Cleaning a Vintage Wool Pillow

Get a large towel and fold it around the pillow. Have your husband take one end of the towel while you take the other end. Twist the ends of the towel to squeeze and wring on the pillow. (Think of a piece of candy in a wrapper. The ends are twisted with the candy in between.) You won't be wringing the pillow directly so it won't misshappen. When you are done wringing, gently work the pillow back into shape. I would then try OneandDone's suggestion below to get the last of the water out. Finally I would put the pillow in the sun to dry and air further. You might need to rewash to get out the moldy water smell. I don't think you've ruined your pillow. I think you just didn't get the water out well enough despite your efforts.

Alternatively you could put it in a very good dryer. Mine has a no heat, low tumble setting which I use on heavy comforters and pillows. One last suggestion would be to restuff the pillow. You could pick a seam apart, restuff, and then hand stitch closed. I had to that with one of my grandmother's pillows I couldn't get the smell and lumps out of. Good luck.

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I would place it between two halved thick towels and stand on it (no shoes on!). This will get the water out better than just sitting there drying....

Can you put it outside in the sun/air? Or put a fan on it?

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My grandmother had all these huge down pillows for her beds. She submerged them in soapy water and a rinse water once a year. After she squished all the water out she would let them dry in the sunshine hanging up. She used towels and cinder blocks but I am sure if you put the pillow into a pillowcase and run it on the spin cycle in the washer it will not hurt it. I wash "dry clean" things all the time (I am horribly cheap.) I just do not dry them. If you have a front loading washer it has a spin only cycle. For the other just turn the dial to spin. I would use wool-lite and some baking soda in the wash water to get rid of the smell. Vinegar works too but it can be rough on older fibers. Rinse well and spin out the water. If you do not have sunshine during the day then clothespin it to a hanger and hang it in a well venilated area. Sorry this rambles. Good luck!

Wool smells. Its an animal product, it can't help it, especially if it is filled with down, another animal product. I would have taken it to a professional cleaner, myself, but- I would put it on LOW in the dryer and run it for a couple of cycles on delicate. Then I would continue to air it out until completely dry.

Next time, spend the money to have it professionally cleaned.

Do you have a dryer rack in your dryer so it gets heat but no tumble?
Some people have this option. You might borrow someone's dryer.
There is also a hanging cloth basket that connects to the dryer door
that allows pillow to get the heat and no tumble. good luck