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Can down comforters be washed?

Raident
9 years ago

The label doesn't say...

Comments (35)

  • zzackey
    9 years ago

    I've washed mine several times at the laundromat. I use the big front loading washing machines. I put three tennis balls in the dryer to help fluff up the blanket. The attendant at the laundromat even had tennis balls to lend for that purpose. It took a long time to dry, but I only wash it once a year.

  • sas95
    9 years ago

    Usually not.

    This post was edited by sas95 on Fri, Nov 28, 14 at 6:22

  • daisychain01
    9 years ago

    I've used down comforters for about 25 years. I was always told you couldn't wash them. I would hang them out in the sun once a year for a day or two.

    Then someone (here I think) said you could wash them, so I tried it and they turned out fine. Like Zackey, I don't do it often and we live in a relatively dry climate. I've never had issues with clumping of down or a bad smell.

  • dcward89
    9 years ago

    I have washed mine many, many times. I also do the tennis ball trick in the dryer...never any ill effects or smell. I think the secret is making sure it is very, very dry. Mine is king size and I wash/dry it in my front load, large capacity home machines at least 2 or 3 times a year,

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    I've always washed them. Put a couple of sneakers in the dryer with it to declump the down and fluff it up. Use a gentle detergent.

  • jellytoast
    9 years ago

    Mine says dry clean only. I throw it in the wash and then into the dryer and it comes out perfectly fine ... no lumpiness or smell.

    I do run it through the wash cycle twice, because a lot of air is trapped initially, preventing it from going fully down into the water. The spin cycle takes care of that, then I wash it one more time before sending it through two rinses. I have a SpeedQueen top loader and a queen size comforter fits fine.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    I actually refuse to dry clean them because I don't want to be sleeping right under and have my nose breathing the dry cleaning chemicals all night long.

    Best thing, really, is to get a duvet cover to put over them. That is easily washed. Periodically toss the down comforter in the dryer with a sneaker to fluff it up.

  • lilylore
    9 years ago

    Never had a problem washing them.

    In Germany, they fling open the windows and hang the comforter half way out the widow every morning to air for a couple of hours. You can drive down the street and see duvets hanging from all the windows in some neighborhoods in the AM.

  • bbstx
    9 years ago

    I take my down comforters and down blankets to one of the laundromats in town usually twice a year - once at the end of the season and again at the beginning of the season. They wash them in an extra large washer and dry them. When I get them home after the spring wash, I lay them out on the guest room beds to make sure they are totally dry before I pack them away. I store them in old pillow cases. I prefer something where they can " breathe."

    I have also learned I can wash my cashmere sweaters.

  • Boopadaboo
    9 years ago

    I always wash mine. I dont; like the chemical smell from dry cleaners either.

  • violetwest
    9 years ago

    I've slept under down comforters exclusively for over 30 years. I've always washed mine. They get softer and less puffy over the years with use.

    Not often -- a couple times of year at the most (duvet covers get used and washed more often of course). After washing and drying (they do need a tennis ball or dryer ball in there), I lay mine out in the sun for thorough drying, bleaching, and dust mite killing.

  • MagdalenaLee
    9 years ago

    I wash mine all the time with just a little bit of detergent and vinegar. I read that fabric softener can leave the down limp & flat so I don't use it. Also, add an extra rinse cycle.

    Generally, they take a long time to dry, so I do a timed dry for about 30 minutes, take out and re-position and set for another timed dry. When you think it's dry, take out and smell. Put your nose right up to it and smell all over. If there are any musty smelling spots - dry for a little longer. Repeat until there's no musty smelling spots.

  • jellytoast
    9 years ago

    I've tried the duvet covers but they make the comforter too heavy. The nicest thing about a down comforter is its warmth without weight, and when I add the weight of a duvet cover, plus a top sheet, it's too bulky for me.

  • gail618
    9 years ago

    I wash mine all the time. I took one to a dry cleaner once and it came back with streaks all over it. The dry cleaner told me that they shouldn't actually be dry-cleaned -- something about the dry cleaning fluid and the oil (?) of the feathers? It was a long time ago so I can't remember exactly but ever since then I've just washed them myself and they come out fine.

  • sjhockeyfan325
    9 years ago

    I wash mine once a year, using a down-specific detergent (I get it at REI - it's made for sleeping bags).

  • busybee3
    9 years ago

    I've washed lots of down items, including comforters. no fabric softener and a gentle, low sudsing detergent is best. I set my spin cycle onto low spin.
    when drying, stop the dryer periodically to shake/fluff the comforter if you can(easier to do with twin comforters than king!)- when washing pillows or comforters I usually stop and shake 3-4 times until dry.

  • darwingardener
    9 years ago

    Good quality down (few feathers) can (and should be) washed rather than dry cleaned which strips the oils. I've been washing down coats, comforters and throws for many years in a large capacity washer, using Woolite rather than detergent and warm (not hot) water. Dry and fluff on medium then low heat using tennis balls and shifting the load from time to time.

  • peegee
    9 years ago

    Everything Tibbrix said at 9:34.

  • desertsteph
    9 years ago

    good to know. I have a down mattress pad that has been in my old place for several yrs - collecting dust and dirt. I hated the thought of dc it! Will take to the Laundromat and use their big machine. If it gets ruined, it does. No one will want to use it as it is now. The future use for it would be to pad the floor if /when anyone stays here since I don't have a 2 nd bed. (4 bdrms, 1 bed -lol!)

    when I get it home I'll hang it on the line in the AZ sun for a day. That helps a lot of things!

  • jannie
    9 years ago

    I have one white down comforter that's too big to fit in my home washing machine. I just took it to the dry cleaner and it's gonna cost $40.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    janine, take it to a hotel and ask them if they'll wash it for you in one of their huge machines. I did that years ago. They charged me $10. Or take it to a laundromat and use the commercial front loader.

  • Kippy
    9 years ago

    My Danish grandmother used to raise geese to sell for holidays and she would save the down and feathers to make make duvets and feather beds. I still have a couple of the duvets brought to the USA in our luggage.

    Turns out geese swim in water.....

    Besides washing them, setting then out in the sun all day will refresh and fluff them up. You can also put a sheet on the lawn and lay them on the sheet I would probably not do that if you use chemicals on the lawn

    They are wonderful things and can last decades

  • kittymoonbeam
    9 years ago

    You can wash them in a bathtub too. Grandma used her shampoo. Put it in the washer to spin and rinse several times in the tub until no soap residue remains. The key thing is to dry it completely using new white tennis shoes or new tennis balls to break up down clumps and reposition the comforter every ten minutes or so.

  • Errant_gw
    9 years ago

    I've always washed mine, as well. Like everyone said, gentle detergent, no fabric softener, an extra rinse and spin. Tennis ball or sneakers in the drier, no drier sheet, high temp, fluff and reposition a time or two, and make sure it is VERY dry. I also wash my down pillows, coats, and sleeping bags. Some of my down is nearly 30 years old and still very fluffy :)

  • Raident
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    A (very belated) update - I just managed to successfully wash and dry the comforter, but it was a huge ordeal, to say the least.

    My twin size comforter just barely fit in the washer, but washing was the least of my problems. When it came to drying, I just happened to have a pair of brand new sneakers lying around, so I stuck them in there with the comforter. Unfortunately, the wet comforter tumbled against the dryer with such force that the door actually popped open at one point and one of the sneakers flew out. Worse yet, an *enormous* amount of down came out of the comforter throughout the process, so much that I had to stop every 30 minutes and clean out both the lint trap in the dryer and the one in the vent - I have a feeling that the dryer vent cleaners are going to yell at me when they come by this fall to clean out the pipes...

    Anyways, when it came out of the dryer, it smelled kinda like burned rubber (maybe I should try tennis balls next time?). After it cooled down, the burned rubber smell fortunately went away, but was replaced by a mildly sweaty smell - much less than before I washed it, but still noticeable when I put my nose right up to the comforter - perhaps I should use more detergent, hotter wash temperatures (I used cold water), and/or a different wash cycle (I used the gentle cycle) next time?

  • Olychick
    8 years ago

    Sounds like maybe some of the down didn't get completely dry and smells like wet feathers? I always use unscented oxyclean with mine to take out any bad smells...you can run the washer to fill, then let it soak a while. I always do an extra rinse, too. When drying, I pull it out a couple of times and manually separate any down that seems to be clumping and not drying. I never have luck with putting objects in to help fluff when drying mine. I think once I tried a couple of small plastic bottles of water that were partially filled. No tennis balls or new sneakers at my house.


  • Raident
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    What do wet feathers smell like?

    I used Tide Coldwater to wash the comforter (and filled it all the way up to the "2" line in the lid), and I know that clothes which haven't been rinsed thoroughly enough will have that "Tide smell" (I double rinse everything for that reason), but this smell is completely different from that.

    Right now, I'm just draping it over the couch and using my couch as an informal drying rack. Should I put it back in the dryer for a couple more tumbles?

  • Olychick
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    wet feathers= wet dog, wet cat, wet dirty hair, that kind of smell.

  • lascatx
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Better than tennis balls or shoes are wool dryer balls. You can make them yourself (basically elted balls of wool yarn) or buy them. I got some at Home Goods. I can't think of other stores where I've sen them, but there are a lot of them on Etsy. They help fluff, but also help items dry faster (so they say -- I haven't done any timed tests) and the natueal lanolin in the wool means you don't need fabric softener.

    I have washed down comforters and blankets. The one I bought at Company Store recently (BTW, they sell dryer rings if you don't want to use wool) says it is machine washable. Not sure why some are and some aren't, especially since they say it's the higher thread count that aren't. Mone had it's first washing and did fine, but there was a full dryer vent when I repositioned it. Less after that. Guess it's a first washing thing?

  • PRO
    Lars/J. Robert Scott
    8 years ago

    The laundry room has some discussions on this. I do not have a down comforter because I have an extremely heavy chenille bedspread (35 pounds) that I made for my bed, and it is warm enough. I am thinking of getting a down comforter, however. I had a cheap one with polyester fill, and it clumped very badly when I washed it.

  • sjhockeyfan325
    8 years ago

    I think down is supposed to be washed in some kind of special detergent, not Tide. Something about regular detergent stripping oils from the down.

  • Debbi Branka
    8 years ago

    I have washed my down comforter for years. I used to use Woolite - a very small amount. Never ever any fabric softener. And I use 3 wool dryer balls. Now I wash with Mrs. Meyers. I've also recently started using ammonia in my wash and then fabric softener is not needed. On the ammonia bottle, it says wash with it alone - you don't even need soap. I may try that next time I wash the comforter.


  • violetwest
    8 years ago

    Raident -- if it smells, it's likely not dry all the way. Can you put it in the sun?

    Also, before washing, check for holes and tears and mend them before washing. If you are losing down, you have a rip or tear somewhere.


  • Raident
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    The best I can do is open the blinds in the living room, I'm afraid - I have a weirdly-shaped balcony that's boxed in by the building itself on 3 sides, plus there's another balcony right above mine that basically serves as a huge awning so I'd have to hang it on the balcony railing in order to get any direct sunlight onto it. However, I'm pretty sure that hanging things off of the balcony railing is against condo association rules :(