old feather duvets etc

[vezzie]

Can you put feather duvets in the washing machine / dryer (assuming it is big enough - I would have to go to the laundrette)?

Also: does anyone know of a kind of duvet recycling / reconditioning service? I would prefer one double to two singles and it makes sense to me that if you can clean the feathers (as above) you should be able to re-use them. The ticking on one is falling to bits so it is not really useable as it is anyway and I would prefer to have a double. Does this sound really stupid? There is really nothing like proper down and it seems a shame to throw them away just because, erm, they are ancient and falling to bits... do I have a problem? Maybe...

I washed my feather duvets in an industrial washer and dryer. (was friend of a friends) Suppose laundreette would be same size.

Anyway, they were good as new afterwards. Really puffed up and fresh. Wish I still lived near her to do it again.

No idea about recycling reconditioning. Could you ask at a dry cleaners?

Feather duvets are usually fine in the washing machine, I think - the feathers will clump up a bit when wet but if you put a couple of those dryer balls in the tumble dryer with it that should help. Plus you can always break the clumps up by hand.

Don't know about getting them remade though - you could probably do it yourself fairly easily if you have a sewing machine but it might be better to try and find a professional!

I would have thought single feather duvets could fit into your home washing machine and be washed. However, the problem comes more with the drying of feather and down duvets as this is really tricky to do in a small dryer and if the feathers aren't properly dry they will clump up, not smell too good and could mildew. So manufacturers tend to advise on taking your duvet to the launderette where they have large capacity machines for just the job. When I chatted with the owner of our local launderette 'Bubbles' he mentioned he puts the duvet through about 5 cycles (maybe this incorporated the washing and the drying - either way I certainly wouldn't be bothered to be doing all that at home!).

Not sure whether it would be worth having your duvet remade, especially if it's so old that the casing is falling apart. I'd have thought it might be better to invest in a new double feather duvet (these goose feather and down duvets are quite reasonably priced). If your single duvets are filled with really high quality down, then this might be a different matter and reusing the down could be a possibility?!? But wouldn't be able to advise further on who, or where, you should go to get this done.