Bedding question that frankly, I am ashamed to ask

[roaringwater]

I have had a home of my own for 22 years, been married for 20 of those and have quite old children.

However, I am embarrassingly clueless about some elements of housekeeping. While I do change the bedlinen (even I am not quite this filthy), I don't really know what you're supposed to do to keep the actual pillows and duvets clean. To be truthful, every now and again, I just crack and buy some new ones in IKEA. Surely there must be a better way?

Also, I have no idea why I don't know this stuff - my parents' home is immaculate. I was a very studious, bookish child: this was greatly lauded and encouraged and I wasn't ever shown how to do practical things (e.g. figured out for myself how to clean a bathroom when I bought a house.)

Advice from more capable people would be great.

You can bring the duvet to a laundrette (not all do duvets).

Pillows... no idea! I do wash and tumble ours occasionally but they're never the same.

I take the duvet to the launderette for a service wash when I switch between summer / winter duvets. It's returned packed well and easy to store until I switch duvets again.

Pillows have protectors on them that I wash every couple of months. Pillows get washed in the machine when it's warm enough to dry them outside on the line.
All bedding changed weekly... I also hoover the mattress when I remember.

Gove them to the dogs and buy new

I never wash duvets or pillows. To me the point of duvet covers and pillowcases is that you don't have to do this.

I've never seen the need to wash a pillow or a duvet, unless they've been peed on.

I’m with you, I buy new
You can hang duvets on the line on a bright sunny day to give them an airing
But pillowS..no, I buy new
All mattresses are always covered in waterproofs and turned regularly

Have never washed our pillows or our duvets.

Haven't died of anything horrible, have no horrible skin conditions as a result, nothing smells dreadful...

Oh THANK GOD - I have found my people!

(Although all you pillow washers & duvet launderers, I'm in awe )

Some pillows can be washed, otherwise take to a dry cleaners. I wash my duvets between seasonal changes.
I also put pillow protectors on my pillows and change these every other time I change the covers. Pillows need replacing every few years anyway as they loose their shape.

As above, give to the dog and buy new when needed.

You’d need a really large capacity wm for pillows, my 9kg one ruins them.

I have two 4.5tog duvets in the cover. I can wash them separately every month. I have a spare 4.5 for colder weather but haven’t needed it yet.

I occasionally hang the duvet somewhere to air it for a few hours before putting new bedcovers on, and will probably get a washable duvet protector thing at some point - have never washed the duvet

I have Spundown duvets. A couple of times a year, I hung them in the washing machine.
Pillows, I use pillow protectors which can be washed.

I don't think the actual pillows or duvet need washing.

I wash pillows weekly in summer because I'm in a hot country and sweat like a sweaty thing. Washing machine, sunshine for about 4 hours, then back on the bed.

Duvets get aired before going in storage for the summer.

We have mattress protectors that get washed with the normal bedding when we change it. Weekly, or twice monthly depending on laziness!

I use thick pillow protectors on my pillows (I wash them weekly with the bedding) so they don’t get horrible. I have an ‘all seasons’ duvet (one summer 4.5 tog & a spring/autumn 9 tog duvet than can be clipped together to make an extra warm 13.5 tog winter duvet in the colder months). Because they are rotated frequently and the covers cleaned regularly, they don’t seem to get grubby.

It is machine washable but it’s a super king so won’t fit in my machine. My local launderette does duvet service washes though, so if need be I can pop it down there for a freshen up. DD’s duvet (a double) does fit in the machine though and that gets thrown in the machine a couple of times a year.

I use protectors too. I've never washed the actual duvet or pillows. I replace them maybe every 3-5 years

I have separate summer and winter weight duvets. When they are changed I send them to the laundrette for a service wash and they come back clean and all packaged up.
I dont wash pillows as they font recover well, I've found it impossible to get the feathers thoroughly dry. I bit jew ones every year or so from IKEA or john lewis specials.
I change the mattress protector and wash approx every 4 weeks (assuming I remember) and hoover the mattress with the attachment. It only takes a minute or two.
I was never taught any of these things, some you realise a bit by seeing it going on from the corner of your eye, the rest you make up according to your own likes and dislikes. My cleaning habits are completely bizarre by my mothers standards😂

Laundrette once or twice a year for the duvet. On hot days I might freeze the life out of it and hang on the line. Some times I freeze it and let it dry on the bed. Pillows are always in protectors which I wash every month ish. I do sometimes wash my pillows but they never look clean again. The shame of having them on the line thinking about it as some are pretty stained ( kids nose bleeds etc)

I think I buy two new pillows a year then throw out the worse of the 12 we have between us. As long as nothing smells basically, I'm not to invested in the appearance

Pillow protectors on the pillows. Have tried to wash the pillows but even following the washing instructions, they come out all out of shape, so they get replaced when needed. Kids duvets fit in the machine so washed and dried in decent weather. Our superking duvet goes to the laundrette occasionally but it needs replacing at the moment so I'm on the look out for a decent new one...

I wash both pillows and duvets in the washing machine - like most others I only do this in spring or summer though when I can dry outside.

Tbf I just grab random pillows for a wash so I probably own some pillows that have never been washed and some that have been washed every other week all summer long!

The kids single duvets I was in our machine occasionally. Ours has never been washed as I can't be bothered to go to the launderette. Pillows seem to go lumpy when they're washed so end up being replaced.

I've never washed a duvet either OP, I'm the same as you - buy a new one and donate to the dogs home.

I've never washed a pillow, but I use pillow protectors between them and the pillowcase. Yellow saliva stained pillows make me want to throw up.

When we had a launderette with big machines, I'd wash the duvet maybe once a year. But while it's cheaper to buy a duvet than have one professionally cleaned (which is of course not ideal, planet wise) I'm afraid I just buy a new one every couple of years

15 for a duvet dry clean
Regretfully it’s often cheaper to buy a new one