How to Wash a Feather or Down Duvet at Home — Toronto Home Guide

Feather and down duvets can be washed at home in a large-capacity machine — the most common failure is insufficient drying, which causes mildew inside the fill that is very difficult to remove. The drying step is as important as the washing step.

Machine Requirements

• A front-loading machine or a large-capacity top-loader without a central agitator is required — a standard top-loader's agitator can damage the duvet's inner baffles and tear the ticking fabric
• The duvet must fit loosely in the drum — if it's compressed tightly, the machine is too small; take it to a laundromat with a large commercial machine

Washing

1. Check for any small tears in the ticking before washing — a torn duvet cover loses fill during the wash cycle; repair first
2. Use a small amount of mild liquid laundry detergent — about half the normal dose; excess detergent is difficult to rinse from down fill and causes clumping
3. Wash on a gentle cycle with warm water (not hot)
4. Run an extra rinse cycle to ensure all detergent is removed — detergent residue causes fill to clump and smell
5. Press the duvet gently against the drum after the spin cycle to remove excess water

Drying (Critical)

1. Dry in a large-capacity dryer on a low heat setting — a full-size duvet may not fit in a small home dryer; use a laundromat dryer if needed
2. Add 3–4 clean tennis balls or dryer balls — they beat the duvet as it tumbles, breaking up down clumps and restoring loft
3. The drying cycle takes 2–3 hours for a full duvet — do not rush it
4. Check every 30 minutes; manually break up any remaining clumps by hand
5. The duvet must be completely dry before removing — squeeze the thickest section and check for any damp patches; down retains moisture in the core even when the surface feels dry
6. After the dryer cycle: allow to air out for several hours before returning to the bed — if any musty smell develops in the following 24 hours, the fill was not completely dry; return to the dryer

Frequency

• Wash duvets once or twice a year — always use a duvet cover, which protects the duvet and can be washed weekly
• Air the duvet outdoors on a sunny, dry day a few times a year — UV and airflow refresh the fill without washing