In the modern era of environmental awareness, the lifestyles and preferences of people and society have witnessed a notable shift towards eco-friendly products. Talking of personal dwelling spaces, in particular, naturally crafted accessories have found a good place in peoples’ homes and bedroom interiors. With special mention to bedding accessories, bamboo soft pillows have become quite popular in recent times, thanks to the extensive range of health and environmental benefits catered by them.
As far as the sleeping comfort is taken into consideration, bamboo bolsters are a wholesome utility to take you on a peaceful and snuggly slumber ride. However, some other aspects demand enough attention. As a straightforward acceptance, things tend to wear out with time and consistent use. Even though how much you enjoy landing into the feathery softness of your bamboo pillow, the latter tends to become harder and uncomfortable with regular and long-term usage.
Moving ahead with the inconveniences resulting from the above deformation, the prime effect is observed in the physical discomforts of lying on the hard bamboo pillow. The stiffness may cause muscular aches of the upper body parts, especially your head, neck, and shoulders. Disruption in the spinal alignment is a separate cause of concern that can potentially render a series of allied issues, like, chronic back aches, slip discs, etc., among others. It is, therefore, advisable to find out how to soften bamboo pillow as soon as the slightest discomfort is observed.
1. Reasons Supportive of Your Bamboo Pillow Getting Hard
As already stated, the hardening of your bamboo pillows is a common encounter when being put to prolonged and consistent use. Speaking in the light of the same, there are a few obvious reasons in support of the fact, some of which are discussed in what follows next:
Pillows Bear a Regular Weight
Resting your head on a pillow every night keeps the latter weighted for a considerable duration. This is often seconded by the variety of positions each one of us prefers to sleep in. As the bolster adjusts with the mass and posture of your head over time, the softness of its contact surface tends to decrease and wear away.
Using the same pillow for longer periods may thus, cause the pillow to become hard and uncomfortable. You should, therefore, pay attention to the uneasiness, in line with your usage pattern and learn how to soften a bamboo pillow.
Your Pillow Is Not Dry Enough
The pillow surface tends to absorb sweat and other body fluids with time, thus rendering a moist sleeping surface. The problem aggravates in case you are a temperature-sensitive sleeper who tends to sleep hot, leaving the pillow all sweaty and groggy every night. The regular drooling does not give the latter’s contact surface to dry out completely.
The moisture may also sometimes result from an accumulation of detergent post a regular wash. As a consequence, the bolster tends to become harder with time, while losing its softness and puff. Whatever may be the cause, sleeping on a hard bamboo pillow can be dangerous and you should look for affordable ways to retain the softness for a better resting experience while countering the allied health issues.
2. How to Soften Bamboo Pillows
To get away with the inconveniences of a hardened bamboo pillow, there are several quick and feasible solutions you can adhere to. From adjusting the filling quantity to fluffing the pillows in the dryer, several ways might help to retain the fluffiness of your bamboo bolster to the desired level of comfort. Talking along the line, let us have a deeper understanding of the aforesaid processes to address the concern of how to soften bamboo pillow in what follows next:
Fluffing Your Bamboo Pillow in the Dryer
Fluffing your bamboo pillow is essentially advised after a new purchase to render it with a fresh and welcoming odor while removing the pungent off-gassing smell that commonly results from an airtight packaging. Ahead of this, fluffing can help to ward off the flatness incurred within the pillow on account of sweat and moisture absorption over long-term usage. While you can easily plump up the bolsters by hand, using the dryer is also a reliable method. When choosing to go with the dryer alternative, here’s how you can proceed with the process:
Take Off the Removable Bamboo Cover
As is evident, bamboo bolsters are called so because of the natural bamboo fabric cover that encloses the pillow within. These pillowcases are often removable and can be easily tucked out before a wash. Likewise, you should be cautious to take them off before putting the pillows into the dryer for fluffing them up to set straight the issue of how to soften a bamboo pillow.
Put the Pillows in the Dryer With Dryer Balls
After having the covers removed, you can place the bolsters in the dryer, along with a few dryer balls. Using dryer balls helps to better toss the inserted items while separating them from each other. Another advantage of using such balls is a more quick and efficient drying process. Being an eco-friendly alternative to the customary drying sheets, tennis balls can often serve as a good catch to be used as drying balls.
Initiate a Low Heat Tumble Dry Process
Start to tumble the pillows under a minimum or no heat drying cycle, just with a few dryer sheets for about 10 to 40 minutes, in line with your fluffing requirements. The aforesaid movement allows the formation of air pockets, as the pillow filling gets separated. The dryer balls will additionally knock out the pillows for an even better plumping.
Time to Hand Plump
After the machine drying process gets completed, move ahead to remove the pillows, followed by encasing them back within the bamboo covers. Give them a gentle shake and hand plump for some time to make the bolsters loft and fluffy.
Fluff the Pillows in the Morning
When moving ahead to fluff your bamboo pillows, make sure that the latter gets enough time to sit in before you lie down to sleep. While you can take up the process at almost any time during the day in line with your preferences, plumping your bolsters in the morning as you make up the bed would be the most convenient of all.
Fluffing your bamboo pillows in the morning gives them enough time to adjust with the newly acquired loft, along with letting in enough fresh air to make them refreshed and dry. Considering the fact that a flattened or hard bamboo pillow takes a good 8-10 hours for becoming affordably soft and fluffy, mornings are the best times to work with the process.
Pluming the head rests in the morning additionally allows a requisite time for the humidity and moisture to get away from the pillow surface, thus rendering a cool and dry space to land in at night. In the light of the above, do fluff your bamboo pillows during the morning hours to get the best results.
Adjust the Filling Quantity
Apart from the weight and moisture, your bamboo pillow may sometime lose its softness due to an extra amount of the memory foam filling. While the adjustable bamboo pillows grant you the liberty to modify their loft and height by a convenient facility to add or remove the stuffing; the latter sometime works in the wrong direction. As the filling quantity goes ahead of the affordable limit, it tends to make the pillow surface hard and uncomfortable over time.
When fluffing your pillows in the dryer or by hand does not work well to counter the hardening discomfort, you can try hands at removing some of the filling material to make the pillow softer. Thanks to the convenient zipper arrangement, you can easily take the extra filling out of the pillow to adjust the latter’s softness in line with your comfort, and again put it back as and when required.
Changing the filling quantity from time to time can thus be quite helpful to retain the softness and puff of your bamboo pillows for longer periods of time. If however, none of the aforesaid alternatives seem to cater significant results, may be, it is time to replace your old bamboo bolster with a new one.
3. Frequently Asked Questions
(1) How Often Should You Soften Your Bamboo Pillow?
When moving ahead to tackle the issue of how to make bamboo pillow softer, frequency plays an important role. Considering the fact that your head rests encounter a consistent exposure to moisture and humidity from the absorption of sweat and body fluids, it would be wise enough to plump them up on a regular basis.
In fact, giving the pillows a gentle shake with your hand when you get up to make your bed in the morning; does no harm. Alternating between a regular hand plump and an occasional dryer fluffing can be a great option to increase the durability and usefulness of the pillows. You can further, attempt an adjustment of the filling material after using the bolsters for a couple of months or more, as per your comfort requirements.
In the light of the specific and diverse comfort needs of different kinds of sleepers, it should however, be kept in mind that there is no hard and fast rule to fluff your bamboo soft pillow.While some sleepers may want to fluff the bolsters within a couple of months, there may be others who would prefer a longer span to take up the plumping process. The requirement is therefore, largely a user defined preference.
(2) How Do You Know When To Replace Your Bamboo Pillow?
Sleeping on a soft cloud bamboo pillow is no less than a luxury for diving into a quiet and peaceful slumber. While you may ideally hope for the comfort to last forever, the true fact is that even the best utilities have a life and need to be replaced with time. Same is the case with your finest bamboo pillows that may wear out with consistent usage. Watch out for alarming signs and move ahead to bring home a new set, as soon as you notice any of the following discomforts:
Your Pillow Does Not Provide Enough Support
Have you observed a loss of support from your regular bamboo pillow of late, or lying on the headrest has stopped catering enough comfort? If the answer to these queries is a ‘Yes’, it’s high time you should look forward to replacing your current set of pillows with a new one. Waking up with a stiff neck, or having no relief in your back ache can be another potential alarm to go for a change of these bedding accessories.
The Pillow Filling is Developing Lumps
It is a common encounter for the pillow stuffing to form lumps with prolonged and consistent usage. As for the shredded memory foam arrangement, no doubt the lumping takes place later than that with other stuffing alternatives, but the issue can pop up with these fillings as well. In light of this fact, you should consider replacing the pillows when such an instance is encountered, lest it may have a negative effect on your sleep as well as overall health.
Your Pillow Has Gone Flat
Bamboo pillows are known for their adjustable loft and rebound characteristics. If however, the bamboo bolsters you are laying on regularly, have started to show signs of flatness and lack the rebounding ability, get ready to bring home a new pair of these pillows. As is evident that the shape-regaining feature plays an important role in ensuring the desired comfort, losing the same will render the pillow unfit for use, in line with the necessity of calm and undisturbed sleep.
The Pillow Renders a Foul Smell
It is natural to encounter an off-gassing smell when you unpack a new set of bamboo pillows, which tends to leave after a quick wash and fresh air ventilation. On the contrary, if you have begun to notice a bad smell after using the pillows for some time, which refuses to go away even after continued ventilation and repeated washes, maybe it's time to get rid of the utility. You can instead, move ahead to get in a fresh pair of bamboo head support for a cleaner and hygienic sleeping comfort.
Dirt and Stains Show Up on the Pillow Surface
In the light of the fact that the pillow surface tends to soak in moisture and humidity from sweat and body fluids, observing light stains over consistent usage is somewhat normal. While a regular washing may cause the spots to leave the skin-pillow contact space in a matter of time, what’s alarming is their stubborn staying back. If you are tired of viewing the unpleasant sight, again and again, replacing the pillows would be a better option.
You Toss Around While Sleeping
Discomfort while sleeping on some exhaustive nights can be understood, but if you keep on switching postures every night as you land into sleep, an uncomfortable pillow may be the root cause and should be avoided. Not being able to sleep in your comfortable position may have a bad impact on your health, leading to undesired consequences. It would, therefore, be wise enough to go for a replacement well in time.
You Wake Up to a Lazy Morning
Watch out for how you feel in the morning after a full night’s rest. Being a little jerky is okay, but if you encounter heaviness and lethargy regularly, your hardened bamboo pillow can be the real culprit. Make a timely replacement of the same to keep away serious health issues and sleeping distresses, like those of insomnia, TMJ, etc.
4. Conclusion
Bamboo pillows are an eco-friendly and health-supportive utility that adorns bedding spaces with comfort and luxury. Lying on a soft touch collection bamboo pillow for a night’s rest is a complete guarantee of a tranquilized slumber. There are, however, particular instances when these pillows may fall short of providing the desirable comfort on account of being flattened or losing their original shape with regular usage. When looking for solutions to combat the issue, you can move ahead with fluffing the bolsters to retain the softness credibility.
As for the means and ways to proceed with the process, a regular hand plump every morning would work fine to bring back the puff. You can additionally, opt to fluff the pillows in a dryer, or even move ahead to remove some of the pillow stuffing to set the issue straight. If however, nothing seems to solve the problem, it may well be a replacement alarm. Whatever may be the case, affordable sleeping comfort assumes the top priority, which should never be compromised, under any circumstances whatsoever.
