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Pillows are a hotspot for dirt and grime. After all, we spend hours every night with our head on them – depositing all sorts of moisture from sweat, to hair products and makeup. This can cause our pillows to turn a nasty yellow colour.
According to experts, we should be replacing our pillows every 12 months, but with the cost of living crisis still ongoing, many will be looking to save money where they can.
Much-loved cleaning guru, also known as 'internet mum' Babs on TikTok, has got the perfect solution so you can wash the grossness that's "trapped in your pillows" so you don't have to replace them.
Instead of buying new, white ones, you can transform your nasty yellow ones by stripping them of all the grime and dirt by giving them a bath with the right ingredients.
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In the caption on her @brunchwithbabs page, the cleaning whizz wrote: "You should strip your pillows at least once a year in order to rid them of all the build-up, grime, and body oils that a washing machine can not get out."
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Babs then detailed the method of stripping the pillows to ensure they "stay clean and fluffy."
She told cleaning fans to fill the bathtub with the hottest water possible, then you need to dissolve the stripping mix in hot tub water with ¼ cup baking soda, ¼ cup borax, two cups liquid laundry detergent.
Babs wrote: "Add the pillows and submerge. Soak pillows for up to 24 hours. Flip pillows in the tub every once in a while during the soak.
"Drain tub and squeeze out excess water from pillows. Immediately following stripping, wash pillows on normal cycle without detergent.
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"Dry without dryer sheets. Use tennis or dryer balls instead and toss in the dryer until the pillows are dry and fluffy."
She also added a disclaimer that it's important to always check your pillow label first, as it may not be the best method for down or memory foam pillows.
In the comments, people said it was much better to clean something, rather than replace. Someone else pointed out that Borax is banned in Europe, however, so asked for alternatives, to which someone commented: "Washing soda/soda crystals are similar and will work fine!"
One wrote: "Apart from the cost, imagine the strain on the environment!! Just clean them properly and use pillow protectors."
Another said: "I double pillowcase all my pillows they are several years old and still white. Yeah, I wash the pillowcases weekly. Just thought I'd share."
Will you be deep cleaning your pillows? Let us know in the comments.
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