You've just received your new down comforter on your doorstep, and you can't wait to get it on your bed so you can enjoy your night of wonderful comfort. Now what do you do? Can you just put it on your bed, or do you need to do something to prepare it first? After a few months of use, how do you care for your down comforter?
Taking proper care of your down comforter will help prolong its life and make it so you do not have to take the time to clean it as often. One way to help this effort is to place a duvets cover over your comforter. A duvets cover acts as a type of pillowcase for the down comforter. This will help keep the dust from getting directly onto the down comforter.
When you first receive your down comforter, it is extremely important that you activate the down. To do this, you simply need to shake your comforter vigorously for a few minutes. This will help the loft of the down, making it more fluffy. Full lofting of your down comforter will take up to 24 hours after activating the down. When you use your down comforter, your body heat will continue to enable more lofting to take place.
If you need to clean your down comforter and choose not to have it dry cleaned, there are a few things you should know when washing your comforter. You may put your down comforter in the washing machine (it's best to use front load washers). Be sure that you have plenty of time at home and will not be rushed during this process. Put the down comforter in the washer (making sure it is the only item). If your down comforter is white, you may add some bleach. When you add your detergent to the washer, make sure to use it sparingly. Run the washer on a delicate cycle. Once the cycle is complete, place it on a second rinse to ensure that extra soap residue is washed away. Your down comforter will look very flat and gray after it is washed. This is very normal.
It is unwise to dry your down comforter on a line because the down will not dry evenly. Instead you will need to use your dryer. Make sure that your dryer is on the lowest possible setting (if you put it on a high setting, it will shrink the shell of the comforter). It is very important that you frequently check your down comforter by taking it out of the dryer and shaking it so the down can dry evenly. If you have dryer balls (or clean tennis balls) you may put them in the dryer to also help the down dry evenly. If the down comforter bunches to one side of the dryer, you may put some clean white towels in the dryer to help keep the dryer even and it will also help wick away extra moisture from the down comforter. Before you use the down comforter (after it is washed) it is extremely important that the comforter is completely dry; failure to do so may lead to mold or mildew in the down.
You have just activated the down in your down comforter and you can't wait to put in on your bed to enjoy that perfect night's sleep and comfort. Now that you know how to properly care for your down comforter in the future, you really can allow yourself that wonderful night of rest.
