Home - Garden
Refresh Your Musty Bed Pillows With One Handy Ingredient
By CARRIE BRADON
If your long-serving bed pillow has started to smell musty due to a buildup of bacteria, dead skin cells, dust mites, pet dander, or mold, then freshen it up with essential oils.
First, wash the pillow, pillowcase, and pillow protector in your washing machine on a double-rinse cycle, adding 5 to 10 drops of any essential oil to your laundry detergent.
Next, put 5 to 10 more drops of essential oil on wool dryer balls, and add them into the dryer with your pillow and accessories. Finally, dry and sanitize your pillow in the sun.
Do not use this hack with solid or shredded memory foam pillows or with buckwheat pillows, as they can become mangled in the washing machine and are not designed to get wet.
You can wash cotton, polyester fiber, feather, wool, and microbead pillows in the washer cool or warm on a gentle cycle, but first check the washing instructions on the label.
Wash your pillow at least every three to six months, and replace it every one to two years, especially if you can’t remove the smell or if the pillow no longer retains its shape.