In this article, we will discuss how to wash a down comforter? In case you are wondering thinking whether it is fine to wash your down comforter at home and not taking it to the dry cleaners, the answer is yes you can. It is perfectly fine to wash a down comforter without spending a lot of money to get it dry cleaned professionally. To wash a down comforter at home, all you need is some mild detergent, wool dryer balls (or tennis balls will also do), and a few hours to spend at a Laundromat. And, in case you have a king-size comforter, you will also need to have a lot of patience. Below we have mentioned the steps to wash a down comforter easily and effectively. Follow the steps thoroughly to get the best result.
Steps to Wash a Down Comforter
Things You Will Need:
- A mild detergent (you can go for a homemade detergent).
- Wool dryer balls (or you can also use tennis balls).
- A very large front loading washing machine (as most of the home models are very small for this task).
- A very large dryer.
Directions:
- First, you will need to load your down comforter into the largest extra-large front-loading washing machine available at your nearby Laundromat. Make sure it is appropriate for your comforter. The less congested your comforter is in the washer and dryer, the better result you will get.
- Now, you will need to add a small amount of a mild detergent. You need to be careful here as too much of detergent will strip the down or feathers of its natural coating which makes the down or feathers such an excellent thermal insulator.
- Next, you will need to select the gentle setting on the machine. Run two rinse cycles to launder your down comforter. Remember it is very important that every last bit of the detergent is washed out before you move on to next step.
- After that, you will need to put the washed comforter in extra-capacity clothes dryer. Make sure you dry the comforter on the low mode setting. This may take a lot of time – even hours, so have patience. This step is very crucial when drying a down comforter. This is because; if you leave your comforter a slight moist, it can result in the growth of mold. So, make sure your comforter is completely dry.
- When drying, don’t forget to add a few dryer balls or tennis balls into the dryer. This will help keep down or feather from clumping during the drying process. Although wool dryer balls are more ideal, but you can also use clean tennis balls to keep the down loose and evenly distributed in the comforter. Whoever, if you use tennis balls instead of wool dryer balls, you may notice some faint odor as the tennis balls get warm in the dryer. This is normal. Apart from wool dryer or tennis balls, you can go for anything hefty in the dryer that can bounce around as the comforter dries.
- During the drying process turn off the dryer a few times (five or six times) and take your down comforter out to fluff it up. This will help in redistributing the down in order to dry it evenly and completely.
