And then last week I went to my mom's ladies meeting and one lady gave her household tip for the month--about washing your pillows. But I can't, I inwardly whined/rejoiced. I don't have any tennis balls. I wasn't about to go out and buy tennis balls, not in this economy, are you kidding?
So, one bright and promising afternoon (because really, how long would this take, anyway?), I stripped off the pillowcases and, armed with my box of baking soda, braved the laundry room. My husband's pillow wouldn't easily fit, but my pillow and EJ's pillow are pretty small in comparison, so I kinda scrunched them down and yes, they all three fit, no problem. Well, slight problem. But I ignored the warning flag jumping up and down in my brain and proceeded to add what looked like half a cup of baking soda and just a bit of detergent. I spun the dial, pulled it out, and walked away. Out of sight, out of mind.
Until I came back an hour later to find this...
I graciously allowed my husband to use my pillow that night (because really, I should have known something like this would take ALL day). The next morning, I felt my pillow and yes, it was still damp. To the point of leaving a wet spot on the bed. So back to the dryer they went. This big pillow was still wet also, leaving me with another day of running to the dryer every thirty minutes to check on the pillows. But at least all those dust mites are gone. For now.
So, the moral of this story? Don't wash your pillows unless you have an industrial size washer and three days to devote to drying them. Otherwise, just do like we used to do, and buy new ones every 4 or so years. They're only ten or fifteen dollars! And in this economy, new pillows are so worth all that electricity to run your dryer for that long. :-)