Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Bedding question that frankly, I am ashamed to ask

203 replies

roaringwater · 02/02/2020 11:26

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.

OP posts:
Lovely13 · 03/02/2020 23:06

Take big duvet every year to laundrette. Hang on line. Singles I do in my machine. Have tried to do pillows, but they go into lumps in machine. Need to buy some new ones..

Lovely13 · 03/02/2020 23:08

Oh and it’s 12 quid for a king size duvet wash here. Without dry. London innit

TheWashingMachine · 03/02/2020 23:15

My parents have had the same pillows for over 48 years, they are fine and actually v comfy. They've never been washed, only pillowcases get washed weekly.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Home improvement
Girlwhowearsglasses · 03/02/2020 23:27

I have pillows and duvet that wash. They weren’t cheap (£££) a few years back, they are down, and there’s no problem washing them once a year or so (launderette for the big duvet). Why would you buy new so often when the most comfortable pillows are down and cost (£100 ish) and the best duvets are ) £200+ but perfectly washable and will last 20+ years. As well as a false economy they are so much nicer. Mattress cover essential though.

DevilsAdv0caat · 03/02/2020 23:29

I used to take mine to the launderette but it was just as expensive as buying a new one. Now I just throw them away at the end of a season. Wasteful I know but it seems the better option
The braggy wastefulness of some people is mind boggling. Why people value savings and money over not fucking destroying the planet I have no idea.

Bobbi73 · 04/02/2020 00:22

You can wash feather pillows and duvets but once they are mostly dry put them in the tumble dryer for a a while and they are amazing (and huge) when they come out all fluffed up. I do it about once a year but the rest of the time pillow protectors do the job just fine.

TeaAndStrumpets · 04/02/2020 07:58

Agree bobbi a newly washed down pillow is sheer luxury!

I do change DH pillow protectors more frequently than mine, though, his pillowslips as well. Even if he's freshly showered they get grubby really fastGrin Mine always look clean but I change them frequently anyway, nothing nicer than fresh linen.

nannybeach · 04/02/2020 09:00

Fireacrrier, I dont live anywhere near London, but if you go to our laundrettes, where they have an assistant, you have to use whats called "the Duvet Wash", which is £20, a rip off because you can put a huge load of "normal" washing in. I havent had to wash this beast yet, its a king size 12 tog, on a standard double bed, need the overhang, because a couple of dogs share the middle, and it pulls the duvet off. matress is vaccuumed weekly when the bedding is changed. I do have a washing machine 10kg with both a duvet and antibac steam cycle. Pillows are pulled,shaked into shape because going on the line.No, wonder we are hearing about a huge rise in alergies in kids.

MinesaPinot · 04/02/2020 09:39

I've never washed our pillows or duvet, although pillows and mattress have protectors and they get changed and washed when I do bedding.

And I never take one lot of bedding off and put a fresh lot on straight away. I strip all bedding off in the morning, pull the duvet back to hang over the end of the bed, spritz with a linen spray and leave it all to air and put fresh bedding on later in the day.

onegiftedgal · 04/02/2020 09:43

Op, I do air pillows and duvets occasionally but mostly wash them in the summer when they can dry quickly and the sun helps to bleach them.
I soak and wash them all in the bath as I think that launderettes are incredibly expensive for this and I'd rather buy new than waste the money.
If I do get rid of a fibre pillow or duvet, I'll recycle the filling for cushions or door stops etc that I make.

Damntheman · 04/02/2020 09:59

I don't bother washing pillows, it makes them go lumpy! Don't wash the duvets either, but every winter when it's minus 10 or below I put them outside. The cold kills off anything that might be living in them and then they're all chill and fresh for bed time! Lovely.

Barney60 · 04/02/2020 10:23

im with few previous, summer quilts I wash in machine as only thin. winter quilt when change for summer I take to dry cleaners (feather and down, wont fit in washer) costs approx. £15 -£20 they pack in lovely bag for storage.
Read...Pillows, even with protectors need to be washed / changed esp if you have spots /blackheads /greasy skin/ greasy hair / long hair /menopausal. We sweat at night as were lying under quilts ect our body releases heat via face and head. pillows are full of sweat, saliva dust mites face creams dead skin, an average pillow doubles in weight over a period of time due to these. I throw my pillows in the washing machine 2x yearly change them for new every 2 yrs or so. According to good housekeeping pillows should be washed every month without pillow protectors, a few times a year with, and pillow protector each time you wash your bedding.

nannybeach · 04/02/2020 12:04

Good on you Barney60, thats a few more good points I missed out, and then theres bed bugs, which you can inadvertently bring home from a hotel etc, there has been a very large increase in them the past 5 years. I in the past conracted scabies at work (nursing) you have to hot wash everything

DisgraceToTheYChromosome · 04/02/2020 12:26

We wash the non feather duvets every 3 months. The feather ones are allowed to flap on the line for a day every so often. Pillows are binned once the dribble starts to ming.

Sossadtoday · 04/02/2020 12:34

My parents have had the same pillows for over 48 years, they are fine and actually v comfy. They've never been washed, only pillowcases get washed weekly.

Omg that's disgusting, can you imagine how revolting they are inside? Probably held together with mites and bits of skin 🤮

JuanSheetIsPlenty · 04/02/2020 13:00

My parents have had the same pillows for over 48 years, they are fine and actually v comfy. They've never been washed,

VK456 · 04/02/2020 13:11

I’m lucky that my duvets fit in my washing machine, so I wait for sunny days when I change between winter and summer duvets. I’ve never, ever washed a pillow though...

KelpianCasserole · 04/02/2020 13:18

I have dust mite allergy. I buy feather pillows and duvets because you can boil wash them. However drying them takes ages, so duvets on the line on a really hot day is your best option, and pillows in the dryer. I only do all of this occasionally though

sympatico1 · 04/02/2020 18:45

I take duvets to launderette in summer, tumble in their dryers then finish them off on the washing line at home. Pillows - I wash the pillow protectors every month and wash all the pillows (in my washing machine) in summer, dry on the washing line. Tip: to stop the pillows going lumpy after a home wash, wash 2 pillows at a time, place them in the washer with 1 hugging the bottom contour of the drum and the other hugging the top contour of the drum (sort of making a letter O IYNWIM) them shove a towel in the hole that's left in the middle, so the pillows are wedged in the drum and can't really move during washing. Works for me.

Giggorata · 04/02/2020 20:06

I was given a silk filled duvet recently, which claims not to harbour dust mites and not to make you sweaty. Haven't a clue how to clean it, although it suggests just hanging out in the sun. Hmmm.
The other duvets are synthetic, so I wash them, ditto the pillows, along with mattress and pillow protectors.

I'm interested in the idea of putting duvets and pillows in the freezer, as I guess it will kill bacteria and dust mites well enough, as well as being heaven in high summer...

Barney60 · 04/02/2020 20:25

Giggorata ive been bought one also been after one for years, you can wash them in washing machine.

stoplickingthetelly · 04/02/2020 20:43

I just buy new ones when the old ones feel too manky. They’re never the same after being washed. I don’t buy expensive ones though so I don’t mind replacing them.

Thebookswereherfriends · 04/02/2020 20:51

I recently washed a couple of pillows because I kept waking sneezing and wondered if it was due to a dusty pillow. Whenever I have washed one before the drying of it always ruins it, leaving it misshapen/lumpy. This time I put a single pillow in the tumble dryer with a tennis ball in a sock and it was a revelation as the pillow came out perfectly plumped and as new!

nannybeach · 05/02/2020 16:44

article in the Sun today people from a prof, saying how many millions of bacteria survive after a 25d wash even, pretty revolting!

Catsinthecupboard · 07/02/2020 03:45

I buy duvet covers. Wash the cover as needed. With pillow cases. While they are washing, I put duvet in dryer on minute setting to sanitize it. How can people think eating meat is bad for environment but throw away bedding is okay?