Having my duvet laundered

I don't like duvets at all. What comes out during the winter months is a large merino wool blanket which is dry-cleaned every year. I purchased it in Spain through a company in the UK. I like weight with warmth. Then I have a feather quilt on top of that and a large throw to cover the whole bed.
I have the same wool blanket beneath me too. Warm ? You bet.

I know, you make such a good point, - it is so frighteningly wasteful. Also at my recycling centre they won't take old duvets into the clothing and textiles area, but have to bin them into the land-fill bins. It is dreadful.

I have managed to machine wash my 13 and 15 tog duvets recently. They are only cheap ones and have survived and feel the same as before.

I also cut up and hem some old duvets and made them into dog beds. When I have enough dog beds of my own I take the extras to the rescue kennels near me.

I have also used them as cushion stuffing when I had an awkward sized cushion. I didn't take the filling out, but folded the duvet lightly over to get the shape and thickness I wanted, sewed the folds in place and put it in the cushion cover. It works really well for a roll shaped cushion too.

We don't have a summer/winter duvet - come the cold weather we put our dressing gowns on the bed

Dog shelters would be very happy to take your old duvets or blankets...dogs wouldn’t bother if they had been laundered or not

Take it to launderette. Won't cost a lot to wash and tumbledry.

Our duvet (superking) is a Siberian Goose Down one which came from John Lewis about four years ago.
It's two duvets, a 3.5 tog and a 7 tog which can be used separately or poppered together for winter.
The 7 tog gets dry cleaned every summer, with the 3.5 tog being dry cleaned in autumn.
It costs about £25 a year for cleaning, but they cost in the region of £550, so they won't be going for pet bedding any time soon!

Just wash it. I have put mine in machine loads of times & it is fine- I have tumble dried them too. Modern machines are very good & can cope with duvets easily.

Our local charity shops wouldn't accept my old duvet - against health and safety apparently,

It is not usually the done thing in UK, but here in France and neighbouring Switzerland just 17 kms up the road, we regularly put the whole bedding out of the window every day including pillows. Once or twice I year, we put the whole duvet on the wash stand and let it air in the warm sunshine for the whole day. Works wonders, pillows too, although we do wash these in the machine regularly. Thank heavens for inward-opening windows!

You’re a woman after my own heart Juggernaut. I am trying to cut down on buying so much cheap stuff because of the environmental damage. It’s very difficult to be truly ethical where clothing/textiles are concerned but I think it would help if we bought less, kept stuff for longer and threw away less.

Actually, if you have a tumbler dryer there is no reason why you shouldn't wash your duvets yourself. One at a time following the instructions on the label on them.

I put four tennis balls in the dryer with anything that has feathers or is supposed to be fluffy when dry. They literally knock the lumps out of the stuffing.

I have washed a bright red winter jacket that is stuffed with feathers too in this way and it looked far better than when it had been dry cleaned.

Surely it depends on the duvet. Synthetic ones can be very cheap.
Ours is an all seasons goose down from John Lewis, though not the most expensive kind. I think it was one of their 'special buys' in the sales. We've had it for several years - it's beautifully light and warm.
Each part goes to be laundered in turn as the seasons change. The cost of laundering is an awful lot less than a new duvet.

I can’t stuff the duvets into the covers anymore because of painful hands( no help from hubby)...so I’ve gone back to sheets and blankets. Anyway I only ever had a 3 tog duvet... and that’s too hot for me!!

I have started to use 'All weather' duvets that are two layers popped together, so can be split for washing.

I also use a launderette with a large capacity and wash and dry it myself. I would never buy a feather one.

Having recently found out that some down originates from repeated plucking of live birds, it is now on my ever growing list of things that I refuse to buy.
It had not crossed my mind that it could be cheaper to buy than to clean. We also have an duvet that is designed to be clipped together for all year use but have found that it is way too hot to have both.

As I mentioned Telly it is difficult to be totally ethical when shopping and many man made fibres shed microscopic fibres when laundered causing pollution and damaging marine life. I prefer natural fibres, ethically sourced, where possible, but I also understand not everyone can afford to be so picky.

I had an expensive duvet that I washed and dried at the laundrette each year.
Then I threw it away and bought a new, cheap one.
Its lovely; my expensive one had gone flat over the years.

I always wash my King size winter and summer duvets in my washing machine.. Just put the duvet into the washer, then fill it with hand hot or cold water and detergent/soap powder let it soak for about one hour and then with your hands just push up and down in the machine,, no need to agitate then turn machine onto spin cycle, then fill up again for the rinse, spin water out and repeat at least twice.. giving duvet a good two deep rinses. It will come up like new... Just make sure you stop machine when it fills up, don't let it start to agitate..

Now you've got me worried: is my feather duvet seething with dust mites? Can feather & down duvets ever be successfully washed? I've tried to wash pillows and had to throw them away as they go lumpy and fusty.

I have a normal front loading washing machine and it isn't big enough to take my double (expensive) duvet so it has to go to the laundrette where they charge £16 to wash and dry it. Our super king duvet is two inexpensive singles sewn together and as we only need 4.5 tog (even in the middle of winter) I can just get it into the washing machine. The singles are no problem.
So our guest bedroom duvet costs me £32 a year in laundry fees! Thank you OP for making me realise how silly this is. I'm going to replace the expensive one with a cheap one next time I see a special offer at my local supermarket.
Hope the local dog shelter pooches will appreciate their high-end duvet. :-)

Jaxie, after reading in ghastly, itch-making detail about dust mites in Bill Bryson's 'A Short History of Nearly Everything', all our (feather/down/both) pillows went in the wash.

You do need to tumble dry them, but they come up beautifully. I only do one at a time, though.
As for washing duvets at home, might be OK but personally I would never risk it with ours - a big duvet will be so heavy when wet. I've only ever done duvet washing with a single summer-weight - and a cot duvet after Gdd had been sick all over it.

I have never felt comfortable with a duvet. I use two large fleece blankets in the winter. One under, and one over me, with a cotton sheet and a bedspread. It's lovely and cosy to climb in between them, even on the coldest night, and they are nice and light. I usually wake up at some point, feeling too warm. Then I just kick the top fleece to the side of the bed. I can therefore easily adjust the warmth to suit myself. Making the bed is so easy, too, with no duvet covers to wrestle with.
As for washing the fleeces, I just pop them into the machine, then toss them over the bannister rail, and they are dry in no time at all.

JackyB thats a good idea. I usually pay more than the cost of cleaning for my duvet because I need a really lightweight one. (fibromyalgia). However I don't see anything wrong with buying a cheaper one. Generally "you get what you pay for" but its not always the case nowadays. And we are all on different budgets!

Sadly it is cheaper to buy a new one than laundering, but cotton and feathers are recyclable.