We spend a lot of our lives sleeping, so it's no surprise that something we lay on each nice gets dirty quite quickly. You might have spent a long while painstakingly choosing the perfect pillow, but how often are you washing them?
Bodily oils, skincare and other grime builds up on pillows, resulting in the unsightly yellow staining. Now, a new study has revealed that not washing your pillow covers could give rise to at least 16 different species of fungus building up. This can trigger allergies.
With this in mind, an expert has recommended that you should wash your pillows every few months to give them the best chance of staying clean and keeping all of the nasties at bay.
The bed expert also shared their top tips for maintaining clean pillows and says it all starts with the label.
Martin Seeley, the CEO and sleep expert at MattressNextDay, says you should always check the label to see how best to clean your pillows.
On washing pillows, he told The Express: "The first thing you should do is check the care label on your pillow and follow the manufacturer's instructions. Some pillows may be more delicate than others and require special handling."
For example, with down pillows you can place them in the washing machine but be careful with the temperature and follow the guide on the label.
Then, use a mild washing powder and be sure to add in an extra spin cycle at the end to make sure all the moisture has gone.
With feather pillows, make sure to pop them on a gentler wash setting as they are made out of natural materials.
And for those of you with memory foam pillows, it is best to hand wash these as they cannot be placed in the washing machine.
The expert also explained how to remove yellow stains from pillows - and says one household item could do the trick.
He said: "Next you need vinegar to remove the stains. Vinegar is an excellent natural cleaner that helps remove yellow pillow stains easily without harming its fabric or design pattern. "
Vinegar can act as a great deterrent against any sort of dust mites so it is best to use those with your pillows.
He also suggests that people can add scented oils to stop the pillow maintaining that vinegar smell.
When it comes to drying pillows, he added that memory foam pillows should be air dried but other types can be placed in the dryer.
For in between washes of your pillows, Martin recommends using a simple product to keep them fresh.
He said: "The trick is to sprinkle yours with bicarbonate of soda and leave it for a few hours. Bicarbonate soda is incredibly absorbent and will soak up sweat residue and associated odours. After a few hours, vacuum the pillows clean."
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