Pillows fall victim to stains very quickly even when they are covered by pillowcases.
After noticing how heavily yellow-stained one of my pillows was, I considered throwing it out but thought I'd give a certain cleaning hack I'd seen on a Mrs Hinch Facebook page a go first.
Instead of using the usual household cleaning products like white vinegar, baking soda and bleach, they recommended using an alternative natural item that's "powerful".
They claimed that soda crystals can whiten and banish stains from pillows when combined with your regular laundry detergent.
Some cleaning enthusiasts recommended first soaking your grubby pillows in soda crystals and water before adding to the washing machine, however, I decided to see if it would work when added straight to the machine.
I started by measuring half a cup of soda crystals as that's the amount recommended to remove stains.
I added the soda crystals to the washing machine with my laundry detergent before adding in the stained pillow.
Alongside the pillow, I added in some other white laundry as cleaning fans claimed that this is a "game-changing" method to keep your pillow in its original shape when it goes through the wash.
I then set the washing machine to a full cycle at 40 degrees which takes around 45 minutes.
After the cycle had finished I took the pillow and the rest of the laundry out of the washing machine and it was hard to believe this was the same dirty pillow that went in.
The soda crystals had helped to remove the stains, brighten the pillow and even help to soften it.
What's more, I couldn't believe how well this worked without the need to pre-soak or use bleach.
While there are specific laundry stain-removing products on the market, using soda crystals is so much cheaper and I already have them to hand in my cleaning cupboard.
I used the Dri-Pak Soda Crystals that are sold as a 1kg bag in B&Q for £2.50 and at Robert Dyas for £4.39.
Households can pick up any brand of soda crystals as they'll all give the same results. The 500g of Elbow Grease Soda Crystals retails for £4.99 currently on Amazon.
With it being a clear and somewhat sunny day, it was a good opportunity to dry the pillow outdoors perched on an airer.
Drying laundry outside in the sun helps whiten it as the UV rays act as a natural bleaching method.
However, for those not able to dry their pillow outside due to lack of space or unpredictable weather, leaving it by a window in a well-ventilated room will have a similar effect or using a dehumidifier will also work.
