The first time I tried to wash pillows in our FL washer, one survived while the other took on So much water inside it, the machine could not balance and the pillow was a total loss. Imagine removing a pillow full of water....ugh.

The next time I tried, I opened up three or four inches of an end seam and then used a couple of safety pins to loosely close that end so water could escape but not the filling. That worked very well. I had to sew up those openings afterward.

I put mine in the washer, regular cycle, seem to come out fine and clean. Of course, depends upon the filling.

I know what you mean by head/body odor - or for me it's stains. I shower before bed, so it must be my hair product? I use pillow protectors also, and there are still stains on the pillows??

I also didn't have a great experience doing pillows in a residential front loader.

It's just too hard to balance and they hold a lot of water.

On another note when I took some pillows to a laundromat, the seam ripped open and the filling came out, the other got lumpy.

I wound up getting new pillows.

Regular cycle, 45 minutes on my front loader if it's full....quick wash if I'm just doing two pillows. Mine are down pillows. So.................regular down, I leave them in a pillow case or they might "burst". I have down pillows where the down is wrapped in foam, then a heavy pillow cover. Those are OK to just throw in.

I put them in twice in the dryer, letting them rest between....to air dry for a few hours. 45 minutes each time.

I have always washed my pillows, both down and man-made. The down pillows always come out of the washer look like large drowned rats. But into the dryer they go and after a couple of cycles, they are fluffed and clean. I can’t imagine sleeping for months or years on dirty pillows.

Front loader, hottest water, down pillows, no trouble for me. Synthetic ones come out fine too.

Mike Lindell, Mr Pillow says his are washable in commercial and gives directions on his website under Product Care. Recommends washing every 4 months, 2 if you have allergies!

Top loader, largest capacity I can find and no problems washing pillows, comforters, blankets, draperies...

I always use a dust cover on the pillows like these: https://www.natlallergy.com/all-cotton-allergy-pillow-covers-1.html

DS likes down pillows and used to bring them to our house to wash in our top loader. They dried in the dryer with one or two new tennis balls to fluff them evenly. They came out of the dryer so huge from all the cleaning and fluffing.

I even wash my latex pillow in my front loader. On the gentle cycle warm or cold not hot very little detergent . In the dryer on air fluff no heat.

It will depend on the pillow as the ones I recently purchased give washing instructions on the tag. I expect them to last a couple of years then they become pet pillows. After that they become trash.

If it is only body odor a suggestion before trying to wash would be to take them outside and leave in a sunny area for a couple of hours turning occasionally.

While I have successfully washed pillows some of the newer ones with foam cannot get the cleaning agent deeply enough into the foam material to do more than a superficial cleaning.

No. We sleep on Nest Bedding pillows which are latex and alternative down. We launder the protector along with case. Replace pillow filling every two years.

Two pillows of the same type will hold water the same, and a frontloader should be able to balance them for spin.

I'd use the delicate cycle instead of normal, and select the highest soil level.

I once washed a couple pillows in a frontloader on the Sanitary cycle because I wanted the hottest available temperature. The temperature didn't hurt them but the very long wash/tumble period due to the water heating did cause them to get all twisted-up. Pillows do best IMO with minimal agitation (or tumbling) and a long soaking, if the machine can do that.

I wash two of Costco's jumbo Allerease (TM) pillows together in my front loader, then dry on low or 'no heat' -- can take two cycles. These do not come out of the washer soaking wet. The manufacturer says to wash them every six weeks -- more like quarterly here!

Thanks everyone! I knew if I asked here, I would get answers. I am debating about trying it (as several of you in the know have suggested, gentle cycle etc) but still hesitant about wreaking havoc on the machine and pillows- may just give it a whirl if I feel brave.... but then again I just might bring to a laundromat.

I will let you know what I do and how I fare.

I wash my down pillows in the front loader a couple times a year. They do just fine. Put in dryer with a clean gym shoe to get then fluffed up. It takes several cycles to get them thoroughly dry.

I have 2 (or 4) of those Mr. Pillow pillows. My Duet has a pillows specialty cycle that's essentially my delicate cycle. I select warm water, normal soil level and extra rinse. Final spin is on low or extra low. Per instruction, dry them on high heat for 60 minutes. Washed every 3 months.

Follow the specific instructions if provided. Otherwise IMO pillows are better dried slowly at low temp for a longer time, more than one cycle if necessary. High heat dries the exterior quickly, but moisture travels more slowly from the interior material to evaporate at the exterior. I typically dry mine (not Mr. Pillow brand, I think two or three are the Allerease brand mentioned above) at low temp for 80 mins timed, then repeat for 40 mins timed. I also repeat the final spin at high speed ... two pillows balance, no issues there.

I wash both down and synthetic pillows quarterly in a front loader. The trick is to use enough cleaning product to work, but avoid flooding the washer with suds. The process depends on how grungy the pillows are. I start with a manual pre-wash in the shower. I have a large plastic tub that I set in the shower. You can do either manual wash, or both if there's a lot of body oil or odor on the pillows. If the pillows aren't horrible, it may work to skip the pre-wash.

• Soak overnight in BIZ and hot water. (If there were blood stains, I'd have to address those first with cold water.) Dump the whole mess and squeeze out as much water as possible and rinse in the shower.
• Soak in borax, a couple of squirts of Dawn, white vinegar and hot water. Drain, squeeze, rinse. Dump the whole mess and squeeze out as much water as possible and rinse in the shower.

Wash two pillows at a time in the washer with normal detergent on sanitize cycle, vinegar rinse, and an extra rinse cycle. Machine dry with wool dryer balls. It's important to get pillows really, really dry to avoid mold. Just because the pillows feel dry on the outside doesn't mean that they are dry throughout.

The one time (or maybe a couple times) I got serious oversudsing is when washing pillows. They're less volume of fabric than they seem and the stuffing material holds a lot of air so exacerbates sudsing. The last time, a couple weeks ago, I did one pillow (it did have a blood stain), using Cheer powder which is VERY LOW sudsing, plus STPP and Biz powder ... no sudsing.

King size pillows in front loader. I wash them in tide, Normal wash. I do two extra rinses until I see the water run clear. Dry them in the front load dryer for an hour. They are still damp. I could run them for hours but take them outside and put them in the sun to finish drying on a laundry rack.

I live in Florida, so the sun is strong. I do the same with my down comforters. I finish the drying in the sun. I've paid $300.00 a piece for those pillows and the comforter was a lot more. I won't put them in a commercial laundry.

My method works well, but I have to make sure I plan the wash when the weather is clear and sunny (which is most the time in Florida). I like the finish in the sun and air as I feel its totally dry and fresh smelling. I only do this twice a year.

Jane

We have king size "My Pillows" that wash great in my top loader on the regular cycle.

I stuff mine in my front loader, regular cycle with hot water. I then put them in the dryer for a while, and then air dry the remainder of the way. They come out fine.

I wash 2 at a time in our top-loader on gentle cycle with warm water. I hang them up to dry and then finish them in the dryer before bedtime if needed.