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Sleep expert ucla6/11/2023 You can also look for pillows, pillowcases and pillow protectors that are treated with antimicrobial technology, says Schoots, who has done consulting work for a company that makes antimicrobial technology used in textiles. “Every single day, eight hours a day your head is sweating on this pillow-that’s 2,920 hours a year.”Įxperts suggest using a pillow protector to keep your pillow cleaner, longer-especially if you have asthma or allergies. Breus recommends replacing old pillows with new ones at least every two years, and Schoots agrees: “I just can’t imagine keeping a pillow over two years,” he says. Wash sheets and pillowcases once a week, or, at the very least, every two weeks, and clean pillows one to four times a year (every three to six months). Breus, who has run a sleep practice in Seattle for more than 20 years. On the flip side: “Sleeping on a clean pillow and pillowcases can help promote healthy sleep and leave you feeling refreshed in the morning,” says Dr. Michael Breus, Ph.D., DABSM, FAASM, warns that “letting your pillow accumulate too much dust and allergens can aggravate symptoms for those with breathing conditions” such as asthma and allergies. Perhaps most important, there are medical reasons to wash your pillows. “There’s a lot of waste-and you as a consumer can do something” to extend the life of your pillows by caring for them properly, he says. Schoots, a Cleveland, Tenn.-based textile consultant and past president of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists. Pillows should last longer, insists Harrie P. It’s better for the planetĮxtending the longevity of your pillows is environmentally savvy as well. “Cleaning pillows can help refresh and redistribute the filling, which can extend the pillow’s lifespan,” points out Jessica Ek, the Washington, D.C.-based senior director of digital communications at the American Cleaning Institute, a trade and research organization of manufacturers of household cleaning products. Then, there’s an economic benefit to regular pillow-washing. “This party of bacteria ends up on our pillowcases and in our pillows.” “Our bodies secrete oils and odors we sweat and shed skin cells when we sleep, not to mention saliva, ear wax, dust mites, allergens, mildew, dandruff-the list goes on,” says Sarah McAllister, founder of GoCleanCo, a cleaning company based in Calgary, Canada, and its cleaning-focused blog. First, there are aesthetic and hygienic reasons for doing so. The experts we consulted in the fields of sleep medicine and cleanliness agree that we should all be cleaning our pillows every three to six months. Why we should all add ‘wash pillows’ to our routine A clean pillow is more hygienic In my experience the response is uncomfortable silence, human imitations of the “mind blown” emoji, or a sputtering of “the pillows? But…how?” That’s why we turned to experts, including textile consultants and sleep doctors to find the answer. Now, what if we asked when was the last time you washed the pillows themselves? If we asked when was the last time you washed your pillowcases, chances are you’d have a ready answer about your most recent laundry day, what washing machine cycle you selected and maybe even some opinions on which bedding material you prefer.
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