Old down pillow, suggestions?

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Spartcom5

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Hey, not sure if any of you will have an answer for this but I'll give it a go. I have a favorite pillow of mine however my allergies have been acting up as late at night. Well, my pillow is white goose down from Sears Roebuck, darn thing has to be 30+ years old. It is probably completely disgusting by now and making my allergies worse. I just don't want to get rid of it though! Does anyone have suggestions? Replace it? Or try machine washing it at hot and hope no seams bust open? I think that'd be best because if it survives a hot washing it will kill whatever may be lurking inside of it. I also bought an allergy proof pillow cover that claims to block all allergens, is this good enough? Any thoughts would be great as I'd hate to part with it!

Also, I have access to a green dry cleaner, they don't use perc. Could be another option? That would annihilate anything bad in my pillow as well! Sort of opting for this route.
 
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That's an interesting question, Spartcom5 (and am sorry to hear about your allergies). I've successfully hand washed down jackets and vests, let them drip dry and then fluff them up in the cool/warm setting of the dryer, but that wouldn't be the same I imagine.

I wonder if placing the pillow in one of those netted laundry bags, would help keep things intact during washing? Let's see what others say.
 
I machine wash genuine down pillows regularly (geese don't worry about getting their feathers/down wet, LOL). I do it on warm, with a type of liquid detergent made for hand-washing fabrics. If the original cover your pillow is in may not survive a washing, zip it up in another cover or put it in a pillowcase prior to washing. Then I put it in my dryer on medium heat for about ten minutes, then switch it to low. A tennis ball in the dryer can help fluff the pillow but be prepared for some noise!
 
I bought a VERY old, VERY disgusting down pillow at the thrift store because I needed down to stuff a reproduction Victorian muff. I could barely stand to touch it.

I put the thing in a giant wash bag and put that into the washing machine, with a ton of vodka (my go-to yuck-killer, I fill the fabric softener AND bleach drawers with it -- cheap stuff in a big bottle) and a regular amount of regular detergent (dye/scent-free Tide).

I washed it on super-hot.

Repeated that three times (I'm a germophobe and was really paranoid as it wasn't MY pillow, omg, so gross).

Then I dried it in the drier on hot.

Totally clean.

It's stuffed the muff and now stuffed 1830s sleeve supports, as well, with a ton left for whatever comes next!

Oh, I also wash my down comforter in the washer, just like a normal blanket. Comes out fine.
 
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