5 Smart Ways to Keep Feathers From Coming Out of Pillows

Pillows made with real down feathers are much nicer than pillows with a synthetic filling but can be challenging to use.

When feathers come out of the pillows, they can be sharp and annoying. It’s also worrying if they continue to come out because it lowers the pillow’s density over time.

Before you give up on your pillow, make sure you have tried these methods to keep feathers coming out from pillows. It’s also good to know these tips when you have a new pillow or before a pillow starts to leak feathers so that you can keep it in good condition for longer.

What are Feather Pillows? 

When feather pillows are made, the material is taken from the animal’s back and wings. As you can imagine, each feather has a quill, so over time, thin cushions could allow the quills to poke through. You can minimize the poking by using a protector or thick pillowcase to shield yourself.

The feather-filled types are often combined with down to make them softer. Pure feather varieties tend to have a slimmer profile and can flatten over time as the quills line up.

5 Smart Ways to Keep Feathers From Coming Out of Pillows

1. Get a Pillow Protector

Pillow covers extend the life of a pillow by protecting against wear and tear. Still, more importantly, pillow protectors provide a healthier sleep environment by blocking fluids, moisture, dust mites, bed bugs, and stains from penetrating your pillow. 

Pillow protectors are pillow covers or pillowcases with fabric technology that offers advanced features for your health and comfort. Pillow covers are easy to remove and wash. Pillowcase covers are available in various sizes, fabrics, materials, colors and with varying protection benefits.

Pillow protectors work great to keep feathers inside the pillow where you want them. It might seem to be a waste of time to put another cloth covering over a pillow, but pillow protectors are specifically designed to keep feathers in and are not just another layer.

Regular pillow covers don’t have a thick weave of the fabric, making it easy for the feathers to poke through. Even when you have a pillowcase over the pillow, the pillowcase weave probably isn’t tight enough to keep feathers from poking through.

Using a pillow protector will save you a lot of trouble. They are made with a very thick, tightly woven fabric that gives the feathers less room to poke out of the pillow.

The feathers still might poke out of their original pillow cover, but they will most likely stay in place under the pillow protector.

You can put a regular pillowcase on a down pillow with a pillow protector just like you would for a standard pillow. The pillow protector will also work to keep your pillow cleaner for longer, which means that you have to wash it less.

2. Don’t Wash Too Frequently

Washing pillows is a great thing to do every once in a while. Pillows can gather dirt and bacteria, just the same as sheets do. By washing your pillows regularly, you will keep your bedding clean and smelling fresh.

The concern is less about the pillow breaking down and more about the host of critters and debris you can find in the pillow you lay your face on night after night. Dirt, oil, and dead skin cells get trapped there, which may lead to acne. 

Dust mites, which belong to the spider family, also like to hang out in the crevices of your pillow. “You can’t see them, but they’re concentrated in things like bedding and carpeting,” says Mark R. Neustrom, DO, of Kansas City Allergy and Asthma Associates.

Dust mite accumulation can cause health problems, namely unpleasant reactions in people who are allergic to the bugs. Neustrom says that around two-thirds of all people with allergies may be allergic to the types of dust mites that congregate indoors.

However, washing does cause some minimal damage to the pillow. Wear on the fabric is normal and unavoidable over time, and it will happen even if you don’t wash your pillow.

Unless your pillow is marked “dry clean only,” you should wash most pillows about twice a year following care label instructions. Laundering a pillow isn’t difficult, although it can take a bit of time to get it dry.

This does mean that it might make it more likely that feathers will stick out of the pillow if you wash it often. You should only wash your feather-filled pillow as often you need to and try not to wash it too frequently.

3. Be a Little Cautious 

Even if the care tag indicates the pillow is machine washable, there’s no guarantee the pillow will come out of the wash looking or feeling like it did before washing. To keep a pillow from getting lumpy, wash it with other pillows to ensure a balanced load. 

The key to preventing lumpy pillows is drying them thoroughly with low heat after washing. Some inexpensive pillows are poorly made and may feel lumpy no matter how much care is taken in washing and drying cycles.

Sometimes when you get a new pillow, you are not as watchful with keeping it in good shape as you are with an older pillow showing some obvious signs of wear. Treat new pillows with care and take precautions that will make them last longer in the end.

Read: 5 Fantastic Ways To Dry Jeans Fast (And Do Jeans Shrink After Washing?

Do things that you would do to a pillow that you can tell is starting to leak. Buying a pillow protector will do you a lot of good in keeping the pillow looking new for a more extended amount of time.

Spot-clean stains on the pillows with dish soap and warm water. A toothbrush is an effective tool for scrubbing out stains. Wash the pillows on a gentle cycle with warm water and laundry detergent. Remove the pillows from the washer when the process is complete and place them into the dryer.

4. Fluff the Pillow

This might seem a little bit counterintuitive if you are trying to keep down inside a pillow, but fluffing the pillow will help sort out the feathers. If a feather is about to come out of the pillow, fluffing, it will push the feather back into place.

Try to fluff your pillow about once a day and not only when it looks flat. A feather can be positioned to come out of the pillow at any time, so it’s best to take a few seconds and fluff the pillow to reduce the risk of a feather coming out the next time that you lay down.

Drying them can fluff them up quickly. You can do this by setting a pillow out in the sun for a few hours of placing it in a dryer set to low heat. Fluff the pillow even more by placing a tennis ball in a sock, tying the end of the sock, and putting them in the dryer with the pillow

Make sure that you are not too rough with the pillow as you fluff it. Too much movement could push the feathers out with the pressure of the air moving through the pillow.

Fluffed-up pillows improve the overall look of your bedroom. They will also be more comfortable and help you to sleep better. Make sure you’re not allergic to feathers or down before you sleep on, or fluff up pillows containing them, though.

5. Patch a Leak

There are several things you could do to ensure that your pillow gives you extended service. One of those is to repair and patch holes from where the feathers are coming out, whether it’s a spot that’s worn thinner than the rest of the pillow, a ripped seam, or even a small tear. 

Never ignore a section of the pillow that looks like it needs some patching, even if it’s a small ole. If anything, taking care of minor repairs will help you avoid potentially significant problems. 

You’ll need a sewing needle, some thread, or a piece of fabric that’s big enough to cover the area that needs patching if it’s only the seam that needs repair, you don’t need to use an extra fabric. Instead, take the two sides and sew them together.

Don’t worry if you’ve got no sewing experience or other fancy supplies. As long as you’ve got the sewing needle and the thread, you’re good to go. You can start by first looking up different hand-sewing stitches so that you get inspiration for different patterns before you start patching the pillow. 

What are the Differences in Feather Bed Pillows?

The difference between these two is the kind of materials that are used to fill them up. You can find out the fabric a pillow is filled with by checking the label. There are two main types of materials; these are feathers and down. 

If the product is labeled 100% down means the pillow is only filled with down. But if it’s marked merely as “down,” it simply means the material in the pillow is a combination of down, feathers, and other fibers materials. 

Pillows that are filled with down clusters are known to be the most expensive and have the most extended lifespan. This pillow is also very easy to clean and resistant to compacting, making the pillow the most loved and preferred by many people. 

Tips for Washing Feather Bed Pillows

Cleaning feather bed pillows is essential because it helps reinvigorate them to regain their fluffy and new look. But that’s something we might freely say about synthetic pillows. 

Feather and down pillows can easily fit in nearly all types of washing machines. This advantage also means that it’s easy to maintain the pillows.

Synthetic pillows, on the other hand, are troublesome to wash. During washing, the whole pillow can come out lumpy and thus very easy to get ruined. Once you buy a synthetic pillow, chances are very high that you might never wash it until the day you give up on it and decide to purchase new ones. 

Frequently Asked Questions

With these five simple tips, you’ve got the power in your hands to make your pillows last long and give you extended service. If you’re shopping for new pillows, be intentional about bringing those filled with down and feathers.