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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Zahna Eklund & Danielle Kate Wroe

Little-known cleaning trick lifts yellow pillow stains to make them good as new

There's nothing quite like fresh bedding when you're freshly showered yourself - it's so satisfying. But has your pillow ever peeked out slightly from the cover, revealing some yellow staining, leaving you feeling slightly red-faced wondering how the marks even came to be?

Even the most thorough cleaners can be susceptible to yellow staining on pillows, and it can make us feel as though things are never clean, despite being put in the washing machine.

But where on earth do these ominous-looking stains come from, and more importantly, how can we get rid of them?

Thankfully, the cleaning experts at Lifehacker have all the answers, and while it may make you hyper-vigilant about your pillows and their cleanliness, you'll want to listen up if you're wanting them to be clean and fresh.

Stained pillows don't look the best with fresh bedding (Stock Image) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The gurus say that the most common reason for yellowing pillows is sweat, and whether we like it or not, we all sweat in the middle of the night to some degree.

When moisture seeps through a pillowcase and onto the pillow beneath, it can cause staining, and it can cause bigger issues during those uncomfortable summer nights when you just can't seem to cool down.

But sweat isn't the only moisture you have to look out for, as yellowing can also be caused by wet or greasy hair.

Removing the stains can be tough (Stock Image) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Lifehacker's experts state: "In addition to sweat, your hair may be the culprit: Specifically if it's particularly oily, or you often go to bed with wet or damp hair.

"Some types of makeup and skincare products can also be behind the yellow stains. It could also be drool. Putting a waterproof pillow protector on before your pillowcase can help prevent a lot of discolouration."

There is a way to banish the stains, however (Stock Image) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

But, if you do need to get rid of the stains and don't want to purchase whole new pillows, there is a handy hack that could remove them.

Lifehacker gurus said: You can start off by spot treating the stains with either a store-bought stain removal spray or cream or with a paste made out of a mixture of baking soda and water."

You can pick up a carton of baking soda for as little as 65p at Tesco, £1.75 from Wilko or £1.65 on Amazon.

The experts claim you'll want to act fast to remove stains from your pillows, as the longer they sit there, the harder they'll be to remove when you do try to clean them.

Pillows should also be washed twice a year, regardless of staining, so hopefully this will keep the yellow marks at bay.

Have you got any cleaning hacks? Email: Danielle.wroe@reachplc.com

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