Relvay makes a pregnancy pillow. We also tell you below when you should not buy one.
The short answer
The number of spare covers depends on three things: how often you can wash, how long a cover takes to dry, and how often you want a fresh one. With weekly laundry and a weekly change, one spare is often enough. Night sweats or slow drying can mean two.
- Count: days between wash days.
- Measure: real drying time, not the label's hope.
- Match: spares to your exact model.
How many spare covers do you need for a pregnancy pillow?
Enough that a clean, dry cover is ready on the night you want to change, given when you can actually wash. Work it out with your own numbers.
- Write down your wash gap. The number of days between the times you can use a machine. Shared laundry room on Saturdays only? That is 7.
- Write down your change gap. How often you want a fresh cover. Many care guides suggest every one to two weeks, and sooner with sweat or spills.
- Time your drying. From the end of the wash to fully dry, in your home, in this season. A cover on an indoor rack in humid weather can take far longer than one in a dryer.
- Count the covers. Divide the wash gap by the change gap and round up. That is how many covers get dirty between wash days. Add one more if the clean cover will not be dry by bedtime on wash day.
This is a planning tool, not a rule. If one cover and one bare-insert night a week works for you and the insert's label allows uncovered use, that is a fine answer too.
Why does limited laundry access make this harder?
Because the cover gets dirty on your body's schedule, but gets washed on the building's. When the two do not line up, the pillow ends up either bare or in a cover you would rather not sleep on.
Wednesday, 3:10 a.m.
Our laundry room opens to our floor on Saturdays. That is it. I was 33 weeks, it was July, and I had started waking up damp at night, the cover sticking to my arm.
By Wednesday the cover smelled like me in a way I did not love. I pulled it off at three in the morning and slept on the bare insert with a beach towel over it, which slid off within an hour. On Saturday I washed the cover and hung it on the rack, and it was still damp at bedtime. Another night with the towel.
I was not being lazy. I just had one cover and one laundry day.
"the velor cover gets a bit warm in the warmer weather"Amazon review of another brand's pregnancy pillow
The fix was not washing more. It was having the next cover ready.
Your cover rotation worksheet
Find the row closest to your week. Then adjust with your own drying time.
| Wash gap | Change gap you want | Clean cover dry by bedtime on wash day? | Covers in rotation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 days | 7 days | Yes (dryer, or fast-drying weather) | 1, with one wash-day swap, or 2 for no waiting |
| 7 days | 7 days | No (slow air drying) | 2 |
| 7 days | 3 to 4 days (night sweats, summer) | Yes | 2 |
| 7 days | 3 to 4 days | No | 3 |
| 14 days | 7 days | No | 3 |
Write your own line: wash gap ___ days, change gap ___ days, dry by bedtime yes or no, covers ___. Recheck it when the season changes; summer sweat and winter drying both shift the numbers.
What should you not cut to make the schedule work?
Do not skip the care label's settings or put a damp cover back on. A rotation exists so you never have to rush a cover.
- Wash each cover on its label's temperature and dryer setting, even when you want it back faster. Hot settings can shrink a cover, and then the rotation loses one.
- Put a cover back on only when it is fully dry, seams included.
- Keep the insert on its own, slower schedule. Sleepybelly's guide suggests airing the inner cushion regularly and spot cleaning marks rather than putting it through a cycle.
- Store spare covers clean and dry, in a drawer or breathable bag.
If a cover has already shrunk, see when a cover no longer fits after washing. If even the cover is too much for the machine you have, our guide to using a laundromat or cleaning service covers the handover.
How do you buy a spare cover that fits?
Buy one made for your exact model, or measure carefully before trying a universal one. A spare that does not fit is not a spare.
Some makers sell spares for their own pillows. WildBird, for example, sells covers designed specifically for its pregnancy pillow and suggests keeping an extra on hand to swap between washes. Its page does not say they fit other pillows, and most brand covers are the same. Our guide to buying a replacement cover that fits has the measuring sheet. Changing a cover more often also means putting it back on more often; this guide to putting a long pillow back in its cover makes that easier.
Frequently asked questions
How often should you wash a pregnancy pillow cover?
Many care guides suggest every one to two weeks, about as often as your sheets, and sooner with night sweats, spills or hot weather. Your cover's label sets how to wash it.
Is one spare pregnancy pillow cover enough?
Often, if you wash weekly and change weekly. If you sweat at night and want a fresh cover twice a week, or covers take more than a day to air dry, two spares may suit you better.
Can I use a regular pillowcase instead of a spare cover?
For a night or two, a clean pillowcase or sheet over the part under your bump works if the insert's label allows uncovered use. It will not fit a long curved pillow well for weeks.
Do I need to wash the insert as often as the cover?
No. Inserts are usually cleaned far less often, and many are spot clean only. Air it regularly and follow its own label.
Will a universal cover work as a spare?
Sometimes, if its measurements match your pillow closely. A cover sold for your exact model is the safer choice. Measure the bare insert before buying any universal cover.
Where Relvay fits in, honestly
Relvay does not sell spare covers, for our pillow or anyone else's, so we cannot fill your rotation. If you are choosing a pillow with wash day in mind, the 3-Piece set is what we make: smaller pieces than a long pillow, with a cover listed as removable and washable. Follow its care label like any cover.
Two wedges for bump and back, joined by a flat strap, about as wide as your torso. Keep a regular pillow between your knees. $79.99, 90-day returns.
Yvette's story is a composite based on real reviews and public posts from pregnant side sleepers. Names and details are changed.
