Go Back
+ servings
How to wash yellow pillows in the washing machine.
Print

How To Whiten Yellow Pillows (Step by Step)

Sweat, natural oils, and other forms of moisture can turn your pillows yellow over time. Lucky for us, there's a simple and effective way to clean and whiten pillows!
Course Homemade Cleaners
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Soak Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 2 very white pillows!
Author Jill Nystul
Cost $15

Equipment

  • Washing Machine
  • Measuring Cup

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil on your stovetop. Stir the laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, and borax into the boiling water, and stir until the powdered ingredients dissolve. (You could also pour the water into a bucket and then add the dry ingredients, if you don’t want to mix cleaning ingredients inside a cooking pot.)
    Wash & Whiten Yellowed Pillows
  • When the dry ingredients have dissolved into the water, pour the water into the washer (or wherever you’re soaking your pillows) along with the bleach. Then let the pillows soak in the water for about 30 minutes. You should also flip the pillows over about half-way through the soak, to make sure that they’re getting fully saturated.
    Wash & Whiten Yellowed Pillows
  • Following the soak, run the pillows through a full wash cycle in your washing machine. Select the 2nd rinse option, if possible.
    Wash & Whiten Yellowed Pillows
  • If you have down pillows, put them into your dryer on the “fluff” or “air” setting. Synthetic pillows can be dried on low heat. Add a couple of tennis balls or homemade dryer balls to the dryer to help fluff the pillows as they dry.
    Wash & Whiten Yellowed Pillows

Video