A good night’s sleep also includes the right pillow. But then please wash it well and be free of harmful substances. In the Öko-Test there are no major catastrophes. But only a pillow can convince.
Choosing the right pillow for sleeping is often neglected. Most of the attention is focused on the mattress and maybe even on the duvet. Therefore, here are a few notes on the head support. Side sleepers need flatter pillows than back sleepers. And broad-shouldered side sleepers need taller ones than narrow side sleepers. And the neck should neither bend up nor down on the pillow.
If a suitable pillow has been purchased taking these instructions into account, it is also important to check whether it also survives the washing and pollutant tests. Because a good pillow is easy to care for and still in good shape even after a few washes. Neither the cover nor the pillow will shrink, the formation of lumps is limited and of course the pillow is as free as possible of harmful substances.
Öko-Test checked this and bought 20 pillows measuring 40 by 80 centimeters in department stores, furniture stores, online shops and mattress discounters. At prices between 6 and 104 euros. Including 14 with a filling made of polyester and three pillows each with fillings made of latex flakes or cotton. With many of the pillows in the test, it is possible to adjust the height by removing the filling material. All pillows have been tested in the laboratory for their resistance to washing. In addition, other laboratories tested the pillows for problematic ingredients.
Result? Most pillows have passed the washing and pollutant tests well. One pillow can be recommended by testers with the overall rating “very good” and twelve with “good”. Seven are only “satisfactory”, six of them because the washing resistance left something to be desired. Five pillows each shrank by more than five percent in length or width. Pillows with non-washable fillings were also affected because the quilted cover, which according to the care instructions was washable, had shrunk. The “Allnatura latex flake pillow “Hevea” (“satisfactory”), which had shrunk in length and width, got the fewest points here.
The “Skogsfräken” pillow from Ikea is the only one that is only “satisfactory” in the test result (overall result also “satisfactory”). Soluble antimony was measured here – as well as in eight other pads – Antimony residues are a common problem in polyester products because manufacturers still use the compound antimony trioxide as a catalyst. According to the European Chemicals Agency, antimony is suspected of being carcinogenic if it is inhaled – this is particularly a problem in the manufacturing process. Fortunately, however, all the antimony levels found are low. Organic halogen compounds were also detected in the Ikea product. These are a large group of substances, many of which are allergenic and almost all of which accumulate in the environment.
The most convincing in the overall rating was the polyester-cotton pillow “Kronborg of DenmarkBeerenberg Fiber Pillow” from Jysk for 44.99 euros (“very good”). Among other things, the very inexpensive “Belday Home pillow polyester fiber filling” from Woolworth for 6 euros, the “Erwin Müller pillow Isar” (polyester cotton) for 20.95 euros and the “Sleepling 190002 Basic 100” ( polyester) for 12.99 euros.
(This article was first published on Friday, September 23, 2022.)
