My GF thinks it's disgusting that I've had the same pillows since high school. In fact, they may even be from my childhood. I know they are the two pillows I took with me to college.
I've bought other pillows since, but use them just for the pillows with shams (decorative.)
She thinks the old pillows I use are bad for my neck & back and probably germy. I never sleep without a clean pillow case. I change my sheets weekly.
I know I drool and sweat when I sleep and sometimes have gone more than a day without washing my hair. I don't think a pillow case will protect from all of that. I don't use expensive pillows, and I change my pillows about every 18 months.
Yes, that is disgusting, it really is. I generally buy new pillows for my household every 12 months or so. I also wash them but then they get lumpy.
Think of it like underwear. If you wash your pillows, then like a bra that gets washed, for example, it would be ok to have them for many years. But what if you don't wash your bra? What if you just put a 'slip' over it that you changed once or twice a week? You would not want to keep that bra for long.
I think if they are still comfortable for you and you aren't having any issues with back/neck and or being sick, then what is wrong with continuing to use them?
*soapbox* We waste so much in this country. We are scared of every little germ and use tons of products that are more harmful in the long run to our environment that the germs they are manufactured to kill. Do your own part to put as little in the land fill as possible. *stepping off*
I replace my pillows when they are not comfortable. Who the heck knows how long that is, but it isn't once a year (unless you buy really cheap ones, then it might be.)
I only replace my pillows when they become uncomfy (which is every 3 or 4 years, I suppose). I do have one pillow I've had since I was a baby that I can't bear to part with. I don't put my head on it when I sleep. Sometimes I hold it or shove it under another pillow.
I'm surprised your pillows have been comfy for so long! Where can I purchase these magical pillows?
I told my GF I'd buy new ones today. I honestly just never thought of it! I've had them so long it just wasn't on my mind. The thing is, you don't buy a mattress every year or couple of years. That has a sheet on it- or maybe a sheet and a protector.
I assume these are actual pillow you sleep on & not decorativepillows. Oh yeah, pillows you sleep on should be replaced about once a year or two & STILL regularly washed in the washing machine.
They are nice pillows. They were probably really expensive because my mom spent money like crazy. They have no lumps (the last two pillows I bought got lumpy so I threw them out) and are probably made of natural materials not polyester or something. They are kind of hard but not too hard and not really very fluffy.
I don't know how they've stayed so nice. One says jumbo firm on it and the other doesn't say anything. They are not pretty to look at. Thinking about it now I will definitely get some today.
I don't know about the germ factor, but I do know that I occasionally need a different pillow because mine eventually get too flat and I have developed some back stiffness over the past couple of years.
Sometimes I get a new one after a year, sometimes more or less often than that. My husband does not understand why I need new pillows so often. He has had the same ones for years.
I remember reading somewhere that if you could fold your pillow in half and it didn't pop back open, it was time to get a new pillow. That's my measuring stick now. That being said, with money tight, new pillows are high on my list of priorities. I just stack them together.
Kermit, give yourself permission to buy some new good quality pillows. You will find that they make a big difference. Pillows rarely last long unless they are specialty pillows.
I have one orthopedic pillow that I have had for 10 years. It is still in perfect condition and I wash it regularly by hand. My other pillows get tossed in the washing machine regularly and last somewhere between 3 and 5 years.
DH has a buckwheat pillow that he loves, and his previous one lasted over 10 years. I put three pillowcases on that one because the idea of having to wash it is daunting. The manufacturer has special instructions, but they seem cumbersome. According to the manufacturer, the pillow should last up to 15 years with proper care.
I am positive that my mother still has the pillows that we used when I was a kid (and I think we're about the same age, Kermit). She saves everything!
On the other hand, I read something somewhere about how half the weight of a pillow gets replaced by dust mite droppings or something disgusting like that.
On the other other hand, I completely agree with KahluaBlast:
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I think if they are still comfortable for you and you aren't having any issues with back/neck and or being sick, then what is wrong with continuing to use them?
*soapbox* We waste so much in this country. We are scared of every little germ and use tons of products that are more harmful in the long run to our environment that the germs they are manufactured to kill. Do your own part to put as little in the land fill as possible. *stepping off*
I replace my pillows when I start noticing that my neck hurts and I'm having trouble falling asleep. That usually seems to work out to 3-5 years or so. So I'm a little bit in awe that your 20+ year old pillows are still comfy!
On the other hand, I read something somewhere about how half the weight of a pillow gets replaced by dust mite droppings or something disgusting like that.
That stat is also trotted out about mattresses. It's from a WSJ article in which the reporter misquoted the researcher. He said (paraphrase), "You read some crazy things like how mattresses double in weight from dust mites." She just quoted the crazy things without saying they were crazy.
I wish I could remember his name, but the article I read was about how mad he was that the correction was buried and people continued to cite the original article.
I agree with khalua and grab that we shouldn't just toss pillows for the sake of tossing them. Wash them and repurpose when they're too lumpy for you. Mine become dog bed filler.
the Brookstone memory foam pillows. They were a Christmas gift to each other a number of years ago. They were $100.00 each but worth it because both of us had neck problems before. They cannot be washed or put in the dryer because they would fall part. We take them on all trips with us because we cannot sleep on any other pillows now. I clean them by Febrezing vacuuming and then putting them out in the sun. I am thinking they are 8 years old and still work perfectly.
I think, Kermit that if you still are comfortable with them then use them...
I misquoted his misquote but the idea is the same:
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Just heard from a somewhat ticked-off Emmett Glass, the OSU research associate that the Wall Street Journal reporter said was the source of the claim that a mattress will double its weight due to dust mites: Emmett writes:
I never quoted that statistic. I told [the reporter] that Internet web sites have statistics that try to strike fear in the consumer, thus promoting their products. I gave her a few off the top of my head (two million mites in an average mattress, mattress doubling in weight, etc.) that I read over the years. She asked me if any of these statistics have any scientific merit and I told her that none of them are in the literature. To the layman that is NO! In fact I asked the Wall Street Journal writer to call an expert on mattresses at the internal sleep products association. She did and was told that the statistic on mattresses doubling in weight was far from the truth. The journalist choose to include it in the story anyway. She liked the statistic because it made her story more interesting.
Any time I wash my pillows they get lumpy and uncomfy. Is there a special way to wash them?
You can do the ever-popular tennisball trick. Put the pillows along with two clean tennisballs and maybe a fabric softener sheet in your dryer on medium heat. Some of my friends swear by this trick. I don't bother because my pillows don't get too lumpy and fluff up in the dryer without the balls.
They cannot be washed or put in the dryer because they would fall part.
Actually you can wash them but they have to be hand-washed. I do it with mine (maybe every three months). http://www.zenbedrooms.com/blog/inde...-foam-pillows/
I also have a pillow protector/cover that I use on my pillow (in addition to a pillowcase, and I wash those more often than the pillow.
I have pillows that are 10-12 years old, and others that are six years old. I rotate the pillows in my shams with the pillows I sleep on. It's a brand that doesn't go flat, and I love them. I only need one pillow (not two or three flatter pillows) to sleep comfortably, but I'm not sure of the brand name anymore, and I wouldn't want to buy new ones that might not be as good, just because they're old. They are my germs, after all, on them.
However, I might not want to sleep on someone else's 20 year old pillows. That might be where your GF is coming from.
If they are just in the shams, I don't see the big deal, especially if they are still comfortable. I do not change my pillows nearly as often as others are saying they do. I have thick allergy covers on them that keep dust mites out though and they are in good condition, so I don't see the reason that I would need to get new ones yearly. They are still comfortable. I take the covers off and wash the covers and then simply put them back on the pillows.
It is in the manufacturer of products best interest that we replace items often. Think of where most of the information some of us are listening to is coming from.
Just buy some new pillows. You have done MORE than your part to be green... you have had these pillows forever. Don't worry about throwing them out and replacing them.
Go for it! Treat yourself and your GF to some new, fresh, drool and other fluid free pillows!
If I could buy a new one that is an EXACT duplicate of the current one, I would. If not, then I can't sleep. Staying at a hotel is tough. The hotel room is beautiful (think high class hotel) with (probably) expen$ive pillows, but it's not MY pillow. So, I will use my old mite-infested but comfy pillow!
My pillow has a 20 year warranty. It has a pillowcase cover and another cover that protects the pillow from germs, etc...I take off and wash both covers and never wash the pillow. It's in great shape. It's not discolored or anything. On the other hand, my DH will have a pillow for a few months and it's discolored. He sweats and drools.
Kermit, I agree. There is nothing like the perfect old pillow. I have a very flat feather pillow that I have had for years. I finally recovered it. I wash it a few times/year and dry it with a tennis shoe to keep it from "bunching" in the dryer. If I ever find another this comfy I might switch it out, but for now, I'll keep it.
I have two pillows that I have had since I was a child. One is still firm and in good condition one is well loved. I would not get rid of them unless they were in poor condition.
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09-24-2013, 10:14 PM
. I clean them by Febrezing vacuuming and then putting them out in the sun. I am thinking they are 8 years old and still work perfectly.
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