Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Update: I threw it out after about 8 months. The microfiber degraded/dried to a point that it compressed and didn't expand as easily as it did when it was new. I always used it with a moisture proof pillow protector which probably rules out environmental contamination. Given the rancid smell of the product when new, something that took many hours to wash and dry out, I'm not confident this really is microfiber. Original review: A very qualified three stars (later updated to 1 star). This is the second product I've purchased from Amazon recently with a strong chemical scent. After taking the pillow out of the packaging, the first thing I noticed was the smell. An almost rancid and completely confusing chemical smell. If you've lived long enough , all smells are either recognizable or evocative of other smells. This is the first thing I've smelled that I didn't recognize or that could be compared to anything else. Completely unique and not good. I removed the outer case and tried a long cycle wash with detergent and bleach. When complete, the smell had been reduced to perhaps 10% of what it was but still present. It took about three hours for it to dry at medium-low heat. Or so I thought. I opened it up to check but the core was still wet. If you wash this, care will have to be taken to make sure it's completely dry from the core out. Not doing so will likely result in mold. Unlike poly-fill and even down pillows, this takes a *long* time to thoroughly dry. Because I didn't want to risk damaging the microfiber, I kept the heat in the medium range. Given that the smell was still present, I removed all the microfiber from pillow and the extra provided in a separate bag , dumped it into an extra large nylon mesh wash bag and did another long cycle wash. Given that the microfiber was much more loosely packed when in the wash bag, exposed more completely to the wash water, the smell disappeared. It took at least two more hours for it to thoroughly dry in the wash bag at medium low heat. Once the smell taken care of, it took some trial and error over a week or so to get the fill to my liking. Now that it is, I like the pillow. I have it stuffed to the point that my head is more or less supported at shoulder height which will probably help with occasional neck pain that can come when your head is not properly supported. Decent pillow but wash and dry thoroughly before use.