An Experts Guide on Washing and Caring For Down Comforters
Cleaning a down comforter is easy once you know what you are doing, but there are a few extra steps you must take to ensure that the down keeps its current fluffy structure. Of course it is not as easy as sticking it in your home washer and throwing it on perma press. Here is a brief guide from the experts on how to care for you down comforters.
First of all, have no fear about getting your down comforter wet. It will in no way harm or damage the material inside of your comforter, quite the opposite actually. When you wash your comforter and then use heat to dry it, it will bring the down back to its normal and original fluffy and cozy form. If you sense that your down comforter is losing its form, the occasional wash and dry will in fact rejuvenate the down and give it new life. After a good wash the down will reform and poof out with the fill power it had when you first bought it.
A brief warning here though… do not wash your down comforter repeatedly. And by repeatedly I mean more than one wash cycle and not too often either. You will have to use your discretion as far as how often you need to wash it. I wouldn’t do it more than once every few months. If you wash it too often the down won’t have a chance to dry properly and will lose its form that you are working t get back.
Another piece of advice is to only use a very, very mild detergent when washing your down comforter. Mild detergents will protect the down rather than harm them like a strong detergent might do. Many of the stronger soaps and detergents are made to wash away oils and grime. Since the down have natural oils inside, these detergents will wash them away leaving a flat and weak down comforter left over.
If you are using a duvet cover over the down to protect it, these comforters are more than likely safe to wash in your home washer like you would normally. Just make sure that the cover is cotton and not some other exotic material first.
Like with anything, make sure that you read all of the care instructions that come with the comforter and its cover. Usually this is just a simple tag located at the foot of the comforter. Following the instructions is the best piece of advice I can give and one that is the most important.
Home washing machines will work just fine for your down comforter if and only if they are a front load washer that is big enough to handle it. The top load agitator can damage and tear up your down comforter, so by all means do not use these types of washing machines. Go to a laundry mat or pay a dry cleaner to wash it for you instead.
Drying down comforters can take a long time. Run it through a whole dry cycle and then hang dry it outside until it is completely dry. If it is still damp, run it through the dry cycle another time. You need to ensure that it is dry before you put it back on your bed. If it doesn’t have a chance to fully dry, they can develop mold and the mole will ruin the down.
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Category: Home Management
Keywords: washing down comforters