Washing and caring for down duvets
What care is required for down duvets and feather pillows? How long is it before a down duvet and feather pillow need to be replaced?
The more carefully you look after your pillow and duvet, the longer they will meet your requirements for comfort and the better the guarantee of bed hygiene.
Bedding requires a lot of fresh air in the morning so that it can release the moisture it has absorbed during sleep. Open the bedroom window and lightly shake out your bedding. With certain duvets (cassette design) the filling may “shift around”. The down should be redistributed by hand from time to time. Protect bedding from sunlight, carpet beaters and vacuum cleaners.
Washing pillows and duvets
Washable pillows and duvets with relevant laundry symbols on the care label can be washed at temperatures of up to 60°C. You should not wash duvets and pillows that are not specifically designated as washable. However, any non-washable duvet should be cleaned professionally after 3 to 5 years.
The duvet is emptied out, the contents professionally washed, aseptically dried, disinfected, supplemented with new material and the filling put in a new cover. This means that after cleaning, the result is a duvet that is almost as good as new.
Take your duvet to a specialist shop or send it to a VSB member. You will then be given a free quotation. It is not worth cleaning pillows because it is cheaper to buy new ones. Pillows are also subject to significantly greater wear and tear and must therefore be replaced after 3 years.
Washing instructions for down duvets and feather pillows
Unless otherwise stated, washable down duvets and feather pillows with a laundry mark on the care label can be washed at temperatures up to 60°C. Use a pH-neutral, liquid mild detergent for this. Special detergents are available from specialist shops.
- Wash the duvet and pillows individually.
- Use a washing programme with a spin cycle.
- Repeat the spin cycle as down and feathers absorb many times their own weight in water.
- Dry the duvet and pillow separately in the tumble dryer at 100°C.
- Shake it out about every 30 minutes to significantly shorten the drying time. Depending on the size of the tumble dryer, this may take 60 to 120 minutes.
