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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not buy new pillows

83 replies

AliceAbsolum · 30/06/2019 21:55

DH saw a YouTube video and apparently you should buy new ones every 6 months.

Ours are 2 years old and fine, I think this is all just capitalism and it's filthy lies.

OP posts:
PettyContractor · 30/06/2019 22:49

My pillows cost £65 each. I expect to get 10 or more years use out of them. (I'll only replace them when they physically fail, they're latex and last a long time without any change in functionality.) I do have both pillow protectors and pillow cases to protect them.

The one time I washed one, it had to be thrown away immediately afterwards, washing destroyed it.

Pillows gather lots of skin cells, dust etc,

I don't think any of those thing are harmful.

SciFiScream · 30/06/2019 22:55

Our pillows were wedding gifts. So they are 15 years old!
All have two pillow cases plus an allergy pillow protector on (stops sweat getting through) both washed fairly regularly and left in the sun for sun cleaning.
My pillow that my face is in has an extra silk pillow case on it

All in fab condition and when washed look brand new.

Wasteful to change too often.

There is "no away" (as in throw away) away doesn't exist.

AquaPris · 30/06/2019 22:58

Who doesn't wash their pillowcases?! I'm a bit of a mucky bugger and even I wash them every 3 weeks?

caringcarer · 30/06/2019 22:59

I have memory foam ones and always put them in a pillow protector inside of the pillow case. They are abut 2 years old and still perfect. Pillow case and protector gets washed each week.

LaurieFairyCake · 30/06/2019 23:12

I've never replaced in 25 years. They're feather/down and I wash them twice a year.

I also have multiple feather quilts from 1905-1940 (to go on top of duvets as decoration) - they're washed very rarely and are all fine

I have also had the same down duvet for 25 years. Again, washed twice a year

There is no need to replace these things - it's why the ENVIRONMENTAL IS FUCKED

LaurieFairyCake · 30/06/2019 23:14

ENVIRONMENT

my keyboard is a cunt

1CarefulLadyOwner · 30/06/2019 23:34

I wash mine, bought from John Lewis, every 6 months.

Floofboopsnootandbork · 01/07/2019 00:24

Definitely don’t need to be replacing pillows that often but they definitely do need to be washed every few months.

MsMD · 01/07/2019 00:29

Is this only if you don't use a pillowcase? I don't understand how the pillow itself would get so dirty if you are using cases every day?

Itsagrandoldteam · 01/07/2019 00:41

My pillow cost around £80/90, it's medical foam, not memory foam. It wouldn't fit in the washing machine, I use a pillow protector and pillow case. I've had it for 3 years now and it still looks brand new.
I am on holiday at the moment and I am really missing my pillow, the ones here are rubbish, they are all feather pillows.
I hope to get several more years out of my pillow.

bumblingbovine49 · 01/07/2019 01:01

Good grief. I felt bad buying 3 pillows a few years ago ( one each for DH, me and DS) as all our pillows came with me when I met DH and I had owned them for over 20 years. They were pretty cheap ones even when new so had got quite flat over the years

My feather duvet is 30 years old. I don't think I have ever washed it.as it is king size and won't go in my machine. Anyway I think it would be ruined in the machine anyway. I do wash .the duvet covers obviously

yolofish · 01/07/2019 01:05

Can I lay claim to oldest pillow use please? My DM died last Nov, but was still using pillows from the 1950s. They had been in packing cases and delivered to Singapore, then left outside in the monsoon for several days. She continued to use them for the next 60 years (ie since before I was born) and swore they were absolutely wonderful (they really really werent, but the local animal rescue charity was very grateful for them!)

BarbaraofSevillle · 01/07/2019 06:36

Is this a mad lie by people who make and/or sell pillows? I think I'd lose a bit of respect for anyone stupid enough to fall for such horseshit.

We have some shaped memory foam ones from Ikea, they have a removable cover, so this is washable, but that's in addition to using a normal pillowcase that is washed each week or two at the same time as the sheet and duvet cover.

They're years old and still supportive and in shape. It wouldn't occur to me to replace them until they started to look knackered or feel uncomfortable.

Maybe I'd get new ones at the same time as I got a new mattress, so about once a decade, if I was feeling particularly organised and extravagent.

SlocombePooter · 01/07/2019 07:05

It is perfect weather for pillow washing! I have goose feather and down and they machine wash really well. When I was without a tumble dryer I would wait for a sunny day and dry them outside on the patio table, turning at intervals to let the heat of the sun penetrate all round. Drying in sunshine makes the casing really white, so they look like new. I always use two linen pillowcases, so they are well protected anyway.

ArgyMargy · 01/07/2019 07:15

I have never washed a pillow in 50+ years of being alive. Nothing bad has ever happened as a result. I agree mumsnet is SO odd. What is this obsession with washing things? No wonder the world is fucked. Get a job.

Simonfromharlow · 01/07/2019 07:19

I sell pillows and how often you need to replace them depends on what they are made of. The better quality the pillow the longer it will last.

TheGoogleMum · 01/07/2019 07:19

Yanbu I've never heard if.replacing every 6 months! I can't afford to do that. I have no idea how old my pillows are. I don't even wash them I just the cases! I'm still alive lol. If they started to smell I would wash or replace I guess but I usually replace due to flatness

Pinkfinkle · 01/07/2019 07:20

Never heard of this before, sounds like a crock of shite. I’ve washed some before when my DC’s got sick on them and they were never the same again. It’d be so damaging to the planet to replace every 6 months for no real reason.

BentNeckLady · 01/07/2019 07:22

What a waste of money, resources and life 🙄 it’s like the mattress manufacturers telling us that mattresses should be changed every 7 years - the only people that benefit are the mattress manufacturers.

If pillows are dirty then wash them. I wash my feather pillows about once every2 years. Non of y family’s heads have fallen off or anything.

Sunshine93 · 01/07/2019 07:22

Just wash them. This is absolutely ridiculous and so wasteful.

We replace ours when we get new bedding which is every year or so

WTF!! So in an adult life time you've probably had 40 sets of sheets, duvet and pillowcases don't you think that a bit wasteful? I hope you at least donate the used ones to charity.

Has no-one on here heard of their carbon footprint?

BarbaraofSevillle · 01/07/2019 07:34

God I missed that. Someone is getting new bedding every year Shock. That's insane! Why? Confused.

We're still using a standard Ikea cotton duvet cover that I bought to 'freshen up' our old house when we were selling it. That was 14 years ago. It's still in decent condition.

BikeRunSki · 01/07/2019 07:40

I have pillows from my childhood. I am in my 40s. Neither DH or I have a y respiratory complaints. They are down and still fiuffy.

cushioncovers · 01/07/2019 07:44

I replace mine about once a year. They go flat and get stained. They aren't expensive any more.

EvaHarknessRose · 01/07/2019 07:47

Mumsnet tip is to wash them with an old tennis ball to stop them going lumpy in the machine. Seems to work.

Her0utdoors · 01/07/2019 07:52

You what!? Some of ours cost nearly £20 each, no way we could afford to replace them after they've gone lumpy and unusable from going in the washing machine.