Anyone Else Not Like Eider down (Duvets)?

[launderess]

Well several years ago, spotted a MIB, TOL down filled duvet at a local high end linen store's closeout division. Nabbed the thing and after getting it home, and into a duvet over tried really hard for several nights to like the thing, but to no end. No matter what one did woke up either through out the night or in the morning drenched in sweat.

So off the eiderdown came, and in it's place a wool filled "duvet", also MIB and TOL from the same store, and have never looked back.

For some reason sleeping under wool makes one very comfortable, and no sweating. Have nice thick Peacock Alley "cashmere" cotton blanket under during the colder months, and all is a treat.

Have heard some persons simply cannot abide down filled duvets. Marriages have been known to break up over them, or one partner is banished separate bed. Anyone?

 

[brisnat81]

We sleep in seperate beds because our perception of temperature is always opposite to each other. When I'm hot Michael is cold and the reverse.

We both have 100% Goose down doona's that are adjustable. The pockets run side to side and it is possible to move the down to the opposite side of the bed. I sleep on the lightly populated side and Michael sleeps on the full side. It seems to work quite well.

I find them perfectly comfortable like that. I had a woolen one growing up, but found that it was very heavy by comparison. Because of our temperate climate we only really use them for 2-3 months of the year and the rest of the time I sleep under a sheet or maybe a cotton blanket. In summer I sleep on top of the covers. We've had nights that warm that I've actually slept on top of the covers a few times in the last couple of weeks. We've had lows of around 4-8degC but the house rarely drops below 20degC inside due to passive heating.

 

[sudsmaster]

I suspect the ticking or cover on the duvet is too tightly woven to transmit body moisture readily. Perhaps that is why the things were on clearance - people were returning them?

It's faintly possible that if the duvet were properly laundered (and it can be done at home, in a bathtub) the the sizing or fabric finish treatment, if any, would be washed away and the fabric would breathe more easily. But I suspect the tight weave is designed to keep all those tiny feathers under control, so don't hold your breath.

I also have a down comforter, and after a while it made its way back into its plastic case and into long term storage (read: upper loft cabinet in the garage). It was just too warm, and possibly also a little too dusty.

Recently I found some nice, reasonably priced poly-fill comforters at the local Costco business center (they carry hotel-style linens). Oversized, which is nice. Plain white cotton ticking, which is least offensive. And definitely not getting me drenched in sweat (although I will throw it off on warm summer nights). Best part: easily laundered in the front loader. Cost: all of about $28.

 

[sudsmaster]

PS-Been nursing a sprained big toe for the past year or so... so a lightweight comforter is far more comfortable at night than a heavy wool (or synthetic) set of blankets.

 

[aamassther]

That's interesting, I've had quite the opposite experience with a down duvet. I just don't sleep well under blankets anymore. I do agree with your observation of an eiderdown, though. I get too hot sleeping on top of down and I need more support for my back.
My first experience with a duvet was when my family lived in England in the late seventies. Where I learned that one only had to sleep under the duvet with a cover and no top sheet. It lets you move freely and gives you the ability to regulate your comfort by how and how much you cover yourself. I also love how you just fluff and it's made.
I do have two, a light one for summer and a little thicker for winter. The "levels" that one sees in various catalogs, like Cuddledown, is the key to sleeping comfortably under one. We sleep warm, even in winter, so we have level one for the winter months and a down blanket for summer.
I think having a duvet has saved our marriage (well, that and my partner getting a CPAP). I sleep with my feet uncovered and partner sleeps with feet covered, much more difficult with sheets and blankets.
I've never slept under wool. I've used it in lap quilts, where it finishes with a beautiful hand. I'll have to try it. Wool batting also makes the best padding for the ironing board, have used it for years there.

 

[danemodsandy]

Launderess:

It's just the difference in people- sleeping comfort is a very individual thing. I would be in Heaven under an eiderdown- I adore wintry nights and tons of cover. My partner would think he'd died in the night and had awakened in Hell- he cannot abide so much as a top sheet over him. At any time of year.

Think of it this way- now you know what you don't like, and have found something you do like. Plus, you now have a lovely low-mileage duvet to sell on eBay, where it will make some Nordically-inclined soul very happy.

 

[launderess]

Sudsmaster

No, the ticking is the standard high quality thread count fabric found on most if not all TOL down duvets. No where near as thick as the ticking on my vintage feather bolster pillow from the 1930's. You know, the stripped fabric that nearly resembles canvas.

Mayhaps it could also be have a huge featherbed on top of the pillow-top mattress. However will say one prefers to sleep in a cold bedroom. During warmer months will actually turn the AC up at night to make the bedroom extra cold. During the winter windows are opened and heating closed off to the bedroom at night. Queen Victoria has nothing on one, really prefer a cool to cold house, versus over heated.

As for weight, really find one sleeps better with heavy bed cloths. Probably because growing up we used several layers of wool blankets, instead of lighter down duvets. If one was cold at night, and or it became colder at night than it was when one retired, extra blankets were fetched from the linen closet. This was especially true for the nursery and children's rooms.

L.

 

[sudsmaster]

I actually have a featherbed I purchased some years ago (from Costco, of course). I tried it for a few weeks but couldn't get used to it, and it seemed to be a bit too dusty for me. So it's been in long term storage as well.

I also prefer a cool bedroom, but have to admit that having a prewarmed bed on a cold night to slide into is a real joy.