Is it possible to wash swan down pillows in a washing machine and by hand, how to clean natural and artificial filling?

A pillow is a delicate product designed to ensure sound and quality sleep.

It is delicate because it requires proper care, otherwise a product with any filler can become a breeding ground for harmful microorganisms, the removal of which will require not only a lot of time, but also money.

Down is an ideal filling for pillows, inexpensive but durable, with a number of positive qualities: it quickly restores its shape and has no specific odor.

But to ensure a long service life of a product made from swan filler, you should know how to handle it correctly, namely, wash it.

Is it washable?

So, is it possible and how to properly wash a swan down pillow? Swan down pillows can be washed either by hand or in a washing machine. But before you load the pillow into the washing machine, it should be properly prepared.

The process of preparing a product from swan filler:

Carefully knock the product out onto the street . Dust and small debris are those things that can remain in the product even after washing. They should be gotten rid of first.
Buy special covers . Advice that applies to pillows with all types of filling: it is better not to wash without a cover. If it is not possible to purchase special covers, you can use a simple pillowcase, tying it tightly around it.
Divide the contents into several equal parts . Many experts recommend not washing a swan down pillow as a product, but doing it in parts. The quality of washing with this approach increases several times. Another positive point is that the drying process is faster.
Place each piece of filling in a case or an old pillowcase . If you load fluff without a cover into a washing machine, this will not only lead to its deterioration, but can seriously clog the drain of the household appliance.

If there are no covers and no time for knocking out, then washing a product made from swan's down can be done this way. But the quality will remain too low, and the dust remaining between the fibers will become the first cause of unsightly stains.

Rules for hand washing down pillows and the main differences from the machine method

Hand washing must be used if the product does not fit into the drum of the washing machine, or if there is no suitable mode. Depending on the chosen method (with or without filling removal), you need to wash the product itself or the fluff.

Sequencing:

Pouring the filler into a basin, bedpan or putting on a cover.
Soaking the product in warm water with powder previously dissolved in it.
A pillow made of artificial swan down can be lightly rubbed when washing, but with natural filling the movements should be fluffing.

The most difficult thing with the manual method is high-quality rinsing. A large volume of water will be required to remove any remaining detergent, as well as a high-quality but gentle spin.

The main difference between hand washing is the high energy consumption and labor intensity of the process, so if it is impossible to use a washing machine, it is better to use the services of a laundry, dry cleaning and use a vertical steamer.

In the washing machine

Firstly, many users advise not to wash down pillows, but to simply purchase new products. This is due to the fact that after each washing process this type of filler greatly loses its positive qualities .

Secondly, there is an opinion that fluff should not be put into the washing machine at all. Both the first and second assumptions are incorrect. Swan down can be washed well both in the washing machine and by hand.

For the correct process you need:

high-quality preparation of the product,
expensive powder or other household product,
choosing the appropriate temperature mode for the washing machine.

Basic rules for high-quality washing of pillows with swan down:

Selecting the correct mode . The best mode for fluff is delicate. But we should not forget about the water temperature, which should not exceed 30 degrees. If the delicate mode in the washing machine is automatically set to more than 30 degrees, then this parameter should be adjusted manually or eliminated altogether.
Selecting the correct spin mode . The correct spin for products made from swan filler is no more than 400 revolutions. If this parameter is higher, this can significantly damage the filler.
Choosing a good powder . The most basic parameter is the correct choice of washing powder or gel. Typically, such products are expensive, but they are cheaper than buying new pillows.

Nowadays you can buy special capsules for washing pillows in household chemical stores. In the middle of the capsule there is a gel that dissolves in water during washing.

Such products not only wash fluff efficiently, but also have a very reasonable price.

What's good about this kind of material?

This filler has many positive qualities - it practically does not absorb odors, easily restores its original shape, and does not form lumps. Pillows and blankets are exceptionally light and soft to the touch, durable and can be used for years. Such bedding is good from a health point of view; it follows the shape of the head and neck, so a comfortable sleep is guaranteed. Those who choose such pillows experience less neck and head pain and get a great night's sleep.

After the product has been washed, the spherical structure of the material helps it regain its shape, and it also does not come out through the fabric of the pillowcase. Such textiles are a wonderful choice for those prone to allergies. It does not harbor mites or rot, so allergic reactions in sleepers are excluded. An attractive price (about five hundred rubles for a medium-sized item) is an obvious advantage of such products, as is their low weight (usually no more than a kilogram). Pillows with such filling are used not only for sleeping - they are convenient to place under the back while feeding a baby.

Manually

Many manufacturers of household chemicals confidently claim that hand washing for swan down is better than washing it in a washing machine. An important distinguishing feature is that the filler does not form into lumps, which are very difficult to dry later .

How to properly wash a product made from swan down by hand:

The pillow and filling are washed separately. Therefore, the first step is to rip the pillow, pour the filling into a separate container and soak in water at a temperature of up to 30 degrees.
The minimum soaking time for swan down is 3 hours.
After 3 hours, thoroughly mix the fluff in water with washing powder, then squeeze through a colander. After squeezing out the filler, rinse it in clean water. The water temperature should not exceed 30 degrees.
Divide the washed filler into several equal parts. Place each part in a special bag or an old pillowcase. Try to make sure that there is little fluff in the bags - this will simplify the drying process.
Place the bags or pillowcases outdoors or in the sun. Shake the bags and turn them over every 30-40 minutes.

This hand washing method is also suitable for other types of fillings, for example, bamboo or environmentally friendly synthetic materials.

Which pillows can be washed and why?

We divide pillows into four categories according to the type of filler:

Natural stuffing (feathers, down);
Synthetic (sintepon, holofiber, etc.);
Organic filling (buckwheat husk, bamboo, etc.);
Orthopedic products.

So which pillows are washable? For example, these could be products with holofiber or other synthetic padding. The process of cleaning them is much simpler than those made from natural materials. After contact with water, they do not lose their properties and can be used for a long time.

Although most sources do not advise washing down and feather products in an automatic machine, some housewives still decided to take the risk of doing it and they succeeded. Some types of organic padding are not recommended to be wetted, as they are difficult to dry. Orthopedic pillows are allowed to be washed, but much depends on the type of filling used.

How often is it recommended to wash pillows? Let us highlight four categories and rules for each of them:

Anti-stress pillows can cope with heavy loads, so they can be washed regularly, more than five times a year.
Products with down filling or feathers should be cleaned no more than once every three months.
The bamboo fiber filling does not accumulate dust, so it can be cleaned with detergent every four months.
Synthetic pillows are not washed often.

Basic rules for washing pillows in a washing machine

Before you wash your pillow in the washing machine, it should be properly prepared. To do this, make sure you have covers. If you don't have them, you can use regular old pillowcases. However, before washing they need to be well secured so that they do not open during the process.

Another important point is that it is advisable to first beat the product in the open air, thanks to this, after washing the pillow will be cleaner and there will be no dirty stains left on it.

Here are some more rules of thumb:

You should not use dry powder, as it is difficult to rinse out of the fibers. It is better to take the substance in liquid form.
Do not use bleaching agents; they damage the structure of not only the outer fabric, but also the inner padding, regardless of what material it is made of.
Usually, after washing in a washing machine, the inside gets into lumps. To avoid this, some people put small balls in the drum. However, this does not always help; the stuffing can still become deformed, so you will have to bring it into proper shape by hand.
If the type of your pillow allows spinning, then the number of revolutions should not exceed 400. Although some housewives, experimenting, turn on more revolutions, and surprisingly nothing bad happens to their pillows.
For any pillows, select the “Delicate”, “Gentle” or “Hand Wash” modes.

Tips for hand washing pillows made from natural and artificial materials

The hand washing process, although not very fast and simple, is gentle. Before washing a pillow at home by hand, fill a large basin with enough water to completely submerge the product. This applies to all products, no matter what material they are made of. Follow these guidelines to successfully clean your product:

The water temperature should not be more than 30 degrees. If you have chosen a large bathtub as a container for soaking, then initially it is better to draw water at a temperature of 50 to 70 degrees, since it will cool down over time and subsequently acquire room temperature.
Dissolve gel, shampoo or something else in water. The main thing is that it is not powdery.
If you decide not to steam the pillow, and it is not too dirty, you need to soak it for half an hour. If both the inside and the pillowcase are very dirty, wash them separately. You can use bleach on the pillowcase. The filler must be soaked in the cleaning solution for four hours.

If you wash feathers this way, they can be easily collected from the water using a colander.
At the last stage, the clean feather is dried by constantly turning it over. Holofiber or synthetic winterizer is also dried in an open place, on a horizontal surface.

Features of the process for products made from artificial substitutes

Artificial down is a synthetic material that is very different from natural filler. And it requires an appropriate approach when washing.

Artificial litter is best cleaned by hand . The process is not much different from washing a natural product, with the exception of household powder or gel.

Here you need to purchase the appropriate product to combat dirt in synthetic fibers. The cost of such a product is not much different from the standard one.

The best way to quickly straighten wet synthetic mass is to add a little special conditioner to the water while rinsing. The conditioner will make the fluff soft and straighten it efficiently.

It is not recommended to soak synthetics ; it is better to start washing immediately. Using gentle movements, squeeze the fluff into the water and move it through your hands. After 7-8 times of such a leisurely spin, the synthetic material can be rinsed.

The rinsing process is very important, since excess moisture will be the first cause of damage to synthetics.

How to dry it properly?

Drying a pillow is no less important a process than washing itself. And if this process is performed incorrectly, then the result, to put it mildly, will not live up to expectations. For example, terrible stains as a consequence of improper drying after hand washing.

Criteria for proper drying of a product made from swan's down:

Drying can only take place outdoors. For the quality of the process, the contents should be distributed into small but equal parts. Place each part of the filler in a special bag;
Drying on a radiator or drying with a hairdryer at home are the main ways to make swan's down completely unsuitable for further use. The same applies to spinning at high speeds in a washing machine;
After hanging in the open air, the bags with filling should be beaten and turned over every 30-40 minutes. Firstly, this speeds up the drying process, and secondly, it prevents the fluff from turning into a homogeneous mass, which will lead to the purchase of a new product.

The main thing to remember from this paragraph is that you should not dry down pillows near an open heat source, for example, a radiator. This will forever make the filler unsuitable for further use.