Have you ever washed a feather duvet?

[rpms]

I Googled and got a 50/50 split as to do it or not.
I have a 16 year old duvet that has been in storage for the past 15 years.
I think the stain is either coffee or orange juice? I remember sponge cleaning the spot when it happened. Time, has produced a dark stain.
The big recommendation with washing feather duvets is to completely dry them.
A hot dryer with tennis balls added and then to a clothesline for as long as possible.
Fabric softner is a no no since it makes the feathers stick together.
I am going to give it a try tomorrow. I bought some tennis balls and have found a half decent laundry mat.

 

[DADoES]

 
Yes, several times over the course of a few years for a friend.  She was a heavy smoker and had several cats in the house, so her comforter was an absolute wreck ... stained and bad odor.  She had bought a liquid product specifically for down / feathers but it wasn't strong enough under the circumstances.

Each time I got more aggressive with the treatment and the last time it came out like new (her words).  I had no idea until then that it was originally white!  Hottest water I could get, oxygen bleach.  I don't know what may have been the effect on the down over the course of time, but she never reported any dissatisfaction with the results.

Drying, multiple 40-min timed runs at low heat with (clean, new) tennis balls.

 

[mrboilwash]

It`s important to use an enzyme free detergent because feathers and downs are protein. A mild liquid detergent suitable for wool would be best I think.
Don`t worry about hot water, some manufacturers of duvets even boil wash the feathers before filling their duvets.
However I would try to spottreat the stain with one of those trigger spray bottles even if a smallish amount of enzymes will be tranfered into the wash then.
No fabric softener is perfectly right.
I wonder if feathers could withstand some hydrogenperoxide, don`t know.
Have never really needed the tennis balls added, but you really have to check the dryer frequently, because you want to remove the duvet before it fluffs up to much. If it blocks the airflow you might scorch the ticking. Done it once and it did not smell nice.

 

[gorenje]

Yes I did. At our small laundromat. Usualy at 60°C, but the last time I even put it on 95°C and belive it or not it came out perfect!

 

[launderess]

Down Yes,

Feathers I'd be leery of if only because they may end up becoming a brittle mess.

Unlike down, feathers depending upon the type normally are stiffer and thus can pose problems during machine washing and drying.

 

[thor]

No matter how much it costs...

...try to get Miele's special down detergent. As I understand down feathers have some "natural greasy substance" which should not be removed from them. If you do, the feathers will be ruined forever...

http://www.mieleusa.com/usa/laundry/detergent/cleaning_essentials.asp?nav=&snav=&tnav=&oT=152&cat=4&subcat=21&item=17&menu_id=21&active=Our%20Products&subm=Home%20Appliances&thirdL=Laundry%20Care&fourthL=Fabric%20Care%20Products&

 

[optima]

Feather Duvet

Great thread.

I washed two Feather Pillows yesterday seeing that we are having very hot good outdoor drying conditions here in the UK at the moment but i will never do it again. The smell from the duck feathers is absolutely vile & even after the pillows have been dried on the washing line for quite some time it really takes a long time to get rid of the very unpleasant smell after washing & drying them.

 

[foraloysius]

I did it quite often too. Always on 60 degrees Celcius (140F). I agree with the no enzyme detergent, a detergent for delicates without it or a wool detergent should be fine. Or if you want to be on the safe side use a special down detergent.

Start with a rinse and a spin. The down will become more compact. Therefor it's easier to wash and therefor you need to tumble the duvet with tennis balls in the dryer.

 

[aamassther]

I wash mine all the time. We have two cats and two dogs. Therefore, they need washing pretty frequently, even with a duvet cover.
Mine are a combination of down and feathers. Depending on the stains, I'll wash on warm or hot, with Miele down wash on the Cuddledown ones and Persil universal on the Ikea ones. If I need to start on cold i'll add a prewash. Using Perm Press in the Bosch or on Normal in the Frigidaire FL.
The Miele down wash is a really good product, it removes even set stains quite well, and is mild. Ive also used Oxiclean stain gel, with good results.
I dry in a medium dryer with tennis balls or Cuddledown rubber dryer rings that do a great job of fluffing while drying. I use a timed cycle and start it for about an hour on medium. Then another hour on low, checking every fifteen minutes til mostly dry.

 

[retromania]

Yes

Yes. You can wash feather pillows. They take a while to dry and Usually give them a good sunning after they dry. Emmmm. Nothing smells better than pillows that have been in the sun.

 

[nickuk]

This is a very interesting thread.

I have a ten year old down kingsize duvet which I took on it's annual jolly to the launderette a couple of days ago. I usually use Persil non bio powder for this task, as I completely get the idea that the feathers contain protein, so protease not a good idea. I actually feel a powder is better for duvets, as liquids must strip all the natural oils. I guess more gentle liquids may not, but I'm not sure the cleaning would be good enough and am fairly sure they would overfoam on a regular cycle.

From the comprehensive temperature selection (Hot/Warm/Cold) I select warm for prewash (I don't even want prewash but don't get the choice) then change it to hot for main wash. I reckon the `warm' setting gave no more than about 25 degrees, and the `hot' about 45. Not scientific, geeky `hand on door glass' type reading!!

Also have never used FS, as not only might this cause clumping but I'm not comfotable using FS on something which won't be washed again for a while. As it stays on the fibres (being added on final rinse) apprently over time it can break down and cause yellowing and stuff.

However, *admission time*. This year the duvet had gathered an assortment of stainage (life with young kids is such fun) and due to the standard pathetic cycles in the 1960s Primus launderette, I decided to go all out. I used Ariel Actilift with a scoop of Vanish. The good news is that all the stains are gone! No adverse affects just yet, but if it turns out that half the feathers have disintegrated I'll report back! If I've trashed it after ten years I'll just replace it, but it actually looks and feels as good as new.

I wash feather pillows in my home machine no prob squash all the air out then shove them in - two at a time. They stay in place so spin balancing is a breeze. The smell isn't good, but it fades. Tumble dry hot, keep plumping, air afterwards. I wouldn't not wash because of the smell if that makes sense.

N

 

[rpms]

I went to the laundromat and had so-so luck. I should have used a bigger washer.
The laundromat was also having water problems and there was no hot water.
I had driven too far not to wash the duvet. Cold water it was.
I used too much Tide and created a suds lock.
Nice washers though.

 

[rpms]

I like the spray rinse. The suds were gone.

 

[rpms]

Duvet hit the dryer for 15 minutes along with a few tennis balls. I saw one feather fly around inside the dryer. After 15 minutes the duvet was almost dry.

 

[rpms]

Unfortunately, the stain did not come out. The duvet was much whiter and really soft and fluffy.
I knew I could get that stain out. I used some watered down bleach and a bbq brush. The stain disappeared. I flushed the area with water and hung the duvet outside.

 

[rpms]

It was a beautiful day to hang the duvet outside.
Verdict.
Yes, wash your feather duvets! I think warm or hot water would have got the stain out, but the duvet looks 100 times better than it did.

 

[rpms]

Love the sign in the bathroom at the laundromat.

 

[launderess]

Just To Be Clear

Eiderdown and down are not the same as feathers. Some pillows and or duvets are stuffed with a mixture of down and feathers, others one or the other. In general feathers produce a firmer filling than down which is why they are often used for featherbeds.

In general down will compact more than feathers which can make laundering easier.

Our featherbed is all feather filled and there is no way one would even attempt to launder it at home or even at a laundromat. Am thinking it would require at least a 75lb capacity washer to fit.

Have posted this before, but in the old days feather and down pillows and even duvet would have been opened, contents separated laundering on their own or simply the outer ticking replaced. Until recently Sears along with other catalogs and linen shops sold premade pillow ticking. These already run up cases had an opening at one corner. You simply filled the thing up and sewed the corner closed (by hand or machine).

When one finds bed pillows are in need of a good cleaning and or the ticking is going it is time to "open things up" and do the above. Sometimes will also look for down filled pillows and duvets at thrifts. In such cases never knowing where they've been such items are certainly "opened up" and cleaned. Though will send large duvets to a specialty laundry that provides this service.

Commercial pillow and duvet cleaners have access to huge machines that use ultra violet light, and or ozone along with strong currents of air to "clean" down or feathers. Item is placed open end at once side, contents sucked/emptied into the machine, and the new down is forced into a new ticking on the other end. Some purists find this method more suitable than washing down or feathers in water because it saves them from exposure to natural oil stripping cleansers.

 

[sudsmaster]

Back when I had a down sleeping bag I was able to wash it in warm water in a bathtub with Ivory Snow soap flakes (yes it was that long ago). It came out fine, just had to be gentle with it, rinse it well, and then as said make sure it's completely dry. It was a great little bag, lightweight but warm. Unfortunately I gave it to a relative who later told me she got it muddy, tried to wash it, gave up, and threw it away. Darn. Since then I've had to settle for fiberfill bags, which weigh a lot more.

As I recall, I was able to line dry the down bag on a warm summer day and it came out just fine.

These days I'd probably use Woolite in the Neptune on the warm setting for a true down bag. Or look for the Miele Down stuff.