”How is it that my down pillow smells?” a customer asked us the other day. The stench was unbearable in bed according to this customer. Very annoying, because the stench obviously does not promote your sleep. Do you recognize this problem?
3 causes & solutions for a stinky down pillow
In this article you will read 3 causes of a stinky down pillow and discover the solution for each problem.
1. A poor washing process from the supplier
As mentioned earlier, a customer had to deal with a smelly pillow. This pillow turned out to be from the Ikea. The Ikea is not to blame in this case, but compared to Ducky Dons, these pillows have no Downafresh label.
The Downafresh label assures you that the feathers and down do not come from the living pick and that it has been carefully washed. It may be the case, for example, that there are some feathers among them that have not been washed properly, this creates an unpleasant odor; the down pillow stinks.
2. The pillow has been in a package for a long time
Down naturally has a certain odor. It often happens that a new pillow has a strong smell after opening the packaging. This is because the down has been “suffocated” in the packaging for a while, preventing the air from escaping. After opening, the air comes out in one go. By airing it through an open window, the smell decreases after a few days.
3. Drying too briefly after (home) washing
We washed a down pillow ourselves on a normal washing program and at 60 degrees, then we put it in the dryer with a standard drying program. As it turned out, the pillow stank pretty bad after it came out of the dryer.
It was then hung outside for two days to wear, after which the smell was mostly gone. However, we were not satisfied with the result.
Result after 3x 120 minutes drying
After further investigation, it turned out that down takes a long time to dry completely, if it is only a little wet it can start to mold and thus stink. We washed the pillow again and put it in the dryer for 5 hours. To our surprise, the pillow did not smell anymore.
4. Poor maintenance
Down is very sensitive to moisture. Contact with moisture drastically reduces the lifespan of a pillow. So don’t sleep on a pillow with wet hair and don’t leave it in a humid environment.
3 Tip to counteract a smelly pillow
- Pat your pillow lightly every day
- Air the cushion for several days at an open window
- Put your pillow in the dryer together with two tennis balls
