Some household items need some special maintenance care to help them continue to retain their function, but above all to prevent them from accumulating a lot of dirt. Pillows are one of them. They will always be part of the things in our home that you need to keep clean, especially because they are susceptible to stains and dirt, this last time being to have yellow pillows and even catch mites and bad smells.
Why the pillows turn yellow
Yellow pillows are not welcome in a clean home, so here is a way to whiten yellow pillows.
Sweat
One of the most common reasons why pillows can turn yellow is sweat . Even when you are sleeping, your body continues to sweat to keep your body at a comfortable temperature.
Depending on the type of fabric the pillowcase is made of, sweat will or may not seep through the fabric. As sweat dries, it can leave a yellow stain on the pillow.
Saliva
Sweat and saliva are also responsible for the famous “maps” on the pillow. Even if you use covers under the pillowcases, yellowing can still occur and not only that, mites can accumulate because, that sweat that produces a lot of humidity, is the perfect environment for the proliferation of mites, which may be the cause of respiratory or skin allergies. Check how your pillows are because these may be the reason for it.
Sun
Another way your pillows can turn yellow is by exposing them a lot to the sun. The layers that have whitening agents and / or optical brighteners to make them look whiter, when exposed a lot to the sun, begin to decompose and this is what will make the true color of the fabric begin to show its true color, which is usually yellowish.
In those cases, you will have to be sure of what you are buying before buying it to avoid that your yellow pillows cannot be bleached manually at home.
How to whiten yellow pillows
Some people usually fix the issue of yellowish pillows by buying new ones, even if they are in perfect condition, but the pillows do not need to be washed every week, with only 3 times a year that the washing machine can continue to work perfectly if you use the ingredients suitable for that.
You have to verify before doing this procedure, that your pillows have a solution to this bleaching method for the previous reasons that we mentioned why a pillow can turn yellow, because if your pillow already has a fabric in its yellow essence, it does not you will be able to achieve the desired results.
This method of washing and bleaching yellow pillows is very effective for pillows whose fabric has been stained yellow by sweat or other body fluids and / or other substances that have fallen on it, and that have caused that that to form. unwanted yellow spot.
Ingredients
- Very hot or boiling water
- 1 cup of laundry detergent
- 1 cup of powder dishwasher detergent (if the previous one and this detergent are biodegradable, much better)
- 1 cup of this bleach: (12 cups of water, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide)
- 1/2 cup borax
Instructions
- Check the label to confirm that your pillow (natural or synthetic) is machine washable – most can.
- Remove the pillowcase or any pillow protector.
- Fill the washer about 1/3 full with hot water (even add a couple of pots full of boiling water) and schedule 2 rinses if possible.
- Add all the ingredients in the washing machine.
- Next, start the machine and let it agitate for a few minutes to ensure that all the detergent is dissolved before putting the pillows in (it can fit two pillows at the same time). Check that if you have a washing machine where when opening the water does not fall, otherwise do it in the best way to avoid that the detergent is not well dissolved so it does not stick on the pillows.
Follow these steps and you will have some clean-looking white pillows again. Do this two to three times a year and it will be enough. As you can see it is easy, practical and economical to do it, you do not need to be buying new pillows all the time.
For drying, if you use a drying machine, try to use the method of balls of wool or yarn to dry the pillows to make drying faster, or you can use the traditional method that is simply to dry them in the sun.