Postcards from Pillow: Old Gross Pillow Gallery

As part of one of our recent Postcards from Pillow adoption opportunities, we asked people to send in pictures of their oldest bed pillow. The nastier the better. The would-be Pillow adopters took this to heart, sending us pictures of some truly disgusting pillows. You can see a selection of the pictures submitted to us in the photo gallery below. Some aren’t too bad, but some make us sick to our stomachs. We don’t know if the adoption applicants are actually sleeping on these pillows, but we certainly hope not. It’s important to know just how much bacteria can grow in an older pillow. Check out this SleepBetter infographic to find out what we learned from our scientific study of college student pillows.

It’s because those cooties are growing in our pillows that we recommend purchasing a new one every 18 months to two years. And, even if you have a newer pillow, you should still clean it every so often. Check out our instructions for washing your pillow for help with that chore.