Buying Filling For Down Pillows

Being the countries largest down processor we get this question frequently from folks who have found us on google or who read one of our microsites such as WhyBuyDown.com or DownBuyingGuide.com.

Many times someone has an heirloom down pillow they want to preserve and restuff. For the average stay at home consumer the answer is no due to the cost of servicing the order. However, a simple trick is to buy another down pillow and use the stuffing out of it. Any modern pillow made since the 70’s will have a law label with the fill contents spelled out – such as ‘75% down’ or it might say ‘white goose down’. Most consumers can probably get away with a your basic down pillow sold on sale – sometimes around $30 to $35.

If you have a pillow fabric that is leaking it is probably better to just replace the whole pillow – or a stop gap method is to buy a zippered pillow protector to keep the filling somewhat in place.

Now if you are a business seeking bulk fills then yes we sell them in lots of 20 pounds or more. You can visit BulkDown.com and get the contact info of our sales team for those needs

How Often To Wash Pillowcases?

A story in the 2008 November issue of Cosmopolitan called out a study that said it is recommended to launder your pillowcases weekly to avoid skin irritations and Acne. We could not agree more and in addition to helpful skin care – it also reduces the number of household allergens including dust mites, dander and other respiratory inflammatory substances. At DOWNLITE we are fans of Tencel Lyocell pillow cases because in addition to feeling great they allow the pillow cases to be laundered really fast due to the moisture performance benefits found in Tencel Lyocell. Our own little trick is to machine wash them but air dry them for the ultimate in fabric care and softness. Because the material is so microscopically smooth you should also see an improvement in eczema and psoriasis inflammations.

When To Replace Your Down Pillow?

When should you replace a pillow- that is a hot topic once a year as news outlets cover this story with regularity.  Many like to show the folding trick where they take a pillow and fold it over and if it does not fold back – thy say it’s time to replace your down pillow.  I personally don’t like this method as pillows have different densities and if you have a soft rated down pillow – it won’t fold back quickly. The size of the pillow being folded makes a difference in the bounce back rate.

So what I recommend is to replace your down pillows every few years. High end heirloom down pillows are meant to last dozens of years – but typical ‘pound of down pillows‘ have a relatively lower lifespan due to the size of the down clusters. They will stay last 4-5 years – just not a lifetime of use because the down clusters break down at the lower fill power ratings.

We always recommend using a pillow protector to keep your investment in good order and then you just have to wash the cover and not the pillow.  If you do wash your down pillows and you can with all of the DOWNLITE pillows then we recommend visiting BeddingCare.com to see video’s on how to wash down pillows.

If you have allergen concerns or questions about dust mites we also recommend you visit DustMiteFacts.org to learn more. But what they discuss is that most down pillows use a special type of fabric which limits the amount of allergens that can cause issues inside the pillows.

We love our new 700 fill power down pillows which are available for a limited time and are rated a medium density – great for side sleepers.  The high fill power means the down clusters are larger and thus more durable.  We also like the 650 fill power down pillow under the Jessica McClintock brand on our site as well.

If you have any questions get in touch with the folks @ ShopDownLite.com and they can gladly help you out. Many consumers cling to their ‘favorite pillow‘ probably longer then we’d recommend.  Buying a new down pillow can be a process with many questions but we can help ‘fit you for a pillow‘.

Which Is Firmer? 50/50 Pillow Or Down?

This is a common question we get all the time about which style pillow is firmer. There a number of options for buying firmer pillows and we will discuss some of the common ones.  First lets define each pillow style:

50/50 Pillow – This style pillow contains 50% down and 50% feathers. This type pillow usually has a firmer feeling to it. We would call it ‘Medium’ usually and some styles are firmer than others – but most are ‘Medium’.

Down Pillow – A down pillow has to legally have 75% or more in its weight in down clusters.  The other 25% can be more down, small feathers and or fibers [pieces of down clusters]. Down pillows can come in soft, medium or firm densities.

Chamber Pillow – Kind of like a pillow in a pillow. This style pillow has a feather core and down on the outside (top and bottom to be specific). This pillow usually has the ‘firmness’ of a 50/50 pillow or a firmer down pillow.

So wrapping up – if you enjoyed a 50/50 pillow at a luxury hotel – then by all means by a 50/50 pillow. If you used to use a 50/50 pillow and want a replacement recommendation – I’d feel comfortable suggesting a chamber pillow. I probably would not recommend a firm down pillow as a replacement for a 50/50 pillow.

Pillow Wrangling

Today I had a call from a customer who was trying to find oversized pillow cases for his standard size pillows that apparently were so squished in his current cases that it felt ‘log’ like .

Once in a while we get  questions like this basically asking if we make any pillow cases that are extra wide not necessarily extra long. Our usual response is to tell them how the pillow case fabric measures out – say for example 20 x 26 to fit a standard pillow. Now the newest pillow cases we make are extra wide which are designed to make sure the end of the pillow does not peak out (aka no prairie dogging). These extra long pillow cases also can be used to give a hotel look because the ends are tucked back in. Surprisingly the friction of the fabric keeps the pillow case ends neatly tucked in – just like you see in a hotel.