You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I ask this with the hesitation of someone who suspects he should already know the answer to this, and also may come across as being a tad grubby.
Anyway, feather/down pillows, I suspect they need a wash.
Local dry cleaners have told me they have to send them away and it takes 4-6 weeks so that’s no go.
Can I just take them to the local laundrette?
Do they not have labels on telling you how to wash them?
Do they not have labels on telling you how to wash them?
No idea, they're at home and I'm in the office at STW. My mind wandered so I thought I'd ask here.
I'd just use down wash and tumble dry them on low with a couple of tennis balls in the drum to break up any clumps.
Same protocol as for washing a down jacket.
I think I've just chucked them in the washing machine and tumble drier with a scoop of non-bio powder before.
Watching the responses though, as they could do with another wash TBH.
Wife chucks ours in the washing machine.
Wash on a cold wash then tumble dry on low heat here. They stink on a warm setting
No idea, they’re at home and I’m in the office at STW. My mind wandered so I thought I’d ask here.
Fair.
I've no idea then, though I do wonder why the dry cleaners would think it a specialist job that they'd to send away if it's as simple as sticking them in a domestic / launderette machine.
By the time my pillows need washing it's probably time to replace them. But I don't buy feather pillows so that's presumably less spendy.
By the time my pillows need washing it’s probably time to replace them
I've never managed to machine wash a normal pillow and have it come out ok, the internal padding always gets knotted and never comes out flat again.
You can wash them easily. Chuck in wash, use delicate detergent if you want to be on the safe side.
Drying them, on the other hand, is a right PITA. You can do it in a large (laundrette style) drier but it takes hours, and you should add a firm object such as a tennis ball or two to break up the lumps. It is possible to air them dry but this takes a couple of days in hot weather or even longer otherwise. And you have to break up the clumps of down by hand, which gets easier as it gets drier. An airing cupboard would help, but that needs ventilation so leave the door ajar.
Feather pillows are significantly easier, but an expensive heavy down one will take a week or more to dry out all the way. The issue is that the down-proof fabric is nearly air tight. It'll regain most of its fluff but still be damp inside - at this point you need to roll it up to squeeze the damp air out and let fresh air in. We did ours about a week before going on holiday, and only now after that week of drying and two weeks of being sat on the bed not slept in are they fully dry.
But it needs doing. Might actually be easier in winter with a dry heated house and radiators on. OTOH there is a heatwave forecast for the weekend so now would be the best time outside winter.
I loved my feather pillow. Most comfortable pillow ever. Then I washed it. That was the last time I ever used it. It was totally unusable afterwards - all lumpy.
It was totally unusable afterwards – all lumpy.
Yep, you need to break up all the clusters in the drier, hence tennis balls to bash it about whilst tumbling.....
That was the last time I ever used it. It was totally unusable afterwards – all lumpy.
Yeah you need to break up the clumps as it dries. You can rescue it though.
I know that the feathers are washed and that a cationic detergent is used as part of the finishing process so try using fabric conditioner as well. Any fragrance will be driven out in the drier anyway.