Dried pillow over 2.5 days, is it contaminated?

[Letareus]

I just spent about 2.5 days drying a standard down pillow (in the dryer). It was not taken out of the dryer that entire time and before that it was only in the washer. The dryer was opened several times so I could check to see how wet it is.  
 

The reason for my concern is that I have recently been informed that I should never leave wet clothes in the washer for a very long time because they could grow mold, mildew, or bacteria.  I don’t see why this can’t apply to a dryer as well especially in this case (see below).  

First, I overwashed the pillow.  It was extremely wet after washing.  So much so that it was like a giant bean bag and dripped a lot of water on the floor while being transferred to the dryer right above the washer even though I squeezed it out in the washer first.  Then unfortunately it remained almost that wet even after a couple of cycles because I made the mistake of drying it together with a bedsheet, which wrapped around the pillow while drying which screwed up the sensor into thinking it was dry. This was on medium heat because that’s what I use for everything.  
 

Thinking it was fine I left to do things and went to sleep after returning home and didn’t check it until the next day.  It was then that I discovered what had happened.  I removed the mostly dry bedsheet and dried the pillow for several more cycles.  I found that it was still wet. It was then that I discovered that the pillow had a pillow case still on it that was not obvious. I removed that and ran a couple more cycles. Now it seems dry.  

So my question to you is, is the pillow contaminated at this point? What about the dryer? And what about the bedsheet removed earlier?

The contamination I’m concerned about is mold or bacteria in the pillow, bedsheet, and dryer. There is no visible contamination on anything, nor any unusual odors, but I’m especially concerned about something deep inside the pillow, as it was soaking wet and probably overwashed. Thanks in advance for answering my question.

[TheVat]

First, down pillows are made to have the case removed and washed.  The outer case, and liner, absorb hair and face oil keeping the inner pillow clean.  The inner pillow is not meant to be washed.   Down pillows need to be plumped, only.  Just pat them with hands when rising in the morning and spin them in the air a couple times.

You may be okay because the wet interior was in constant motion, which would make mold growth less likely.  If it had just sat wet for a couple days, it would be a different story.

Please save yourself a gigantic electric bill (and huge waste), and just wash the case next time.  

 

[Letareus]

1 hour ago, TheVat said:

First, down pillows are made to have the case removed and washed.  The outer case, and liner, absorb hair and face oil keeping the inner pillow clean.  The inner pillow is not meant to be washed.   Down pillows need to be plumped, only.  Just pat them with hands when rising in the morning and spin them in the air a couple times.

You may be okay because the wet interior was in constant motion, which would make mold growth less likely.  If it had just sat wet for a couple days, it would be a different story.

Please save yourself a gigantic electric bill (and huge waste), and just wash the case next time.  

 

Thanks for the response.  I will keep in mind in the future to only wash the liner and not the pillow.  To be clear, the pillow was not in motion for most of the 2.5 days.  Most of the time it was in fact sitting there motionless between cycles, much of it while still soaking wet, while I went out, to sleep or did other stuff.  I detailed exactly what happened, how and why in my op if you would take another look.  Let me know if what you said still holds.
 

 

[zapatos]

Heat and lack of water generally result in the demise of mold. If you've run the pillow through the dryer and it is now dry, as long as it doesn't have any odor I would feel just fine using it.

I was down pillows and comforters all the time. Washing and drying is often on the care instructions. I also include three tennis balls in the dryer as they help loosen up the down as it is drying.

Ducks get their down wet all the time and it dries just fine.

[John Cuthber]

The wash cycle will have done a pretty good job of removing bacteria and mould spores. 
So, even if the pillow was just sitting in the drier, there won't have been much microbiology happening.

 

[Sensei]

Pillow #1 != pillow #2.. They differ.. You have to have information about them to decide. I wash my pillows entirely in the washing machine. They are designed for that. They are allowed to be washed in the washing machine. There is a washing procedure listed on their label, etc. etc.

So, basically, read the label to find out..

 I try to wash the pillows every few months. One every month. One every two months. If you don't think they are "fresh," you should wash them.

BTW, pillows are cheap. 10 euros for 60x50 cm one..

  

16 hours ago, Letareus said:

The dryer was opened several times so I could check to see how wet it is. 

The key is to use 1600 RPM during spinning in the washing machine. The more the better. After that, or x2, pillow or quilt, should be almost out of water and almost dry.

I washed my pillows and quilt maybe 5 times in 2022, and will do more this year..

Edited October 15, 2022 by Sensei

[Sensei]

18 hours ago, Letareus said:

The contamination I’m concerned about is mold or bacteria in the pillow, bedsheet, and dryer.

It depends on the temperature of the washing machine. There are 90 C, 60 C, 45 C, 30 C..

Bacteria can't survive excessive heat. Bacteria cannot thrive in the absence of food.

Edited October 15, 2022 by Sensei