Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Pillow fluffing

26 replies

Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 28/06/2024 13:39

Does anyone have a patented, guaranteed, never-fail method for pillow fluffing that does not involve a tumble drier?

I have neck problems which mean that once pillows have become a little bit flatter they're no longer comfortable, and I get headaches. After a FORTUNE spent on replacement pillows I finally found some which suit - the Premier Inn soft pillows. But I'm going through them at the rate of one every three months, however much I try to refluff. I've used the 'accordion' method, tried washing and line drying(I don't have a tumble drier or access to a launderette), shaken end-to-end... and with all methods the pillows go back to be 'wafer thin' within one night!

Can anyone help? I'm not sure I can financially sustain four new pillows a year, aside of which it's so wasteful (what do you do with old pillows?).

OP posts:
IAmAnAdultHumanFemale · 28/06/2024 13:49

Depends how much they are really. If I could afford it I would or if it was affect my health I would cut other things to pay for them. I love pillows! I buy the tempura ones now after a trial of a million others. Good luck!

IAmAnAdultHumanFemale · 28/06/2024 13:50

Tempura!! 😂 I meant Tempur! Battered pillows hahah I make myself laugh 😆

Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 28/06/2024 13:52

IAmAnAdultHumanFemale · 28/06/2024 13:50

Tempura!! 😂 I meant Tempur! Battered pillows hahah I make myself laugh 😆

I'm wary of trying any more types of pillow. I spent hundreds of pounds on every kind, from down-filled to memory foam etc. I've heard many other types being touted as 'best ever' but they haven't suited me and I've now got a spare room FULL of pillows-that-don't-work-for-me. What do you DO with them?

OP posts:

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

IAmAnAdultHumanFemale · 28/06/2024 13:55

the dog will get a couple to sleep on. Ditto the husband. My kids as well.

I find rotation helps. So for instance if I like one but after a while I don't anymore I swap it out for a different existing one that was good in the past. That sometimes works.

Beebopwasthebest · 28/06/2024 13:57

If they were expensive I would try sell them on. I also bought an £80 tempur pillow which was far too firm. My husband likes it though thank goodness.

I went to John Lewis and tried ALL the pillows and bought a latex foam one which is perfect..soft and bouncy.

SnugglyJumpersMakeItBetter · 28/06/2024 13:58

No advice OP, just wanted to have a moan that it is SO HARD to find pillows that suit! I spent £80 on a memory foam one (£80!!!) and I don't love it but can't afford to keep splashing out on multiple unsuitable ones! Very annoying.

fieldsofbutterflies · 28/06/2024 13:59

No advice on fluffing, but you can donate old pillows to animal charities.

RosesAndHellebores · 28/06/2024 14:02

I have neck and back problems. I find M&S duck down and feather ones work very well. I sort of layer three and get one angled under my neck. They last for years with a quick daily plump.

Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 28/06/2024 14:05

fieldsofbutterflies · 28/06/2024 13:59

No advice on fluffing, but you can donate old pillows to animal charities.

Tried swapping them out - nope, still too flat half way through the night.

Not really expensive enough to sell on, and I'm not sure there's a booming market for second-hand pillows (plus pretty sure I'd never get round it it).

Ditto, that I need to spend a night on a pillow to know whether it suits, Just trying it out in a shop or reading online reviews doesn't do it (hence the spare room full of - well, spares).

No animal charities anywhere around here and I'm not sure they'd come all the way out to me to collect a load of pillows, but I might ask the vet if they'd like any. My dog already has a lovely bed!

ETA I tried to quote everybody and answer each post, but it's only shown the last quote...

OP posts:
Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 28/06/2024 14:07

RosesAndHellebores · 28/06/2024 14:02

I have neck and back problems. I find M&S duck down and feather ones work very well. I sort of layer three and get one angled under my neck. They last for years with a quick daily plump.

I bought a lovely down pillow which felt fantastic in the shop. Silky covering, soft, and plumptious. After half an hour in bed it was like a concrete slab. This is why I say I need to do at least one trial night with a pillow!

I get neck pains which set off a migraine if I don't get the pillow right, which is why this is such a topic of concern to me.

OP posts:
IAmAnAdultHumanFemale · 28/06/2024 14:12

You could try qvc

they have a 60 day return policy

Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 28/06/2024 14:17

IAmAnAdultHumanFemale · 28/06/2024 14:12

You could try qvc

they have a 60 day return policy

But I've found the pillows I like - Premier Inn ones. I really just want to know how to fluff them back up and not add to the mountain of past pillows - honestly, my spare room could double as a bouncy castle.

OP posts:
Blarn · 28/06/2024 14:26

I bought some firm ones from John Lewis 4 years ago. They are still as giant, full and high as they were when I bought them. Soft touch, medium firm and are £10 each. Very good for side sleeping.

Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 28/06/2024 14:31

Blarn · 28/06/2024 14:26

I bought some firm ones from John Lewis 4 years ago. They are still as giant, full and high as they were when I bought them. Soft touch, medium firm and are £10 each. Very good for side sleeping.

I need soft pillows. I used to think I needed firm ones (I'm a side sleeper too), but every single firm one I tried was TOO firm and would make my neck ache.

I blame my mother. She was so fussy about her pillows that she used to take her own from home on holiday with her in her suitcase. How we all laughed at her! I am not laughing now and beginning to think she had a very good point.

OP posts:
IAmAnAdultHumanFemale · 28/06/2024 14:32

Buy a condensing tumble for your spare room?

norasand · 28/06/2024 14:32

I have a shredded memory foam pillow that just needs a little manual fluffing up and that I can mould to shape depending on whether I sleep on my back or side. The filling is in two layers of zipped cases so it can be opened and foam bits removed to adjust to the right level. It came in a flat and a full version. I bought the full and ended up taking enough filling out to fill a whole extra pillow, so bought zipped cotton cases for that purpose.

I've had it for about 2-3 years now at it's still good. Before that, I had a string if down, memory foam an goodness knows what pillows. But this one's the best for me.

Blarn · 28/06/2024 14:34

Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 28/06/2024 14:31

I need soft pillows. I used to think I needed firm ones (I'm a side sleeper too), but every single firm one I tried was TOO firm and would make my neck ache.

I blame my mother. She was so fussy about her pillows that she used to take her own from home on holiday with her in her suitcase. How we all laughed at her! I am not laughing now and beginning to think she had a very good point.

I think these are quite soft! My head sinks in but is still supported. Dh absolutely disagrees though.

I also suffer with migraines so you have my sympathy trying to find something that works.

Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 28/06/2024 14:39

IAmAnAdultHumanFemale · 28/06/2024 14:32

Buy a condensing tumble for your spare room?

Won't fit. There is absolutely no space in there (the pillows are all piled on the spare bed) for any furniture. It's bed, bedside table and you have to climb over the bed to get to the far side (I live in the smallest house in the world, or close to it).

OP posts:
IAmAnAdultHumanFemale · 28/06/2024 14:50

Ah well. I'm all out of ideas then sorry!

Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 28/06/2024 14:53

IAmAnAdultHumanFemale · 28/06/2024 14:50

Ah well. I'm all out of ideas then sorry!

Thank you for trying!

I did wonder if taking the pillows round to my daughter's house (she has a tumble drier) and somehow talking her into giving them a go (with a tennis ball or somesuch as has been recommended) might be worth a try. But I don't know if I can commit to this on a weekly basis!

OP posts:
amicissimma · 28/06/2024 15:29

I'm convinced that pillow-stuffers are less generous than they used to be with the filling.

I took a couple of previously-lovely down pillows and carefully unpicked a section of the seam on one, opened the other and tipped the down from the second into the first, then stitched the seam up again carefully. It's now my favourite pillow. I do recommend doing this outside on a very still day as there is the potential for a downy disaster.

Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 28/06/2024 15:31

amicissimma · 28/06/2024 15:29

I'm convinced that pillow-stuffers are less generous than they used to be with the filling.

I took a couple of previously-lovely down pillows and carefully unpicked a section of the seam on one, opened the other and tipped the down from the second into the first, then stitched the seam up again carefully. It's now my favourite pillow. I do recommend doing this outside on a very still day as there is the potential for a downy disaster.

Even so, you are one sneeze or a playful cat away from disaster.

OP posts:
savingmysanity · 28/06/2024 15:31

Sounds insane but throw them on the floor, reasonably violently as if they've just insulted you, every day. No idea why it works but it does seem to keep them fluffy

muddyford · 28/06/2024 15:37

I've got White Company ones, bought in the sale a decade ago, drycleaned regularly and are as good as new.

OMGsamesame · 28/06/2024 16:34

Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 28/06/2024 14:53

Thank you for trying!

I did wonder if taking the pillows round to my daughter's house (she has a tumble drier) and somehow talking her into giving them a go (with a tennis ball or somesuch as has been recommended) might be worth a try. But I don't know if I can commit to this on a weekly basis!

You launder your pillows weekly???

Plump them daily when you make the bed.

When you need to wash them use a laundry egg (Google it) and tumble dry at your daughter's with that or an old (bald as poss) tennis ball