At present, cooling gel pillows are widely becoming popular in most households. These pillows give you adequate and quality sleep by providing favorable temperatures at night.
A cooling gel pillow incorporates a gel pad that draws heat away from your body. In turn, it prevents the build-up of heat on the sleep surface. Moreover, the gel pad facilitates proper aeration to keep you cool during the whole night.
Cooling gel pads also have a soft feel to offer a comfortable surface where you can lay your head.
Nevertheless, cooling gel pillows are quite pricey; thus, you have to take good care of them to ensure they last for long though there is the option to make your own cooling pillow at home.
Cleaning a cooling gel pillow
Health experts often recommend maintaining maximum cleanliness for all your beddings, including pillows.
Thus, if you have a cooling gel pillow, clean it regularly. Pillows come in contact with a lot of dirt from body sweat and hair oils. Leaving them unwashed for a long time can affect your health.
Think about it. There could be an accumulation of allergens on the pillow, which, in turn, affects your respiratory health. Moreover, you shorten the durability of the cooling pillow when you don’t clean it.
Nonetheless, it can be challenging to clean a cooling gel pillow. Remember, a gel pillow is not like any other garment.
You cannot throw it into the washing machine. The following steps will help you clean a cooling gel pillow using the right method.
Step 1: Fill water into your sink
First, fill water in your bathtub or sink. Avoid using a bucket since it may not accommodate the size of the pillow.
As you fill-up the water, add a natural-based detergent and mix. Note that the water should be lukewarm.
Often, cold water is not effective in getting rid of tough stains, especially on a cooling gel pillow.
Step 2: Immerse the cooling gel pillow into the water
Once you finish filling water into the bathtub or sink, take your pillow and place it into the water.
Gently squeeze the pillow under the water to allow maximum penetration of water. However, note that not all areas of the pillow should get dipped into the water.
At times, certain gel layers get damaged when water seeps in. So, be careful not to immerse all sides of the pillow in water.
Spare some time to read and understand the instruction manual before you place the pillow underwater.
Step 3: Rinse the cooling gel pillow
After some time:
- Replace the soapy water with clean water to rinse the pillow.
- Squeeze the pillow repeatedly to ensure all areas of the pillow get rinsed thoroughly.
- Ensure that you get rid of all traces of detergent from the pillow.
- Consider rinsing the pillow repeatedly.
Step 4: Remove excess water
When you finish rinsing the pillow, squeeze gently to remove excess water. Doing this can be tedious since pillows are bulky.
Be careful while doing this; otherwise, you might end up damaging the cooling gel pillow.
Step 5: Drying the pillow
Take the cooling gel pillow outside to dry. However, avoid placing the pillow under direct sunlight.
In case the weather conditions do not allow you to leave the pillow outside, place it on the dryer.
Make sure the pillow is completely dry before placing it on the bed or storing it. Failure to do so would lead to the growth of mildew on the pillow.
How to clean gel cooling pad pillow
Before you clean a cooling gel pad pillow, the first thing to do is to check the manual’s instructions.
Typically, some gel layers should not come in contact with water. On the other hand, some can get cleaned using water.
In most instances, cooling pillows come with a blend of both gel layer types.
When immersing the cooling pillow in water, leave the area with sensitive gel layers. So, place only a part of the pillow in water.
Squeeze the gel cooling pads in the water gently to allow water to seep in. Then, rinse them thoroughly and place them outside to dry.
Some tips to remember
- Keeping your cooling pillow clean requires you to vacuum it from time to time. But avoid vacuuming the pillow on the gel pad side. Gel pads are delicate; thus, applying too much pressure on them leads to damage.
- If you have a memory foam pillow, do not place it in the washing machine. Always hand wash it. Machine-washing causes extensive damage to memory foam pillows.
- Consider covering the cooling pillow using a breathable cover. This way, you prevent it from getting dirty often. In turn, you won’t have to wash it regularly. You would only wash the pillow cover.
- Never use harsh detergents to clean the pillow. Otherwise, you would damage the natural feel and texture of the cooling pillow. It would be best to use natural detergent on your cooling pillows.
Deep cleaning a cooling gel pillow
At times, your cooling gel pillow needs a deep cleaning. In such instances, you would rather improvise the cleaning agents rather than the washing technique.
For example, if you have stubborn stains in your cooling gel pillow, use a natural bleach solution to clean it. Alternatively, use a stronger detergent to clean the pillow.
Also, consider using natural agents like baking soda to get rid of bad odor on the pillow. It would be best to handwash the pillow for maximum cleaning.
Even so, always check the instructions on the manual on deep cleaning a cooling gel pillow.
In summary
More often than not, cooling gel pillows are costly. Thus, if you have them, take good care of them to keep them in good condition.
One way to do this is through cleaning. Cleaning a cooling gel pillow should be done with keenness and gentleness.
Otherwise, the cooling gel pads can get damaged. When cleaning a cooling gel pillow, always check the manufacturer’s instructions.
This way, you’ll know how to go about the whole washing process. But, generally, dip the pillow in a mixture of lukewarm water and detergent.
Then, rinse the pillow and take it out to dry.
