What went wrong with my pillow?

[logixx]

Alright, I read the other pillow threat but still have a question left.

I have this down-filled pillow that I washed a couple of times before. This time, however, something must have gone wrong because the pillow now just smells awful.

I started by squeezing most of the air from the pillow and then immersed it in water so it would soak up the water instead of air. I then spun it at 1400 rpm in the FL before I put it through a 140°F wash (with regular powdered detergent, though) and several deep rinses without softener. After the final spin, I dried it on high heat (158°F) for 90 minutes followed by low heat (122°F) for another 90 minutes.

The result is that even after two washes the pillow still smells strange. So what to do? Just re-wash and air-dry, use vinegar in the final rinse or just toss it and get a new one? BTW: the smell already developed during the drying cycle hence I don’t think what I smell is mildew cuased by residual moisture in the pillow. And it’s not a burnt smell, either...

TIA, Alex

 

[panthera]

Alex,

I had that happen to me with a Candadian Goose Down pillow from Karstadt, cost a bloody fortune and I was not happy. Took it back and they said the smell would go away if I did exactly what you suggested - Essigessence - and lots of rinsing followed by thorough drying in a big commercial dryer at a low heat with a second cycle after it "felt" dry.
It worked.
Beats me, glad it went away.
Of course, if the pillow is cheap, just toss it and buy a new one. At some point, it just isn't worth it.

 

[launderess]

Down filled items must be totally dry, otherwise mould will grow and that is usually the cause of foul smells.

Think of down filled items like a head of thick long hair. If you aim a hot blow dryer at that head of hair, the ends/portions outer most will dry first; however the roots and hair underneath will take longer to dry and indeed may still be wet long after the top layers are dry.

Drying down filled items requires using a dryer large enough to accomodate the item as the wet down fluffs, and a heat setting low enough to provide gentle heating that will allow the down filling to dry totally without roasting the outer portions.

Personally like to take down filled items out of the dryer every so often and beat/fluff them manually, then return to the machine for more drying. Will also use that time to pull apart any clumps and "feel" around the down to see if there are any wet or damp spots.

Normally never return machine dried down filled items to service right away, but will like to put them outside or some place where they can lay/hang in fresh air for a few days. This makes sure the item is totally dry and will not moulder.

It can take ages for down filled items to dry totally in a tumble dryer. Have found high air flow a better choice over excessive heat.

If your item has mouldered inside, there is nothing to do but chuck it away, and certianly do not sleep on it. Once started growing, mould inside a pillow or duvet is impossible to destroy. Well there are methods but it would involve some nasty chemicals that would either ruin the down filling and or leave such a whiff you'd never use the thing again anyway. Should you decide to make a brave attempt, you will need a fungicide, preferably one with an EPA certification.

L.

 

[cuffs054]

You haven't lived until you have a feather pillow come apart in a TL machine. OY! What a mess!!

 

[peterh770]

I never met a down pillow or comforter that didn't smell like a wet goose when fresh out of the dryer. I think that IS the smell of clean for these...

 

[oldhouseman]

I thought

you were supposed to put down filled items out in the sun after washing them to prevent that odor. That what we always did and never had a problem. I think Peter is right and that's what the sun is for, -to take away the odor.

 

[jeffg]

When drying pillows, they can appear to be totally dry but still be quite damp in the center. Take them out every 30 minutes or so and fluff them hard, to redistribute the center down material toward the edges.

One of our down pillows is thicker than the other, and took nearly 3 hours to dry on medium heat. It had a wet goose smell but that disappeared as soon as it was completely dry.

 

[whirlcool]

I asked this once before, but I didn't see an answer. How often are you supposed to wash down filled pillows?

We washed ours last fall at the laundromat. We used one of those huge commerical dryers set at medium heat and fluffed them up every 10 minutes. They took about 90 minutes to dry.

 

[danemodsandy]

Drying Down:

One tip I learned a long time ago has helped my down-filled items stay like-new for years:

When drying, put the item in the dryer along with a couple-three clean tennis balls, or a pair of clean sneakers. As the item tumbles, these things will "beat" it continuously, fluffing it up as it dries. No clumping, no thin spots when you're done. Items also seem to dry better, since the continuous fluffing seems to let the dryer's hot air circulate better inside the pillow or comforter or down jacket.

I have a three-pack of tennis balls in the laundry room kept especially for this purpose.

 

[logixx]

Thank you all for your suggestions! I'll try to relaunder it and give it lots of time to dry. If that won't do it, I'm gonna have to throw it away - it's pretty old anyway.