How to care for a Down Duvet

Spot Cleaning

If you need to clean a spot stain, do so as follows

• Move the down away from the area you wish to clean.
• Use a mild soap or spot remover and gently rub it into the stain.
• Rinse well with water; try not to wet any of the down.
• Use either a hair dryer to dry the wet fabric or put it into a dryer and set on air fluff only.

General Cleaning

It is recommended that you use the services of a professional laundry or dry cleaner to clean your duvet. If you wish to do it yourself please keep the following in mind:

• Use a mild Soap only.
• Rinse thoroughly.
• Because of the size of duvets, most home washers and dryers cannot handle the load properly. Some of the difficulties are, most home washers have a center agitator, which may damage the fabric when it is packed too tightly, rinse cycles may not be long enough to fully remove residual soap.
• The drying of the duvet will require at least several hours (AIR FLUFF ONLY), you will need to check that the down is not clumping as this is an indicator that it is still wet (the ticking may be dry but that does not mean the down is). If it is still clumping after you are sure enough time has passed, there may be some residual soap on the down, you will have to re-rinse the duvet and dry it again.

It is important not to leave any residue soap in the down and to ensure that the fabric and down is completely dry or else it may cause mildew. As most ticking on duvets are made of 100% cotton it is also important not to overheat the cotton or else shrinking may occur. Also excessive heating may damage the down cluster and cause it to break down, resulting in a loss of insulating properties.

The good news is that unless an accident has occurred, duvets need only to be cleaned every 3-4 years or longer if regular use and washing of the duvet cover is performed. Because of the infrequent need to clean a duvet we again recommend that a general cleaning be performed by a dry cleaner or a commercial laundry service that has experience in cleaning down. The better cleaners will usually provide a guarantee that no damage will be done to the duvet.

Additional Care Tips

• Always protect your duvet with a duvet cover. Wash the duvet cover every time you wash your sheets. If an accident occurs remove the cover immediately and clean.
• Hang your duvet outside on a line once or twice a year to air freshen.
• When storing a duvet, place the duvet in a breathable cover to allow any trapped moisture to dry.