HERE IS WHY!

By William H Harriss. 12/09/2024, [email protected]

Fancy pillows in hotels are extraordinarily dangerous to the travelling public.

Hotel pillows in general are dangerous because many different people use the same pillow sometimes with a different person every night for days weeks and months. Each breathing, coughing, sneezing, snoring, and dribbling onto the pillow cover. But the biological contamination does not stay on the pillowcase, it travels to the inside of the pillow, right to the heart of the pillow. It does that from the force of your lungs and when it breathes in as you move your head.

Pillows are like a lung, they breathe in and out every time you move your head. Pillow also breathe out their whole volume of air when you first lay your head on them. That initial expiration of the pillow's air contains all the germs, bacteria, and viruses others left when they used the pillow before you. A great cloud of pathogens envelopes your head and you breathe in a cocktail of germs left by many users before you. When you take your head off the pillow it sucks in replacement air that contains your germs and mixes them once more with the cocktail of previous user's germs.

Pillows at home where you are the only person using that pillow do not require frequent washing or sterilizing. Your body can cope with your own home grown bacteria and viruses. Your body has a general immunity to them. But hotel pillows are different because many people use them and they become highly contaminated. Hotels wash pillows sometimes once every six months using a cold or warm wash. That process makes the pillows look clean and smell fresh, but it does not sterilize them. Pillows should be washed at a temperature of between 60f and 90f for 20 minutes to be sterilized. Only the sturdiest pillows and those designed for such treatment can withstand that type of hot water laundering.

There are only two kinds of pillow stuffing's that can be hot washed and sterilized, they are cotton or polyester fiber fill.

Other types of fillings are washable but are not hot washable or sterilizable, for instance, wool.

That is why in my first sentence I stated “Fancy pillows in hotels are extraordinarily dangerous to the traveling public.” I wrote that because some types of pillows cannot be washed with hot water, and in most cases cannot be washed at all. Pillows that you cannot wash or sterilize are OK at home, but hotels should not use them because they cannot and will not be washed and sterilized between use by each different guest. Yes, you read that correctly, hotel pillows should be sterilized when a guest leaves and before a new one takes occupancy.

Some pillows cannot be washed because their materials do not react well to heat, water, detergents, the agitation of washing machines or the spin of driers. The material composition of a pillow significantly affects its washability and care routine. Each of these materials has unique properties, and understanding them will help the hotelier know why they should not use them.

Here’s a quick overview of the most common pillow materials and whether they can be washed or not. 1. Memory Foam Pillows: Memory foam pillows are popular for their ability to conform to the shape of your head and neck, providing customized support. The material is dense and designed to react to body heat, offering a unique sleeping experience.

They cannot be washed. Why Memory Foam Pillows Cannot Be Washed? Memory foam is highly absorbent, and when exposed to water, it can retain moisture deep within its structure. This can lead to the breakdown of the foam, making it less supportive and potentially causing the growth of mold and mildew. The agitation of a washing machine can also cause the foam to tear or crumble.

2. Latex Pillows: Latex foam pillows are known for their firmness and durability. Made from natural or synthetic rubber, latex provides excellent support and is often hypoallergenic.

Why They Cannot Be Washed? Latex is sensitive to water and heat. Washing a latex pillow can cause the material to break down, lose its shape, and develop an unpleasant odor. Additionally, water can become trapped within the dense latex, leading to mold and mildew growth.

3. Feather and Down Pillows: Feather and down pillows are filled with either the outer feathers or the soft undercoating of ducks or geese. These pillows are known for their softness and ability to conform to the sleeper’s shape.

Why They Shouldn’t Be Washed? Down and feathers are naturally coated with an oil from the creature they were plucked from. Washing them removes that oil and being an animal protein they will begin to rot, attracting mold and small creatures that want to eat them. Washing will also cause the feathers or down to clump together, losing their loft and making the pillow flat and uncomfortable. Furthermore, improper drying can lead to a musty smell or even mould growth.

4. Buckwheat Pillows: Buckwheat pillows are filled with buckwheat hulls, providing firm, adjustable support. They are popular among those who prefer a natural, eco-friendly pillow option.

Why They Cannot Be Washed? Buckwheat hulls do not react well to water. Washing a buckwheat pillow will cause the hulls to become saturated and lose their supportive qualities. Wet buckwheat hulls can also develop mold and mildew, rendering the pillow unusable.

5. Gel-Infused Pillows: Gel-infused pillows, often combined with memory foam, are designed to provide a cooling effect, making them ideal for hot sleepers. Why They Cannot Be Washed? The gel-infused layers are delicate and can break down when exposed to water. Washing these pillows can cause the gel to lose its cooling properties and the foam to become damaged.

We know that currently hotel guests generally use pillows that remain unsterilized after a previous person uses them, but how about the hotel housekeeping staff? The hotel staff are also in great danger from multi-used unsterilized bed pillows. Those people who make the bed, change the sheets and pillowcases. They take the contaminated pillow to carry out a procedure called ‘fluffing up.’ Fluffing up gives the stuffing extra volume and makes the pillow more comfortable for the next guest to use. They take the pillow and shake, pummel, punch, and then put it into a clean pillowcase. During the fluffing-up procedure, the staff are infected by the unseen germ cocktail that just about every hotel pillow inevitably contains. Great clouds of bacteria, viruses and perhaps mold spores coat the housekeeper from head to foot and they breathe in enough to kill a horse. Only freshly sterilized pillows should be fluffed up. Pillows should be handled like biologically contaminated hospital waste, put in sealed bags and taken to the laundry for sterilization. Even the laundry assistant should be aware of the dangers fomented by unsterilized pillows.

How about pillow encasements? There are some that will exclude pollen’s and certain allergens, also they will exclude some larger bacteria, but not all. Encasement’s still allow the pillow to breathe therefore things small enough can still get drawn into them. They do not generally manage to catch viruses at all, because a virus in size compared to a bacterium is like an ant compared to an elephant. The minutely tiny virus is a far greater health problem than any other pathogen, they are the killer.

There is an answer to all this, pillows can be sterilized in 30 minutes to 99.99% against all pathogens known to man. I and my team will be happy to advise and guide you to the right place. We can attend meetings with you anywhere in the world, subject to certain conditions.

William

[email protected]