Friday, July 06, 2007

Airing pillows

My husband's fever has finally broken, but not without a ton of extra laundry. He tends to soak all the linens with perspiration.

I've been changing the pillowcases twice a day, but the pillows themselves were still damp. I air them on the grass early each morning. The evaporating dew and sunshine work some kind of freshening magic. I'll wash them properly when I get caught up. For now, it's a no-work (but effective) fix.

7 comments:

Kim said...

Being the bug-phobic person I am, I can't help but worry about the teeny tiny bugs that might like the pillow and hop on for a ride. I mean the kind that bite. Ick. Do you vacuum the pillows after airing them?

Anonymous said...

Airing pillows in the sunshine is a great way to freshen them! I put mine atop the umbrella clothes line, foolishly thinking that they're just that much closer to the sun. ;-)

So glad to hear that your husband's fever broke. I hope he's feeling much better quite soon.

Anne Marie@Married to the Empire said...

Smart! In addition to airing out the pillows, the sun should kill any germs.

Whenever my husband gets over an illness, I take all the bedding to the laundromat (giant washer that will fit our comforter) to wash it all. Everything gets that smell of sickness that I just can't stand, not to mention all the germs that are lurking in the bedding.

I'm glad your husband's fever broke. I hope he's feeling back to normal soon. And I hope you and the kids don't get whatever is ailing him!

Stephanie said...

I didn't even know you could wash pillows. Do you run them in the washer??

Meredith said...

Yes, I do. I would wash two at a time to prevent unbalancing, with hot water, bleach, and regular detergent. Depending on the quality of your pillow, the filling may bunch over time. My husband has such dust mite allergies that it's a necessity for us.


I have more success drying them in the sun than in the dryer. If you are worried about bugs, you can dry or air them on a clean sheet or a picnic table. I doubt that bugs could crawl *into* the pillow itself, so a brisk shake and a good looking-over should be enough.

I've been drying clothes and linens outside for several years now, and I don't think I've ever had a bug bite me because of it!

Anonymous said...

there is actually something in the chlorophyll reaction when the fabric touches the grass + sunshine that whitens and freshens linens. Read that somewhere...Country Living mag??

d

Anonymous said...

Glad your husband is feeling better. I know when hubby is sick it can be very difficult for Mom to get things done the way she normally does. I brought some nice alergy proff pillow covers for our pillows. I can take these covers off and wash just them (the covers) not the whole pillow...between the allergy cover and a pillow case our pillows don't get damp any more when someone has a fever. Roxie