You have searched and searched for the perfect comforter that will be fluffy and comfy but won’t be too hot at night. The comforter that will make you feel like you are wrapped in a cocoon when you are sleeping but won’t make you feel suffocated.
The one that will be light and airy when it’s summer time but won’t leave you freezing in the cold during the winter season.
Now the question is, what do you do to keep it clean without destroying its material?
How to Safely Wash a Comforter
Comforters can be damaged in a washing machine just like anything else that utilizes fabric, so it is a good rule of thumb to do your research on the material and make certain that you are washing it the way that it should be to preserve its lifespan.
A lot of comforters use cotton in their production, which can be particularly fickle in a washing and drying cycle. When you wash the comforter, use a medium or low heat in the water and that will also reduce the likelihood of the material in your comforter shrinking.
Drying Your Comforter After Washing
It may be best to avoid the dryer all together and ensure that shrinking does not happen with the amount of heat applied while drying. Try hanging it to dry instead, and you may extend its life significantly.
If you do need to use the drying machine, then try adding some Wool Dryers Balls to the machine to act as fluffers inside of the machine. Although it will reduce the amount of shrinkage, it is not likely to eliminate it entirely.
Comforters tend to be big and bulky, which means that the size of washer and dryers at a home may be too small for it. You don’t want to compress the comforter too much when washing it because that will damage the natural shape and fluffiness of it.
Tips to Wash a Large Comforter
Even if you find a way to avoid shrinking the comforter due to heat, you could still cause the comforter great damage if you try to fit it into a machine that is significantly smaller than the comforter needs for it to be.
This may mean that going to a laundromat is would be worth the trip. The machines in a commercial laundromat are general very large and they can fit a comforter inside of them without squeezing the life out of it. This is another time when the tennis balls could come in handy and fluff the comforter as it goes through its drying cycle.
There are also things called Wool Dryer Balls that you can buy to accomplish essentially the same thing as the tennis balls do.
What you use to wash the comforter will also be a big factor in how long it lasts for you. Some detergents use harsh chemicals that are drying rather than gentle materials that are nourishing to the fabric.
Those drying chemicals can suck the life out of your comforter and shorten how long it has its soft and fluffy feel. If you do decide to dry the comforter in a machine, then you need to make sure that you are using proper fabric softeners as well.
Fabric softeners are exactly as they sound and can make a huge difference in the feel of your comforter after laundry day.
Using a Comforter/Duvet Cover
If you are still concerned about how your comforter will hold up, then you may want to consider using a protective layer around it to keep it away from the elements.
A duvet cover can limit the number of times that you need to make your comforter suffer through a wash and dry cycle, which in itself will make each time that you do clean it more effective.
You can simply remove the duvet cover and wash it on its own, allowing you to skip one or two washes of the comforter inside.
When you do wash the duvet and remove it from the comforter, then you should try using a disinfecting laundry spray on the comforter inside as a treatment. It won’t be the same as a deep clean, but it should kill a significant amount of bacteria without doing damage to the comforter.
Of course, having duvet covers to lengthen the life of your comforter is great but it is not an excuse for not washing the comforter inside regularly. It may support the life of the comforter but the process is no replacement for a good old-fashioned deep clean!
When we sleep at night, our bodies may overheat. Our core temperature rises and the comforter can heighten that phenomenon. That means that we are probably sweating more than we normally would during the day. This adds bacteria to your comforter that needs to be cleaned regularly, and that does not include the actual dead skin cells that we shed all of the time.
When we sleep for six to eight hours a night, we are shedding millions of particles of skin cells and bacteria. If you allow all of that to build up, then your comforter will be weighed down with material that is foreign to it and it can lose its shape and durability very quickly when that happens.
Regardless of the duvet cover and how often you are able to wash that, you cannot allow that to replace the need to wash your comforter directly. Trust us, you will be much happier with the outcome if you take the time to keep it clean and fresh!
