A lot of people working long shifts look forward to hitting the pillow. The anticipation is even greater if you sleep on a good-quality pillow that hugs you and keeps your neck in a neutral and painless position. It’s no secret that having healthy sleep affects the following day in a great matter and having a good mattress and pillow are the major contributors to healthy sleep. But, what happens when the pillow starts to lose its quality and its fluffiness?
Sleep experts recommend swapping your pillow every 1 to 2 years. That way, the pillow that started losing its fluffiness and the quality started decaying can get replaced and won’t compromise your sleep.
However, with pillows that come with 3 to 5 years of warranty replacing the pillow every year sounds pointless. Besides, for many, pillows aren’t so affordable and one has to cash out over $100 to sleep on a comfy Queen or king pillow. What to do if you can’t afford to get a new one every 1 to 2 years?
Fortunately, there are a few ways to make pillows fluffy again. With special practices and habits, you can put your pillow in its old shape to the point it won’t be much different than a new one. More importantly, it’s not hard or expensive and if you practice these habits daily, your pillow will stay fresh.
It’s worth mentioning that you should be able to make a difference between a pillow that started losing its fluff and a pillow that has gone bad and needs replacing.
Refluffing won’t always make your pillow as good as new and if you continue feeling uncomfortable while sleeping on it, chances are that you will need to invest in a new pillow to get your quality sleep back.
We wrote this article to address the causes behind pillows losing their fluff while providing tips on how to restore them to their original state. Continue reading this article to learn DIY hacks to help you fix your sinking pillow, as well as recognize when your pillow’s time has come and it needs a replacement.
What Causes The Pillow to Lose Its Fluffiness?
Before we dig into the ways to fix your pillow’s fluffiness and enjoy embracing and conforming feeling as you sleep let’s identify the cause of your pillow’s lots of fluff. Usually, it’s some bad habits of your own, as well as environmental impact on the pillow’s fluffiness.
Of course, the reasons can be related to your pillows being old but more often than not, it’s your environment and bad sleeping habits that can make your pillow lose the fluff. Here are the causes.
Moisture
One of the most common causes of flat pillows is related to moisture. Perhaps, the environment in your room is too humid, which causes the pillow to absorb that humidity. The pillows are closed, and usually covered with a pillowcase, but that doesn’t usually prevent moisture and humidity from entering your pillow.
Another reason for your pillow absorbing moisture can be the fact that you’re either sweating profusely during the night or sleeping with wet hair. The good quality sheets and pillowcases can prevent the moisture from entering, but not even they can protect the pillow in its entirety.
After some time, the filling in your pillow will feel affected by all the moisture and wetness that it had endured beforehand, especially if you plan to use that pillow for years.
Although sweating is a naturally-occurring thing at night, especially during hot summer nights, it’s worth noting that some people sweat more than others. That’s why there are some things you could do to prevent it.
Interestingly, there’s a study that explored the connection between the properties of your pillow and its effects on body temperature and the overall moisture applied on it.
Editor’s notes: Changing your pillowcases and sheets frequently will be good for your pillow. However, what’s even more important is to use pillowcases made of sateen, cotton, Tencel, or other breathable non-synthetic materials.
Other things that can help you sweat less are avoiding large meals that are too close to your bedtime. Additionally, you should consider wearing lighter and baggier clothes that will give your body more room to breathe and avoid sweating excessively in certain places.
It’s worth noting that sweating too much can also disrupt your sleep quality and not just damage your pillow. Lastly, you should consider getting a humidifier to track the level of humidity in your room.
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Your Head
Not every pillow is for every head. Some pillows are designed for heavier and bigger heads, while some are specifically made for children.
Of course, it’s impossible to scale or measure your head, and that’s not even for discussion, but if you feel like your pillow is sinking too much, maybe you should consider getting a pillow with more fluff, as well as a pillow that has a refillable filling. That way you can add more stuffing that can bear the weight and pressure of your head.
Editor’s notes: Keep in mind that some pillows are made out of cheaper materials like cheap memory foam, cheap feathers, and other cheaper materials. Consider pillows made out of down feathers, as well as high-quality gel memory foam, latex, and other materials that are more adjustable to different shapes of the head.
Dust Mites
Dust mites are creepy crawlers that can completely mess with your sleep cycle, especially if you are allergic to them. Allergies can disrupt your sleep and give you difficulties breathing. Additionally, dust mites can cause your pillow to lose its fluff because they feed on your skin particles as well as the organic particles in your pillow.
Dust mites can decrease the quality of your pillow, but they can also survive for a long time inside of it, additionally disrupting your sleep, according to experts. Other bugs in your pillow can also potentially make it lose its fluff.
Editor’s notes: Go for hypoallergenic materials in your pillows, such as memory foam, or organic cotton. Additionally, you should invest in hypoallergenic sheets, pillowcases, and covers and air your pillow regularly.
Also Read: How To Remove Dust Mites From Mattress?
The Pillow Materials Are Weary
Experts advise that pillows should be changed every 1 to 2 years, although some experts give more years of warranty for a better experience. Still, after the materials become weary the pillow will start losing its quality and there’s not much you can do other than to get a new pillow for yourself.
Editor’s notes: Some companies allow you to replace the filling with shredded memory foam, down, or cotton fill. However, not all of them will do it. You can either call the company that sold you the pillow and have them send you a new filling, the process may be significantly easier if the pillow is still under warranty.
How to Re-Fluff Pillows And Restore Their Fluffiness?
There are a few quite straightforward methods to fix your pillow’s flatness. Continue reading to learn more about it.
Give it a Massage
After all moisture and pressure of your head onto the pillow, it may only need a little bit of massage to restore its fluffiness and give you a hugging comfort as you go down to sleep. Place a pillow on your bed, and give it a thorough massage.
Due to sweat and moisture in general, your pillow will become chunkier in certain areas, meaning that the material is not breathable enough and doesn’t feel so comfortable to lay on. It may feel hard and give you a headache or neck pain. Luckily, massaging that area will help you break down the hard particles and parts and make your pillow feel soft again.
Editor’s notes: Keep in mind that you will have to repeat the massaging maneuvers a few times before you notice results.
Use Dryer
If you have a dryer at home, it will serve as a great tool to help you restore your pillow’s fluffiness. After all, placing it in a dryer just gives it a tougher massage, and also helps you automate the process of re-fluffing your pillow.
However, using a dryer with pillows is not so straightforward because not all manufacturers made their pillows to be washable or put in a dryer, so make sure to read the product label and even call the company that sold you the pillow if you’re unsure or can’t find the instructors.
Most of the pillows are dryer-safe, but it doesn’t cost you anything to check up on that. If you’re concerned about the pillow’s quality after the drying session, you can always run your dryer on a no heat or low-heat setting.
Editor’s notes: To get faster results, you can put a tennis or table tennis ball inside the pillow to help you break the hard chunks of cotton or other material as the pillow is being spun in the dryer. The fill gets easily clumped up altogether which gives it a hard and old feel. Luckily, a tennis ball that moves across the fill as the pillow is spinning in the dryer helps you speed up the process and you probably won’t have to re-fluff it more than once.
Give It Some Air
If you don’t have a dryer at home, you can simply keep your pillow outside during the day. Put it on the balcony or window if you live in an apartment, somewhere where there’s a lot of fresh air and plenty of sun.
If you live in the house, it gets even easier as you can place the pillow in your garden, on the porch, or lawn and let nature give it more air.
Editor’s notes: In combination with massage, the airing process of your pillow can bring great results and allow you to experience the comfort of your pillow just like when you first brought it home.
When Is It Time For a New Pillow?
Unfortunately, if your pillow is still flat and uncomfortable to lay on even after doing all the re-fluffing methods you could possibly do, then it’s time for a new pillow.
If your pillow is still under warranty or trial period, you can always return it and get your money back or replace it for some other pillow. If your pillow is past its warranty period then investing in a new pillow doesn’t sound like a bad idea.
After all, you can take this opportunity to test some other materials. Generally, down and latex pillows deliver the best quality, especially if they are paired with cotton. Nevertheless, pillows made with a good quality memory foam will offer a pressure-neutralizing and comfy experience too.
According to many pillow manufacturers, the pillow should be changed every 1 to 2 years. But, many consumers believe that’s just a marketing trick to keep sales at a high level. According to Consumer Reports, however, the pillow is really old after 10 years of use and it should be replaced.
Memory foam pillows conform to the natural shape of your head and neck and will help you keep your spine in a neutral position. Just make sure to get a pillow that is suitable for your sleeping position and doesn’t forget to get a pillow that is hypoallergenic and infused with gel memory foam for more breathability.
