How to Care For Decorator Pillows:
If you're like me, you always wonder what's the best way to freshen up or clean pillows. Do I send them to the dry cleaners? Do I try to wash them myself? Do they need washing, or just freshening up? Well, I did some research, and here's what I found:
The best tips for taking care of all your special pillows
- Fluff in dryer with 2 or 3 clean tennis balls wrapped in white socks
- If soiled and there is no care label, check with your dry cleaner first
- Handmade pillows—remove any buttons or attached decorative pieces if possible, then launder on gentle setting using liquid detergent, and fluff in dryer
- Wash more than one pillow at once to balance the washer
- Does the tag say it can be laundered? If so, place pillow inside a clean white pillowcase so that any hand stitching will not be compromised by the washing process.
- If you wish to hand wash to be absolutely safe rather than use the washing machine, make sure you do not twist or squeeze hard. Gentle is the name of this game.
- Hand wash using hot water in a clean sink (dust mites will die in hot water without the use of chemicals)
- Use Woolite or some similar gentle detergent
- Push pillow up and down and flip over several times to hand agitate
- Rinse with warm or cool water—do this until no soap is present and water is clear
- To freshen pillows only, hang outside in the sunshine to air out. A dry windy day works well, too.
If in doubt, or if pillow is
delicate and has decorations that cannot be removed, check with your dry
cleaner to find the best course of action for your particular item.
