Bedding question that frankly, I am ashamed to ask

[roaringwater]

I have had a home of my own for 22 years, been married for 20 of those and have quite old children.

However, I am embarrassingly clueless about some elements of housekeeping. While I do change the bedlinen (even I am not quite this filthy), I don't really know what you're supposed to do to keep the actual pillows and duvets clean. To be truthful, every now and again, I just crack and buy some new ones in IKEA. Surely there must be a better way?

Also, I have no idea why I don't know this stuff - my parents' home is immaculate. I was a very studious, bookish child: this was greatly lauded and encouraged and I wasn't ever shown how to do practical things (e.g. figured out for myself how to clean a bathroom when I bought a house.)

Advice from more capable people would be great.

I have pillow and mattress protectors on all beds.

I change bedding weekly
I wash pillow protectors monthly
I wash pillows and mattress protectors 2 or 3 times a year (ideally on sunny day when they can dry outside in the sun, even in January)
If they feel uncomfortable at any point, I bin them.

Duvets are washed in laundrette when I change them - so summer duvet get washed in autumn, winter duvet at beginning of spring.
I bring them back home wet and dry them in the garden.

Toddler summer duvets fit in my washing machine, but everything else need a much bigger one.

Mattress hoovered and turned over regularly.

Obviously if someone is sick or ill, sweaty or whatever, things get washed as needed.

Do not dry-clean your duvets!

When the weather is good I wash my duvets and dry them on the line before packing away (vacuum pack). Same with pillows though they go back on the bed. Some pillows don’t wash well and they get discarded.
I always use pillow and mattress protectors which get washed every few months, pillowslips, fitted sheets and duvet covers every 1-2 weeks.
I have a very heavy duvet for winter in the guest bedroom. It doesn’t fit in my washing machine so it gets taken to a d-i-y laundry at a nearby gas station to be washed and dried about once a year.
This thread has reminded me that I haven’t vacuumed the mattresses in a rather long time but I never get much dust, probably thanks to the mattress protector.

I give my old duvets to animal charities

You don't need to wash pillows or duvet unless they get wee or vomit on them, and then if they won't fit in your machine, take them to a place that advertises they wash duvets and pillows.
Replace both when they are showing signs of wear or age/ don't work as well anymore.

We have a super-king duvet, it wouldn't even fit in my washing machine if I cut it in half. I have it professionally cleaned twice a year.

Duvet/pillow covers get washed weekly. Mattress protector every other week. Pillow protectors about once a month.

I've found the same as others with pillows; they never seem to wash well. I just buy new ones in the sales every year.

Our duvet fits in the washing machine as it's very thin.

Pillows I buy new

Google for a local laundry that will clean pillows and duvets. I get our big ones done, but the kids are machine washable which has been amazing after the recent vomiting bug.

I don’t wash them just buy new every year or two! I do have pillow and mattress protectors.

I tried washing a pillow that was machine washable, it didn't go well. The machine wouldn't spin with just the pillow in no matter how many times I tried.

I'm currently on week 3 of drying the dam thing, I've had to wring it out by hand and leave it flat on an airer with a bowl underneath.
I'm only drying it now to give to the animals as the filling has gone all lumpy and is ruined.

I don't normally bother washing duvets and pillows, and certainly will never try again.

P.S. not all animal shelters will take feather stuff because of the mess if/when they get ripped.

I wash duvets and pillows once a year after hayfever season.
we all have synthetic hollow fibre duvets and pillows from ikea. I can wash them in the morning and they are dry by bedtime.
ours are all single, so fit in the washer.

If I've had an expensive duvet and the dog has been on the bed (so dirt goes through the cover) then I've sent it to the laundrette, but duvets are a tenner in Ikea, ASDA, Argos etc so now i would just get a new one.

Pillows start with us, end up as emergency spares or go to the dog. However, I will say that surely none of this can be environmentally friendly?

Duvets can be washed and tumble dried in a big commercial machine. Home machines usually won’t be big enough.Ours are each done yearly, when we change from winter to summer, at the local dry cleaner/laundry, and the other when we change back again.

If you have a tumble dryer it’s very easy to wash pillows. They need a good, long, hot tumble dry, and will come out lovely and fresh. I do ours every few months, a long wash at 40 deg.

Be warned, though, if you’ve had them any length of time and have never washed them before, the colour of the water in the machine may startle you! They can harbour an awful lot of dust mite poo!

It's a dilemma because it seems such a waste to throw them away and yet it costs me more to have them washed than a new one. (No laundrette within 50 miles just a laundry service which charges £30 to wash a duvet.

I don't think you can use a duvet for year after year without it getting whiffy. Especially if you have teenage boys. Also I have asthma and cover or not a duvet will get full of skin flakes and dust.

I can just fit a thin single duvet in my washer. Pillows it's 50/50 whether they come out wrecked.
All other duvets get hung on the line once a year and washed or replaced every couple of years. I only buy very cheap ones and write the date new or washed on in sharpie. I also write the date on pillows.

I don't think I've ever washed duvets or pillows. Isn't that why we have covers and protectors? Mine last for years. I don't think we smell. I have enough straight talking family who would say when they visit, if we did.
I'm happy in my skankiness. Anyway it's not good for you to be too clean.

And even if you do feel the need to clean them, then surely the mattress needs proper cleaning too?

I'm in my 40s and extremely rarely wash pillows or duvets. I have taken a duvet to a dry cleaners on a rare occasion. I remember washing a pillow and it was ruined.

Is it true that an old pillow contains a fair % of dust mites and their faeces? I heard something recently which made me wonder and I'm now eyeing my pillows suspiciously. However, I only feel it's worth washing them in the summer on a hot day when they get thoroughly dry inside and out.

I have 2 thin duvets and wash them in the washing machine every week and leave the covers on. Pillows I wash about twice a month.

Duvets and pillows are washed every 6 months at our dry cleaners. They have washing machines big enough to deal with the duvet.

Wash my sheets once a week.

Good quality pillow protectors that can zip off and wash. (never found a pillow thats the same after washing)
Quilts we have large capacity washer they go in there.
TBH trying to be more aware of landfill/ environment did used to buy new pillows regular until got proper protectors cost more than the pillow

I wash pillows in the washing machine & tumble dry them unless it's good sunny weather. Same with single duvets.

Our king size duvet doesn't fit in the machine so I put 2 covers on. I underneath cover stays on for a few months before washing but the outer cover is changed weekly.

In the hottest part of summer I wash the duvet itself in the bath with washing powder & trample on it with my feet like grapes lol. Then it goes on the washing line to dry. We manage without it for a few days if necessary until it dries. We've had the same duvet for about 15 years & it's still going strong.

I’ve never washed a duvet. We’ve had ours over 20 years. I once tried washing pillows, but they took ages to try. We don’t have a tumble dryer. Never again.

The pillows always go lumpy if they are synthetic. Have loads hanging around and you can't recycle them

daisypond with The greatest respect that is gross!

It must stink!

Funnily enough I was changing the beds and pondering this earlier. Inspired by this I’ve just ordered new pillows as we are definitely in need of some new ones!

Big duvets go to the dry cleaners twice a year, small ones fit in the washing machine.

We replace pillows once a year or so. Before the frothing starts, our local vet has the old ones.