In The World” printed on the cheap, striped/patterned, white or colored, cardboard-textured, 180 to 210 thread count pillow shells available from almost every local dry cleaner.
They don’t disclose the true point of origin and quality of the down or feathers they use
They don’t disclose the true point of origin and quality specifications of the down or feathers they add to your pillows (should you request additional down for additional support).
Instead, you’ll find purposely vague and minimal references to:
- “the highest quality European down and feathers”
- “the finest blend of European down”
- “hand-plucked European down”
- “50/50 down and white feathers”
- “fluffy white goose down”
- “white curly feathers”
- “700-750 fill power down”
They even have references to “100% down”, “pure down” or “down”, a product that’s virtually impossible to produce on a commercial basis.
And let’s not forget those fanciful references to “100% Siberian white down”, a product that doesn’t even exist on a commercial basis.
Why? Because the Siberian Goose is an endangered species.
And what about the references to “European” down?
It's important to understand that “European down” like a Cracker Jack box. You never know what you’ll find inside.
Let's explain...
First, there's no such thing as “European” down. “European down” is not a true point of origin.
Only specific countries — Hungary or Poland — are true points of origin.
Second, it's often difficult to identify the true point of origin of “European” down.
After extensive research into a number of the available sources of European down (primarily Hungarian and Polish), we have found it difficult to consistently determine that the down being offered was, in fact, harvested in the country represented to be the true point of origin.
In other words, was the “Hungarian” down actually harvested in Hungary and the “Polish” down actually harvested in Poland?
Or is the down a blend of down harvested in different countries and then represented to be either Hungarian or Polish?
The water is further muddied by the fact that a growing percentage of the down harvested in Europe is trans-shipped to China for washing and sanitizing.
Bottom line: When you buy “European” down, who really knows what you're getting?
Furthermore, none of their claims relating to the quality of the down used to supplement your pillows are backed by certifications issued by internationally-recognized, independent, authoritative organizations and internationally-respected suppliers such as:
- International Down and Feather Testing Laboratory (Salt Lake City, Utah),
- Airmid Health Group (Dublin, Ireland),
- Testex (Zurich, Switzerland), and
- Feather Industries (Toronto, Canada).
Summary
At WHITE KNIGHT pillowCARE, we don’t rely on meaningless, unsupported statements.
Nor do we fabricate claims out of thin air to enhance the appeal of our pillow refurbishment service.
As with any service you buy, it’s important to know WHAT you’re paying.
But it’s even more important to know WHAT your paying FOR.
Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, WHITE KNIGHT pillowCARE is a division of RAVE FabriCARE, nationally recognized as one of the nation’s premier dry cleaners by non-compensated, independent, authoritative third parties.