In Australia now pillows come with a use-by date! Yes really! But it seems to me the pillows on the spare room bed are rarely used so would (I think!) last longer than the date. What do you think?

All that said and done... I have had my favourite down pillows for years, I don't wash the pillows but I do wash the pillow protector that goes on under the pillowcase.

We switch ours out every three years, or so. We make it a habit to wash them several times per year, and do beat them and air them out in the sun a couple times per month. We've found that changing the pillow cases 2-3 times per week can also make a different. They do get yellowish, but they smell fine and still have quite a bit of "loft".

Zippered plastic pillow covers over pillows on your bed? The crinkling would drive me crazy. While visiting a friend of the family, I slept in a bed with a plastic cover over the mattress and the pillow (both were then covered by a sheet and pillow case). The stiffness and crinkle was unbearable. Any sweat stays right there on your skin, too.

It takes *years* for my pillows to assume the perfectly molded shape I find comfortable, so I've assumed a "live and let live" approach to dust mites. If they can live in a zippered pillow case and they leave me alone, then I'll leave them alone. (And assuming they live through the washing machine once or twice a year.)

You can get covers that have a soft outer and waterproof inner. We use those on our bed and pillows. We use straight plastic on our kiddo's bed still because he has night accidents.

I read somewhere that you can put your pillows in the dryer for 20 minutes on high to combat dust mites. I hope this is helpful!

Hahaha, I used a pillow for over 15 years. It was down. I never had a blankie as a kid, but I ended up with this pillow when I was about 12 because my mom bought it for my dad and he didn't like it. I loved it. It got so squished and stained and beat down. I put a cloth zippered pillow cover on it in college. I took it EVERYWHERE, packed it in suitcases on airplanes etc. I finally had a heart to heart with myself about it and bought myself a new down pillow last year.

I change my pillowcase weekly, and am using a zippered cloth pillow cover as a pre-emptive measure on this pillow. I wash the pillow cover a few times a year. I'm sure I could be a little more sanitary than I am, but I'll add that I almost always shower in the evening (not a morning person, I work out after work) and so I go to bed with clean hair so my pillow doesn't get as dirty as others' would!

I am surprised to read that pillows would last that long. (I am talking synthetic filling pillows, not down pillows). Mine seem to lose their shape pretty quickly - I would say in less than a year. (And I am not one of those people who squish pillows into balls etc.)
I usually buy new ones to replace the worn ones which I use (or rather, the filling) to restuff my dogs' beds.

I bought a new pillow at an expensive pillow shop a few months ago as I have neck problems and wanted something for that. They lady there actually said that pillows need to be replaced far more often (I think every 2-3 years it was) then mattresses as we sweat, drool ect. into them the most. Mine has a center that cannot be washed but the padded part outside can. If you can't wash your pillow I would say it should be tossed. But you can also buy slightly padded covers that over more protection - I have some of those for other pillows from Ikea.

Short answer: I replace a pillow when it no longer can be made to look, smell, and feel right. My pillows are of synthetic down since I'm allergic to down and feathers. I use dust mite covers under the regular pillow cases. I launder the pillow cases frequently. I launder the dust mite covers and the pillows themselves less frequently, at least as soon as I notice they're no longer odorless or have a spot. Eventually, the pillows get irreparably lumpy from being laundered. That's usually when they're replaced, although stained fabric is a deal-breaker, too.

Ive had mine for quite a few years. I'll usually wash them in hot water with a small amt of detergent and just a tad of bleach and rinse about 2 or 3 times. Then i dry them in the drier at low heat with a tennis ball. I'm sure there is a "standard" time range to keep them but I'm on a crazy tight budget and always find other things I need to buy than pillows!

I have a rotation of sorts. I buy new pillows every year; usually 4. Two firm filled with poly fiber and two medium firm with down. These go on the guest beds. The 4 on the guest bed then make their way to my room..this way they are somewhat broken in...given that my guest bedroom gets used maybe 5 times a year. Then the pillows on my bed get moved to the front closet. These are pillows that I used while watchign t.v., I take them camping, or if for some reason I have house full of people. And then I throw the 4 out that were in that closet.

I know this is a bit contrived but it works.

I think it depends on whether or not you've got allergies. If you do, you probably have to be vigilant about covering, washing, and replacing pillows, but if you don't have allergies, and the pillow doesn't smell, and you regularly wash your pillow cases, then it seems pretty arbitrary to decide, for instance, that 2 years is an acceptable time period to have a pillow, but the very next day, that same pillow is unsanitary.

Last week, when my laundered pillows lost their shape, I picked up three new ones (the dogs get the old) for under $25 at a discount dept store and I'm loving them. 'Happiness is new bed pillows'.

@dustinstruckmeyer:

I'm similar to you. I like to get new pillows for the bedroom every two years, rotate the older pillows to the guest room, and rotate the old guest pillows to the camping stash. Old camping pillows then get turned into cat beds.

It also depends if one is experiencing menopause. I wash mine once a week and replace every two months or so - it's disgusting how much I sweat while I sleep.

Hrmmm, I've been practicing avoidance, regarding the "replace your pillows" rule. They are very expensive down pillows. I was hoping that washing them in hot water and drying them for a million hours in the dryer would kill any dust mites. You don't want to know how old they are, but they are still fluffy.

I'd really rather not say how long I've had my pillow. But I will say it outlasted my marriage, and I was married a very long time.

So, yes, it's...age-ed, but it's the perfect size, material (some foam, probably long since known as carcinogenic) and most importantly, the PERFECT comfiness.

I've tried replacing it over the years, but I always go right back to it.

um ... wash the pillows regularly. hot dryer weekly. change case often. tout est bien.

Sunlight kills dust mites. Something I learned while living in Sweden and seeing everyone hang their duvets out the window on sunny days.

I have memory foam pillows, so I'm a bit less concerned with dust mites and such. If I remember correctly, the Tempurpedic pillows generally have a cover that's already anti-microbial (wool, I think?). I have a protective cover on the pillows (not a plastic one, but just cotton I believe), and then the regular pillowcases that get laundered regularly.

The pillows are only a year old. I imagine that replacement of these pillows will end up being based a lot on whether or not the shape/material holds up, and whether or not it ends up stained or smelly or something. The inner material stops a lot of the issues that would be present in a down or synthetic down pillow: areas for mites etc. to live.

Wow, I'm surprised that everyone gets new pillows so often, especially if they're using washable pillows, such as down. I simply don't see what's so worrying about sweat, drool, or dust mites when all of these things can be washed out. Eventually, the pillows will break down from wear, but getting rid of pillows that are in good shape after washing simply because of their age seems like paranoia to me.

I have protector cases on my down/feather pillows that get washed pretty regularly (6 weeks?), change pillowcases at least weekly and toss the pillows for a while in the dryer with the change of seasons, more to fluff them up than anything else, but if that kills the dust mites - even better!

I usually replace my main sleeping one once a year. But it's not down and I only have a pillowcase over it. The dust protector coverings always drive me insane with the heat and the noise. So I just get a new pillow more often. I've heard that once you can fold it in half and it does not bounce back it is time for replacement (usually 1-2 years). I just go by feel. If it is no longer comfy then it's new pillow time.

I've read (and I thought it was on this site) that it also helps to hang/lay your pillows in bright sunshine too keep them fresh. The sun's UV light works antibacterial.

Fun fact on the side: You can also disinfect water with sunlight. Put it in a transparent PVC-Bottle and put it out in the sun. 1 day of sunlight or 4 days of cloudy weather should do the trick.

You need a Shitou zhentou (Chinese for rock pillow) to help with the dinginess in the brain. "played an important role in ancient China. Made from jade, it was believed to translate the energy from the stone to the human brain."

Mine go out in the sun once a week after being sprayed with febreeze. Dry cleaned once a month. 2 pillowcases on each. Replace every 10 years. I'm a tummy sleeper so its not easy to find the right pillow. ..and my cats would object if I changed them.

I recently read that you're supposed to replace your pillows twice a year...which blew my mind. I usually use mine much longer.

LOL. I read that in some times and places it was customary for a person to sleep resting her head on a small block of wood.

Strawberry79 said, "I've heard that once you can fold it in half and it does not bounce back it is time for replacement (usually 1-2 years). I just go by feel. If it is no longer comfy then it's new pillow time."

I'm with you. If you can fold it, it's time for a replacement. One thing I cannot stand is a sorry excuse for a pillow. Went to my folks home (they are in their 80's) and the pillows were awful. I looked and they were the same ones I used as a kid! I remembered the print on the fabric!! :S) I did the fold test, showed my mom and I went and got them new pillows for the whole house. My dad came out of the bedroom the next morning exclaiming how wonderful he slept and how wonderful that pillow was. :) At least I gave him a goodnight's sleep... I use a cloth pillow cover, fluff them in the dryer on high, but I buy new pillows maybe once a year or every other year. Hate to sleep at my in laws...ugh...how do you sleep on flat pillows?? Makes me want to go out and buy one today! :)

I need to replace my pillows. I noticed when I washed pillows and rotated the mattress last weekend that the pillows are getting lumpy and flattened out. It's been a couple of years since I replaced them last.

I'm laughing! When I was a kid, my mother read in a woman's magazine that you could wash down pillows. She threw her (never washed) 25-year-old pillows into the machine and the the ancient fabric came to bits in there. Wet feathers EVERYWHERE!

So the last few days the images on this site don't always appear (it's now about 50/50), not sure what AT is doing differently but my browser's current and I haven't added anything, though this is the first post where I don't even want to know what the image WAS! Is it a pile of nasty dirty pillows? No, no, I really don't want to know.

I wash my pillows 2x a year and always after I've been sick but I also hang them in the sun to air out more frequently. When it's sunny weather, and the sheets go out on the drying line, so do the bed pillows.

You're supposed to wash your pillows & duvet - not throw them out!

Just haul them into the local laundry and put them in the large industrial machine with half a thing of soap - and into the dryer with a tin of tennis balls.

I'd get a new one every year IF I could find one I like.

I bought two I LOVED in 2005, and one is gone, and the other is too flat to use now. I have been searching for a new pillow since. I bought a few, but they are all in the closet. I have decorative pillows for my bed, and I started using one of the 16"x16", covered with a pillow case of course, and I really like it. I have six of those pillows, so when they flatten, I'll be looking again.

With all the green talk these days, seems to me you can use your pillow for longer than the industry says. I also wish we could recycle them somehow because they really do stuff a landfill. Our current pillows are about 8 yrs old but we do wash and dry every now and then.

I inherited some pillows from my Grandma, which I'm sure she had for at least 5 years. When my boyfriend and I moved into our new place we ended up with a dozen pillows, some mishapen and yellowing. I took the cover off of one and I recognized the pattern from my childhood...we ended up with a pile of pillows on the living room floor to sort.
One of the old pillows (9 years?) I kept was a down pillow with a washable cover, I'm pretty sure that thing will last forever.

I wash mine weekly, but replace them every 4 months. I know it seems like alot but really it isn't. And I like new pillows.

Hm, what about memory foam/foam pillows? I recently bought two new ones from ikea and I haven't thought about how to clean them yet. Washing is out, right? and I would be scared that the heat from the dryer could melt the foam maybe?

I have protective covers on them now but I'm not sure how far that will stretch having to actually clean them somehow.

Wool pillows do not get dust mites and are antimicrobial, just expensive.

I have dust-mite protective microfiber covers on my down pillows. I still wash the pillows from time to time. No reason to add more stuff to the landfill. Incidentally, I've heard down pillows are BETTER for allergies than synthetic alternatives.

Excellent topic. Thank you!

I'm curious about memory foam too. That's what we sleep on and I've had mine for two years. It doesn't show any wear and tear or change in shape. So I'm guessing it's still good to go.

some of these comments are mind blowing...new pillows every 4 months?! we have tempurpetic pillows, don't plan on replacing them for quite a few years.

Imagine a use-by date for pillows! Mattresses should come with those.

Pillow protectors are a great idea, they will extend the life of your pillows.

I've heard that you should dry your pillows with some (clean) tennis balls to keep them fluffy. Never tried that, but I always make sure to wash/dry them in pairs. They seem to balance better in the washer that way, and the filling keeps its shape.

I change pillow cases every week, and every quarter, wash my synthetic down pillows and put them through the dryer. But my tempurpedic pillow is just in an anti-dustmite case. I wash the case occasionally, but I don't think you can wash memory foam...

My OCD has me freaking about dust mites. I wash my pillows (down & synthetic) once per year, all in the same weekend and either dry them outdoors or in the dryer, depending on what they are made of. But I use Micron One covers (for dust mites, bed bugs etc). They have a coating on the inside so they plastic & they don't make noise & they still breathe. But being OCD, I cover each pillow with 2 cases & my regular pillowcases which are changed twice a week (the ones being used nightly). I don't see any reason to replace any of them anytime soon if you take this much care with them.

Like the above poster, I use 2-3 pillow cases on mine. And I change the top one every two nights (rotating it so I only sleep on one side a night)!

And since I'm in Arizona, I just wash them and set them outside in the summer...it takes no time at all for them to dry.

Hi, We do some work with a company that may have a solution that helps people in this situation. About a third of our lives are spent in bed and beds are a haven for dust mites because of the warm and humid environment that allows them to dine on human skin flakes. Dust mite excreta are loaded with allergens that cause the negative allergy symptoms. The Asthma Society of Canada and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America have approved many products as being “certified asthma and allergy friendly”. This includes SmartSilk bedding products. They have been proven to kill dust mites by removing the heat and moisture dust mites need to survive. The product really helped my daughter. Check out the SmartSilk website.

I've never heard of anyone dying from old pillow disease, so in that sense I think you can have them for as long as you want. But I understand the allergy issues, so if that's a problem, change them. MY husband= sweaty, slobbery sleeping mess so his pillows are gnarly and I wish they could be changed weekly. I won't use his. My old ones, I plan on re-using the stuffing for throw pillows.

Are you guys talking about down pillows? Or synthetic, or something else? I've got some really nice ones that I can't imagine replacing so often. They are pretty expensive but really awesome - a place where I splurge. It would cost hundreds of dollars to replace them.

Why isn't it okay just to take off the dust-mite covers and give them a good wash?

Yellow is just a color and if the whole pillow have gone yellow (as opposed to a stain, which would be more gross) I wouldnt mind. It's just a color change of the fabric, kind of like when old newspapers turn yellow.

I keep ours until they loose their shape. I was them pretty regularly and we've probably had some of them for 10+ years.

Forgot to say that I actually REPLACE mine about every two years. Once I found a good quality side-sleeper pillow (mine's Serta) I notice when it doesn't perform as well anymore and I'm eager for a new one.

Wow. I never dreamed that people replace pillows this often. I have mine in cotton dust-mite cases so they should be protected. I Can't imagine replacing pillows every year, let alone several times a year as that saleswoman recommended - but, then, she plans to sell more pillows.

I would wash down pillows in down wash and dry with clean sneakers or tennis balls - but not real often. My Tempurpedic is with me until it loses shape.

When it comes to cleanliness issues, AT can feel like an alternate universe - and I am no slob.

every two to three years....but long ago...only if it flattens...lol

I once took advantage of a special at a local cleaners: they unstuffed and washed the filling in a set of our set of our down pillows, and sewed up new outer covers for us. They turned out great!

I dunno...... I have had my down pillows for about 9 years now and they don't smell, are comfy, still plush, and they're all I like to use... I don't see myself getting rid of them anytime soon. I wash them about every 6 months and low heat tumble dry them, though. I feel like a huge pile (I have 4 king sized down pillows) of down pillows are one of the ultimate bedroom decadences.