Washing and care
There are two honest answers to "how do I wash this": the one that protects the piece, and the one that protects the sleeper. They differ, and this page keeps them apart instead of blending them into mush.
The label answer
Cases and sheets wash like any good cotton: warm, ordinary cycle, tumble dry. Down-alternative pillows and comforters take a gentle cycle and low heat, washed in pairs to keep the drum balanced. Memory foam cores never see the machine: their covers wash, the foam itself gets aired. Silk washes cool and gentle and dries in shade.
Drying is where pillows are won or lost. A fill that comes out clumped was dried too fast at too high a heat, not washed wrong. Low heat, longer time, a couple of dryer balls, and a full extra cycle if the core still feels cool and damp in the middle.
The allergy answer
If dust mites are the reason you are washing, warm does not do the job. The AAFA's guidance is to wash bedding weekly in water of at least 130°F, because that temperature kills mites rather than rinsing them through, and to keep pillows and mattresses inside zippered covers with pores too small for mites to pass.[1] That splits the work sensibly: cases and protectors take the hot weekly wash, and the pillows inside them can keep to their gentler schedule.
Replacement is part of care
The same guidance suggests replacing pillows about every two years, because a pillow accumulates what no wash fully removes.[1] It is not a line a catalogue selling pillows gets to invent. That is exactly why we cite it: read the source and set your own schedule.
Sources
Each of these was read before it was cited, on the date shown on the sources page.
- Dust Mite Allergy: How to Identify and Treat Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America Three claims on the care and protection pages: wash bedding weekly in water of at least 130°F because that temperature kills dust mites, use zippered covers with pores too small for mites on pillows and mattresses, and replace pillows about every two years.
Published 2026-08-01. Figures last checked 2026-08-01.