How to Clean and Whiten Yellowed Pillows
In my experience, if you want to whiten dingy pillows, it’s not enough to wash yellow pillows in your washing machine with your usual detergent. I discovered this firsthand a long time ago, but I was unwilling to admit defeat, and kept trying to figure out how to whiten yellow pillows until I found a method that worked!
I’ll share that method with you in this post, so you’ll know how to clean yellow pillows and restore them to a whiter, brighter state. It isn’t that difficult to do, but it does require a combination of cleaning agents to break down those stubborn yellow stains.
To clean yellow pillows, you’ll add a cup of powdered laundry detergent, a cup of powdered dishwasher detergent, a cup of bleach (or bleach alternative) and half of a cup of borax to a washing machine or bathtub full of very hot water. After soaking the pillows for at least an hour, you’ll wash and dry the pillows as usual.
Related: The One Thing You Need to Do Before Switching to Lighter Bedding
This is one of my most popular blog posts, so I’m far from the only one who’s enthusiastic about this laundry hack! Read on for the complete step-by-step tutorial!
Why Do Pillows Turn Yellow?
Wondering why pillows turn yellow in the first place? That dingy yellow hue that bed pillows tend to develop over time is caused by the moisture they absorb while you sleep, including sweat, saliva, natural oils from your hair and skin, and even skin and hair product residues. It’s perfectly normal for pillows to turn yellow (if a bit gross), but I’m also glad there’s an easy way to restore them to cleaner state!
Here’s how it’s done.
How to Wash Yellow Pillows
You’ll need:
- 1 cup powdered laundry detergent
- 1 cup powdered dishwasher detergent
- 1 cup bleach (or bleach alternative)
- 1/2 cup borax
Related: 29 Surprisingly Brilliant Ways to Use Borax
Directions:
First, check the tag to make sure you can machine wash your pillow. (You can put most feather pillows, down pillows, and synthetic pillows in your washer, but it’s better to be safe than sorry!)
Remove the pillow case and pillow protector, if present.
Step 1 – Soak in Hot Water
The first step in the cleaning process is to soak your yellow pillow in hot water to give the cleaning agents a head start on dissolving those tough stains. (If you have a top-loading washing machine, you can do the soak right in your washer. For those with front-loading washers, or if your top-loader doesn’t have a soak function, you can do the soak in a separate container or your bathtub.)
Related: How to Clean Your Washing Machine
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Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil on your stovetop. Stir the laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, and borax into the boiling water, and stir until the powdered ingredients dissolve. (You could also pour the water into a bucket and then add the dry ingredients if you don’t want to mix cleaning ingredients inside a cooking pot.)
Once the powders have dissolved into the water, pour the water into your washer (or whatever you’re using to soak the pillows in), then add the bleach. Then let the pillows soak in the solution for at least 30 minutes (an hour or more is even better), flipping the pillows over about half-way through the soak time to make sure that they’re getting saturated on both sides.
Step 2 – Wash
Following the soak, wash the pillows in your washing machine on a normal hot water cycle. (Add an extra rinse, if your washer gives you the option.)
Step 3 – Dry
Finally, all that’s left to do is dry your pillows. A lot of people ask if you can dry pillows in the dryer, and most of the time, the answer is yes.
Down pillows should be dried on the “fluff” or “air” setting, while synthetic pillows can be dried on low heat. Add a couple of tennis balls or wool dryer balls to the dryer to help fluff the pillows as they dry.
Related: The One Extremely Simple Thing You Need to Do to Your Pillow
This “before and after” features a pillow that our Production Manager Brittany offered up as a test subject. As you can see, this method made a profound difference in the color and appearance of her pillow (and the difference was even more dramatic in person!)
FAQs About Whitening Yellow Pillows
Does this work for memory foam pillows?
Generally speaking yes, but be sure to check the tag. Keep in mind that memory foam will take much longer to dry, so be sure to give it plenty of time in the dryer on a low heat setting. If you want to dry it outside, make sure there is a nice breeze to provide plenty of opportunity for all that dense memory foam to air out.
Does this work for down feather pillows?
Definitely. Follow the same advice above for your down feather pillows—plenty of drying time on low heat. It’s best to put them in your dryer with a few dryer balls to help prevent the feathers from clumping as they dry. (Believe me, you don’t want to end up with a pillow full of hot, soggy clumps of feathers.
More Pillow Talk
Have you ever tried washing stained or yellow pillows?
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How To Whiten Yellow Pillows (Step by Step)
Video
Equipment
- Washing Machine
- Measuring Cup
Ingredients
- 1 cup powdered laundry detergent
- 1 cup powdered dishwasher detergent
- 1 cup bleach (or bleach alternative)
- 1/2 cup borax
Instructions
- Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil on your stovetop. Stir the laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, and borax into the boiling water, and stir until the powdered ingredients dissolve. (You could also pour the water into a bucket and then add the dry ingredients, if you don’t want to mix cleaning ingredients inside a cooking pot.)
- When the dry ingredients have dissolved into the water, pour the water into the washer (or wherever you’re soaking your pillows) along with the bleach. Then let the pillows soak in the water for about 30 minutes. You should also flip the pillows over about half-way through the soak, to make sure that they’re getting fully saturated.
- Following the soak, run the pillows through a full wash cycle in your washing machine. Select the 2nd rinse option, if possible.
- If you have down pillows, put them into your dryer on the “fluff” or “air” setting. Synthetic pillows can be dried on low heat. Add a couple of tennis balls or homemade dryer balls to the dryer to help fluff the pillows as they dry.
Bleach on a pillow amd breath that residue in nightly along with cascade DW powder???!!!
no way. Toxins. Toxins. Toxins.
This suggestion is so terrible it warranted a comment.
Breath these chemicals in nightly and I bet you will have more issues than you can ready.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.If you have chemical sensitivity issues you could rinse them again using hot water with vinegar and dry in the sun all day.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Or better yet, run them through another whole hot wash using just vinegar instead of adding soap and they’ll get double rinsed.
Of course, of you are very sensitive, you’d rather have slighty yellowed pillows and just wash in the ‘fragerance free’ laundry detergent and still probably double rinse! Either way, its better than buying a new pillow as they are fill of chemical residues from production.
Most recipes for whitening formulas do say to run through a second rinse & spin, or usually just do a full wash & rinse with water only. I think this will take care of any residue in the covers. Next time I try pillows & I will probably do this with them too.
If you have had sensitivities to other cleaners, I would probably do better to stick with simple detergents, but all types have many ingredients listed that only chemists could interpret. I cannot use Ajax dishwashing liquid or Dial soap with out an itchy skin reaction, but millions of people use them with no problem.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.There are no toxins if the stuff gets rinsed out. I have a water softener though and everything rinses clean with no smelly residue left. We are a fragrance free household, so I wouldn’t tolerate strong chemical smells.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Eliza, it is good to make people aware of the use of toxins in general (and not only toxic for humans, as the replies here suggest). But it is better to be precize.
I do not know exactly how bad Chlorine bleach etc is, but eg you cannot use it if you use natural enzymes in your water system.
As for Borax, just googling ‘Borax Toxic’ gives a very confusing collection of + and – suggestions ;-) Looks a bit weird below without the lay out. So indeed, carefully reading the links below should give a hint of how to CONSCIOUSLY use all these chemicals. And use neutral stuff if possible.
Getting to the Bottom of Borax: Is it Safe or Not? | Crunchy Betty
https://crunchybetty.com › Blog › Crunchy Home
Dec 4, 2017 – Borax is acutely toxic in the same manner that salt is (in rats, it’s 4500-5000 mg/kg of body weight, which is A LOT). Ingested in moderate …
Borax – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borax
Jump to Toxicity – All restrictions were removed in February 1986 due to the low toxicity of borax, as reported in two EPA documents relating to boric acid …
Is Borax Toxic? | Small Footprint Family
https://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/is-borax-toxic
Many people are concerned about whether borax is a safe chemical. There are many sites on the internet claiming it is toxic. I disagree with these sites and …
Is Borax Safe for Natural Cleaning? | Wellness Mama
Please log in or create a free account to comment.https://wellnessmama.com › Natural Home
Mar 10, 2018 – Sodium Borate. Both are used as natural pesticides, which is probably the reason for the misconception, but boric acid carries a risk for toxicity … etc etc
I just did some homework. Found this, clear and detailed. So bleach seems to be nasty stuff!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.https://wellnessmama.com/59871/avoid-chlorine-in-the-home/
The lady also reviews Borax and that is just relatively safe!
Here in the US they sell a chlorine-free bleach that uses Hydrogen Peroxide, I use this chlorine free bleach when ever bleach is needed. I, too, dislike the smell of chlorine bleach.
Might try that on my underpants.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.that really will be a test.
This worked well–in the end. BUT I think one might add that it helps a lot to squish the air out of pillows FIRST. I had a dreadful job submerging my pillows in the very hot water; they kept rising out of the brew like gassy belugas…. a nightmare that left me with bruises after fighting them down. Also they caused the washer to bump and bang during the spin cycle and I had to rearrange and disentangle them every two minutes. White and fresh results were a reward, I must say. Thanks for the recipe, which works a treat on yellowed laundry too.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Many newer washers have a recommendation to only use HE labeled liquid soap. How do we revise your formula to factor that into the mixture?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You still use your HE liquid soap. It is recommended you only use that KIND of soap to keep the amount of bubbles down. That doesn’t mean it’s the only thing you can add to get your clothes clean. I see how that could confuse people.
I add Oxclean liquid, borax, bleach, Dawn Blue dish detergentto a load of yellowed/greasy/smelly laundry and “cook” on the sanitary cycle. I do push the “extra dirty” and the “extra rinse” buttons.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This is one of my pet peeves. Pillows! Years ago I started tossing out pillows every Fall and spring. We spend at least 8 hours a day breathing into a pillow. Think of what seeps into a pillow at night besides hair oil. We wash down everything in the house to reduce the amount gems and forget the pillows. I have reduced the Colds in our house to almost none. And the Flu, no one has had that in years. I use to wash them but they were lumpy and not the same. You’d find a great pillow wash it and boom it’s ruined because it’s lumpy.
Well Thank you Jillee. The tennis balls tied up in old socks does the trick. No more Lumps. Your ideas give our pillows that fresh new look. Great Ideas.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This worked great! My husband’s pillow and pillowcases were saturated with hair wax. I’ve tried washing in hot water, but it did nothing. They still had that waxy feel. When I was done with this process, I couldn’t tell which pillowcases were the waxy ones! Plus, they smelled sooooo clean and fresh! I have a top loading washer. I only washed one pillow and filled the other side with two queen size sheets and four pillowcases to balance out the load. I had to babysit the spin cycles to make sure everything stayed balanced. It was a process, but well worth the time. I will definitely use this as my go to for washing pillows and cases! Thank you Jillee!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Do you drain the water from the Soak cycle before running a full wash cycle?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Is it possible to do this in a commercial machine? I don’t have a washer at home and go to the local laundrymat.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I washed two pillows in my fairly new Kenmore washer. The one pillo jammed between wall and spinner of washer. I had a hard time getting it out of washer. The other one ripped and the stuffing was all over. I was sure my washer was damaged but it was o.k. Thank goodness. The one pillow came out clean.
I was my queen size comforter with out problems. Twice a year. I don’t know if I’ll try pillows again maybe the laundry mat would be a better option.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.About how many pillows can you wash at once?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.It’s hard to squeeze in more than two.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Sometimes ONE PILLOW at a time is fine/better. You can put other items in the washer with the pillow, i.e., bedding/sheets, perhaps a twin size blanket, or even towels — they can be cleaned, too. But BLEACH is not a good idea for everything … even pillows. That’s my take on it. Also, every couple weeks just toss your pillows without the cases in the dryer. 20 minutes in the dryer can kill dust mites, etc. Will help freshen your pillows. Since they aren’t wet, your dryer will be adequate to do the job it’s meant to do.
Is there anything I could substitute for borax?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Can you do this with feather and down pillows? I have a really expensive one that has yellow stains,and would love to try it if you think it’d be ok?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks,Ann
Read the entire post again. It covers down pillows…
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Can I use the dishwasher (tablet) that I made from your recipe ?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Definitely!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m going to have to do this one of these days. I’m glad to know you can use the liquid detergent. I’m not crazy about that type of laundry detergent and would rather not have to buy it just for that. Besides the liquid tends to work better for me. Maybe its just the water where I live.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I forgot to mention that I soak every load, even the down pillows, for at least a half hour. I start the water, add the soap and vinegar right into the drum (not the dispenser), then add the clothes. I no longer use fabric softener, either, just the vinegar in the dispenser.
I’m positive it’s the vinegar that helps get everything so clean and odor-free. Vinegar and baking soda even remove pet stains and the odor.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I finally got around to washing our down pillows just the other day! Every time I changed the sheets and pillowcases, I was creeped out by the body oils and mites that I knew had set up housekeeping inside. So gross.
I’ve been using the homemade powder laundry detergent for several years but noticed after about six months that our clothes were getting dingy. Now I add a quarter cup of white vinegar to every load and another quarter cup in the fabric softener dispenser. I also reverted back to adding commercial detergent- every load gets a pod of All Free and Clear and a one-ounce scoop of homemade powder. I couldn’t help it; we live on a farm and our clothes showed it. Now they come out sparkling clean every time.
Back to the pillows: I washed them the same way. I dried them on the fluff cycle first, and then on low heat to finish. I always have six wool dryer balls in the dryer, which help dry everything quicker. I added a few drops of lavender essential oil to one or two of the balls. The pillows came out unbelievably clean, lofty and white, with just a subtle hint of lavender.
Jillee, I love your blog and have learned so much from you. Thanks for proving an old dog (63) can learn new tricks! But I just can’t bring myself to use bleach anymore. White vinegar seems to work just as well to remove stains and odors.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.With respect, there is really no need to use so much bleach. An ounce or two should get the same result without such a hit to the environment. Chlorine is a poison that we should try diligently to use as sparingly as possible
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I tried this and did not work very well unfortunately. Maybe my pillows are too far gone. For front load washer you must soak seperately first.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What brand and model type of washer do you have?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Jill – Would this same process apply to down comforters? I’ve always been afraid to wash ours and have sent it to the cleaners, but they don’t get it as white as I would like. Thank you!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I wash my down comforter all the time. A really great way to whiten it is to spread it out in the sun. I spread out my patio chairs and drape the comforter over them. Flip it over half way through drying time. The sun is a great natural whitener. Just make sure it is dry. Down can get moldy. I do a final dry in the dryer just to make sure.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I would love to try this out on some down/feather pillows that have seen better days on the outside, but they are otherwise in great shape. My only concern is using the powdered detergent and cascade. I have septic and was told not to use powdered detergents to protect the septic system. Since these items come in liquid form can I use them instead?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I am also on a septic system and would love an answer to this! Trying my best to be careful while still learning what products are septic safe.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Christine & Cindy,
I have always washed my pillows (synthetic and down) about twice a year. I am speaking from 50 years of laundering experience. I’m a cold water launderer and have used liquid soap almost since it came out. I come from a farming upbringing and for the last eight years I am again on a septic system. So in answer to your queries, yes you can use liquid soap to achieve white pillows so no worries about the septic tank. Just keep in mind to use enough soap to break down the body oils that create the yellowing. Just like in the kitchen, an oily surface needs more soap to clean it than a non-oily surface. I don’t use bleach but if your pillows haven’t been washed in years, I would recommend it to give the soap a helping hand with the discolouration.
I don’t see why not – give it a try and let us know how it turns out! :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m very excited to try this!! But I’m sorry – there’s one step I’m not sure I understand – first you soak your pillows in hot water in the washing machine. Then you make the mixture and add that to the machine as well? Or are you making the mixture and pouring it over the pillows in the machine? Thank you!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The way I read it, you soak the pillows in the mixture.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Mix up the ingredients and add that mixture to the machine. Allow those items to soak. If you machine automatically drains the liquid, you can do the soak in a bucket or bath tub instead :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you for the clarification!