Recently Asked Questions
Why and How Often do we Need to Change our Pillows?
By regularly replacing our pillows, we get to keep getting a restful night’s sleep and avoid waking up with those aches and pains. Changing out our pillows isn’t just about not being gross, although that is a huge motivation!
Every night as we sleep, our body sheds skin, hair, and body oil that get absorbed in our pillows. The buildup can cause our pillows to smell, although washing it regularly will prevent that.
Besides the odor, over time these conditions will naturally attract dust mites to grow in our pillow. These tiny creatures add extra weight to our pillows and impair its ability to stay supportive long-term. Dust mites are not dangerous, but they feed on our skin and are simply unsettling to think about. But for people with allergies, dust mites can worsen their symptoms to the extent that they interfere with their sleep.
Even if we address the dust mite problem with regular washing, our pillow can’t last forever. Our heads are heavy, and bearing the weight of our head night after night will eventually wear our pillows out.
Here is a list of signs that let us know it’s time to change our Pillows:
- · There are lumps in the foam or filler materials
- · There are noticeable, stains from body sweat and oil
- · Aches and pains in our neck or shoulders
- · We wake up tired (due to the above aches and pains impairing our sleep)
- · We wake up with headaches
- · We wake up sneezing from the dust mites
- · We constantly have to re fluff our pillow to get comfortable
- · Our pillow doesn’t return to form after it is folded in half
If you have allergies, you’ll need to replace your pillow more regularly than the suggested lifespans below, simply because you’re more sensitive to dust mites.
Type of Pillow and When to change:
Feather 18-36 months
Memory foam 18-36 months
Down 2 years
Synthetic down/down alternative 18-24 months
Polyester 6-24 months
Wool 12-36 Months
If you need help choosing the right pillow for you, we can help with that!!
Feathers vs Down, What's The Difference?
With so many pillows and fillings out there, it can be hard to know which one might be a good fit for you. Some people may believe that feather and down are very similar products, however, we’re here to explain the significant difference between the two.
Feathers are the part of the bird that are quite large and have a stiff, heavy quill running through the center. They vary in size from small body feathers to large flight feathers. Low-quality products tend to use chopped flight feathers, which are cheap but make for crunchy, uncomfortable products. Although, in some cases high quality body feathers are extremely useful. Body feathers, unlike flight feathers are small, soft, and have a curve in the quill that form a spring. These are ideal for uses like feather beds, cushion forms, and down blends.
Down is soft under coating that geese and ducks grow to keep them warm. In comparison to feathers, with its stiff quill, a down cluster looks like a dandelion puff. Down is three-dimensional, with tiny filaments that reach out, interlock with one another, and form pockets to capture warm air creating a superior insulator.
Ultimately, it depends on what matters most to you. Here is what to consider when choosing between the two. :
- Comfort and Feel: Down pillows are plusher, loftier, and there are no quills to surprise you with an unpleasant poke. Feather pillows are more firm and flat.
- Longevity: With the compression of your head against the pillow night after night, your pillow will eventually need to be replaced, however, a down pillow will last longer in comparison to a feather pillow. With a down pillow, the down clusters will spring back to their original shape once your head is removed, while the feathers will lie more flat
- Temperature: If you find you are very hot when you sleep, you may prefer a feather pillow. Feather pillows remain cooler than down pillows, since the feathers don’t trap heat the same way down clusters do.
- Shape: If you like a loftier, more voluminous pillow, down is the way to go. The three-dimensional shape of down clusters provides a fluffier pillow that’s less likely to flatten like a feather pillow.
- Price: Due to the softer feel and longer lifespan, down pillows are 2 to 3 times more expensive than feather pillows.
