Ralph Lauren offers a wide range of homewares, including pillows. While it’s important to clean pillows, the luxurious price tag of Ralph Lauren pillows may make you hesitate for fear of damaging them.
Ralph Lauren pillows can be washed, though it’s important to follow any laundry instructions provided. Most pillows will be suitable for washing at home, either in a washing machine on a gentle setting or washing by hand.
It is necessary to clean pillows for hygienic purposes and in many cases, this will often be a straightforward process.
Note the materials and check laundry instructions
Ralph Lauren pillows come in a variety of materials and fillings. Some of these are suitable for machine washing, while Ralph Lauren recommends dry cleaning other items.
Some pillows may combine a cover with a removable insert, giving you the option to just clean the cover without also cleaning the insert. These inserts may feature cotton, feathers, or other fill material.
Pillow covers that are made with cotton or linen can be washed in a machine. The pillow may also have a cotton fill insert, making it suitable for machine washing.
Other covers may have leather detailing on them, which would not be suitable for machine washing and may require a leather specialist if extensive cleaning is required. Additionally, the pillow may have delicate decorative features that aren’t well suited to an intense machine wash, in which case you may need to spot clean them or use a delicate machine setting.
It’s important to check any laundry instructions that Ralph Lauren may provide with the pillow. However, most pillows can be washed in a washing machine using a gentle cycle and warm water.
Cleaning foam pillows
Foam pillows are not recommended for machine washing as the agitation can cause the foam to break up. However, it’s still possible to clean them at home without needing to turn to a specialist.
If the pillow has a removable cover, this can be washed separately. Then the foam can be vacuumed to remove dirt and dust.
Foam pillows can also be spot cleaned with a cloth and a mild soap solution. Other types of pillows may be suitable for pre-treating stains with detergents that contain enzymes before spot cleaning them.
Make sure to be gentle when spot cleaning foam as wet foam can tear easily. Afterward, you can rinse it gently using a damp cloth.
Cleaning down pillows
It’s again important to check laundry care labels but most down pillows can be washed in a machine. Use cool water and a delicate setting to machine wash the down pillows.
Additionally, try to wash two pillows at the same time if possible to keep the machine balanced throughout the spin cycle.
Alternatively, you can also wash down pillows by hand in a bathtub. Use lukewarm water and a detergent suitable for handwashing items.
Squeeze the water gently through the pillow, then drain the excess water from the bathtub and rinse the pillow using cool, clean water. You may need to rinse a few times to get the soapy water out of the pillow.
After rinsing is complete, you can either use a washing machine spin cycle or press the pillow by hand to remove excess water. However, make sure you do not wring the pillow to remove excess water as this can damage it.
The pillow can either be air-dried or placed in a tumble dryer on a low heat setting. If you’re using a tumble dryer, you can add clean dry towels inside to decrease the drying time by helping to absorb excess moisture.
Additionally, you can place a tennis ball in a clean cotton sock and add it to the tumble dryer to help dislodge clumped filling and help the pillow dry faster. Other types of pillows can also be dried in a tumble dryer using these methods, though again it’s important to check the laundry tag as some pillows (such as foam pillows) won’t be suitable for tumble drying and are best left to air-dry.
Pillows may require several cycles in a tumble dryer to dry completely. You can also remove them and fluff them by hand during drying cycles in order to help break up any clumped filling.
Wash pillows at least twice a year
Pillows don’t need to be washed too often (unless they are soiled) but should be washed at least every six months, though ideally every three months if possible.
If the pillow has a removable cover, the cover can and should be washed far more regularly since it is coming into direct contact with your skin. Pillow covers should be washed around once a week.