You may have a customer request pillow cleaning as part of your routine service. While this is not a common request for residential cleaning, some commercial clients, especially hotels, require this on a regular basis. If you find that your residential customer is using feather pillows, some special care is necessary to ensure that the pillows look their best. Following these simple steps will provide excellent results.
Remove pillowcases. Pillows should never be washed in their cases. All pillowcases and shams should be removed before beginning, and washed separately. As long as the cases and shams are not dry-clean only, these can be washed in the washing machine. Check the care label for any special instructions. Machine wash feather pillows on the delicate cycle. It’s absolutely essential that you use the delicate cycle when washing feather pillows. Washing these types of pillows on a regular cycle will badly clump the down, and may irreparably damage the pillow. It’s also important to keep the machine balanced by having an even number of pillows on each side of the washing barrel. No other items should be washed in the same cycle.
Use an extra rinse cycle. Because of the nature of the feathers to hold onto the chemicals used in laundry soaps, you should always include an extra rinse cycle when cleaning feather pillows.
Next put the pillows in the dryer with a couple of tennis balls. Yes, tennis balls! Tossing a few clean tennis balls into the dryer alongside your feather pillows aids in the fluffing process. Make sure that the tennis balls are clean and not right out of the can (wash them a few times with throw rugs), of course, or you’ll end up back where you started from. Use a gentle dry cycle, and stop it every so often to remove the pillows and manually fluff them and separate any clumps that may have formed.
How to Clean Feather Pillows — Fresh Air Smell
Place the pillows out in the sun. A common complaint with feather pillows is a musty smell. If after washing and drying a client’s feather pillows you notice that a musty or dank smell is still present, this is easily remedied by laying the pillows out in direct sunlight for one to two hours. Be sure that the surface you lay them on is clean, and protected from insects and airborne dirt and dust.
If you follow these simple instructions, you are certain to provide your client with clean, fluffy, fresh-smelling feather pillows. A satisfied, happy client is a client who will return to you for future business.
