A waterproof pillow cover is great with kids. I have four kids, and they do things like drag pillows around, including dragging my pillows to their beds. Also, kids are messy. Accidents happen. I can wash a pillow (except for not memory foam since memory foam holds so much water), but washing and then drying it is long and involved enough to be a whole project. It's not something I want to have to do in an emergency or on short notice. I'm up for doing it once a year, but I do not want to have to wash a pillow as a surprise. So, to keep pillows clean and make cleaning up after my kids easy, this is my system: I put the pillow, inside a 100% cotton dust mite proof pillow cover which always stays on the pillow and prevents it getting dusty, inside a waterproof pillow cover like this one, inside a padded pillow cover, inside a pillow case. For normal laundry, I wash the pillow case. In case of my kids being messy, I strip off everything down to taking off the waterproof cover, then swap out a spare waterproof cover. Clean up is basically a handwash to the waterproof cover, and throwing a few small things in the laundry. I don't have to clean the pillow. If you have kids, these waterproof pillow covers are great for letting you do clean up (which you will have to do with young kids). I also would recommend to try these out for memory foam, whether or not you have kids, just since memory foam is so hard to dry after washing.For waterproof pillow covers, there are two bad styles and a good style. One bad style would be plain vinyl or plastic, which tears easily. Another bad style would be something like reusable shopping bag material on the outside bonded to a thin piece of plastic on the inside, which tends to be to where the layers separate from one another almost immediately, and then the inner plastic layer tears easily. Then, there is the good style which is fabric bonded to plastic and has basically a fabric texture. This one from Bargoose is the good style! It's a double knit fabric bonded to a plasticy material. So it feels like fabric and is strong and flexible like fabric, but it's waterproof. It's similar to the good style from Allerease (which makes both bad and good waterproof covers), and I fully expect that this Bargoose cover will hold up well over time.The zipper on this isn't particularly secured against water or anything. You can see in the product pics, the zipper is just a plain old zipper along the short end of the pillow cover. Some pillow covers do things like have a velcro flap that covers the very edge of the zipper, but this doesn't have anything fancy like that.Obviously, if a pillow in this cover gets submerged, then water will leak in the zipper. So this isn't for underwater use. Nevertheless, it will keep the pillow dry through most home accidents that might happen - kids throwing up, bed wetting, spilling a glass of water in bed - that kind of thing. In normal messy bed accidents, this pillow cover will keep the spill out of the pillow.This cover is going to be a bit sweaty compared to not having a waterproof pillow. That's why in my system I put on a waterproof pillow cover, then a padded cover for both sweat absorbtion and better friction with the pillow case, then a pillow case. The fact is that if a cover is waterproof, your sweat won't go through it. It's not as comfortable as a plain pillow, but it is better for dust and allergies, and way better for cleaning up quickly after kids.This cover isn't wrinkly or anything. It doesn't make plasticy sounds.Other reviews talk about this cover entrapping air. It does, but pretty much the air goes out slowly through the zipper. So, you push on the pillow and the air will go out over several seconds rather than just squishing. It's the same with all good waterproof covers - if you want the waterproof cover, then get used to it.In the past, for this kind of cover, I've been brand loyal to Allerease and specifically have looked for Allerease cover with RN no 17119 which is their good waterproof cover (they also make bad ones that tear up fast, and have a different RN no.). I feel that this specific "Bargoose Home Textiles - Pillow Protector, Bedbug Solution, Bedbug-Proof and Zippered Waterproof Pillow Encasement" is of comparable quality. I try to get only standard sized pillows, so that all the pillows in my house are interchangeable. Regarding Allerease, I have noticed that those aren't always available in king sized. They make it. It just is not consistently in stock anywhere, when I've looked for covers for my one king pillow. I see that this Bargoose one is available in standard, queen, and king sized, and if that continues, then this may be a good reliable option for the king sized pillows.To clean this cover: I usually wash this kind of cover by hand in a large bucket. I wash it with soapy water, then drain, then rinse in clean water a few times. They can go through the washing machine, ...
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