How to get yellow stains out of pillows

Yellow stains on pillows come from sweat, skin oils, saliva and damp hair soaking through the pillowcase into the filling. To lift them from a feather or synthetic pillow, soak it for an hour in warm water with an oxygen-based stain remover, then machine wash two pillows together on a gentle cycle, add an extra rinse and dry them completely on low heat. Do not use chlorine bleach on feather or down, and do not put memory foam in the machine.

Why pillows turn yellow

A pillowcase is thin cotton. Over months, sweat, the natural oils from your skin and scalp, a little saliva and the moisture from going to bed with wet hair pass through it into the pillow. As that moisture dries, it leaves the oils and salts behind in the fabric and filling, and they gradually turn yellow. Skincare and hair products add to it.

That is why the stain usually sits in the middle of the pillow, where your head rests, and why it gets darker on the side you sleep on. It also explains why pillows go yellow long before duvets do: they take far more direct contact. Our full bedding washing schedule shows how often each layer needs a wash.

Removing yellow stains from feather and synthetic pillows

1. Check the label. It tells you the maximum temperature and whether the pillow can be tumble dried. Most synthetic pillows allow 40 to 60°C; feather and down are usually 40°C.

2. Soak. Dissolve an oxygen-based stain remover (the kind sold as oxygen bleach or stain remover powder for whites) in warm water no hotter than the label allows, in a bath or large tub. Push the pillows under, weigh them down so they stay submerged, and leave them for about an hour. Follow the dose on the product.

3. Wash. Wash two pillows together so the drum stays balanced, on a gentle cycle with a small dose of liquid detergent, and add an extra rinse. Use the highest spin the label allows. Our guide to washing pillows in a washing machine covers this step in more detail.

4. Dry completely. Tumble dry on low heat with dryer balls, and squeeze the middle of each pillow before you call it done. A pillow that is still damp inside will smell within days and can yellow again. Feather pillows take the longest, for the same reasons set out in our feather duvet washing guide.

What not to use

Chlorine bleach on feather or down. Feathers are a natural protein, like wool, and chlorine bleach weakens them. Keep it away from natural fillings and the cotton casing around them.

Mixtures of cleaning products. Viral cleaning tips sometimes combine bleach, dishwasher detergent and boiling water. Mixing bleach with other cleaners can release harmful gases, and boiling water is far hotter than most pillow labels allow. One product at a time, at the label temperature, is safer and works.

Fabric softener. It coats the filling, flattens it and leaves residue for the next round of yellowing to cling to.

Memory foam and latex pillows

Foam cannot go in a washing machine: it soaks up water and tears. Unzip and wash the cover as normal. For marks on the foam itself, dab with a cloth dampened with warm water and a little mild detergent, press out the moisture with a dry towel and let it air dry fully, away from direct heat, before covering it again.

Be realistic about what will shift. Foam also yellows as it ages, through exposure to air and light, and that colour is in the material rather than on it, so no amount of cleaning removes it. If the cover is clean and the foam is still supportive, the colour on its own is not a reason to replace it.

How to stop it coming back

Put a washable pillow protector under every pillowcase. It takes most of what would otherwise reach the filling, and you can wash it every month or two. Change pillowcases every week, dry your hair before bed, and let skincare sink in before your head hits the pillow.

Then wash the pillows themselves about twice a year. Many people tie it to the spring and autumn duvet swap in our duvet tog guide, which makes it easy to remember.

Clean it or replace it?

Before you spend an afternoon on stains, do the fold test: fold the pillow in half and let go. If it springs back, it is worth cleaning. If it stays folded, the filling has broken down, and a whiter pillow will still be a flat one. Lumps that do not shake out after drying, or a smell that survives a full wash and dry, point the same way.

If you would rather not do the soaking and three-hour dry yourself, we clean pillows by filling type with collection in London: £13 for polyester and £16 for feather, including the full dry. Set-in yellowing from years of use can fade rather than disappear completely, and we will tell you honestly if a pillow is past saving.

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• How much does duvet cleaning cost in London?
• Short-let linen in London: wash your own, hire, or do it on site?
• Duvet dry cleaning or washing: which is better?