I know how to change the beastly thing but I hate doing it. I’m wondering whether to go back to sheets and blankets or, if I have a flat sheet under the duvet, how long can I leave the duvet cover unwashed?
My ideal would be a light quilt on top of me, without a removable cover, which I could wash every week.
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Duvet covers
(89 Posts)I used a duvet with no cover for ages. I took it to the launderette and it came up absolutely gorgeous!
I then carried on using it with no cover.
The cover annoyed me and it was lovely sleeping without.
Who cares if it gets a bit grubby and I don't think they get that bad. I washed the fitted bottom sheet and pillow cases every week and all was well and blissful.
It smells fresh and if I think things have gone too far I'll nip to the launderette again. I just love that duvet and it feels much softer with no cover and wraps round my body perfectly cosily.
I saw a hotel room in Japan - they have duvet covers that make the bed look like the top of an opened tissue box - the opening showed a patterned duvet, so all you need to do is put the corners in. I hate changing m,y cover too, I end up trapped inside it half the time
I think M&S do cover less duvets
I now use a top sheet between the duvet cover and me. I bought a new, wool, duvet a couple of years back and it's so heavy that I struggle to change the cover. I bought a very nice cover and that stays on the bed.
I don't intend to change the duvet cover very often - I recalled that when I was a child we'd had sheets and blankets and whilst the sheets were changed every week, the blankets got an annual wash, if they were lucky!
My friend used to do the same as Sue and a couple of others here. I tried it, but I found it quite time consuming . The top sheet would slip all over the place. So I just have a duvet, with a cover, which I was every week,along with the bottom fitted sheet.
we've gone all Continental - so for our superking bed, with have 2 small double duvets- no-one pulling to themselves, and much much easier to change with the corners and inside out method.
CrazyH I have some enormous 100% cotton sheets from when we lived abroad and had a seven foot wide bed. They don't move anywhere - in fact, you could probably camp in them, haha!
Sue......100% cotton sheets are a no-no for me. Too much ironing ?
I stopped using Duvets, because they were difficult to change the covers, and also duvets were too hot for me anyway, so I changed to a microfibre reversible Comforter. It's brilliant, weighs next to nothing, no need for a cover because you buy the colour you want to match your room and it keeps keeps me warm, despite being so thin. In the winter I only need to put a fleece blanket on top of the comforter and it's more than warm enough.
Ironing, ironing? Last time I ironed anything, I had to dust the iron to start off with! I dry my sheets very carefully, finishing them off in the tumble drier, and then I fold them judiciously and put them at the bottom of the pile of sheets. By the time I've worked my way though them all (I came back from abroad with seven giant sheets and twenty four - twenty four - pillowcases!) they are suitably uncreased, hehe!
Someone will post a link to that Youtube clip soon where they show you how to put on a duvet cover by rolling up the duvet first.
I never understood it, but those who do say it's brilliant, no effort, and much quicker.
I always wash the duvet cover inside out, put my hands in and grab the corners of the duvet and then shake it over the banisters so that the cover drops down in position. It's a bit of an effort in winter with the heavier duvet, but basically it's easy that way.
Most new washing machines these days take a larger load, so with one of those you can wash your own duvets.
Sounds good Ailsa. Must look for that. Japanese idea sounds good too. I think a topsheet might help keep it clean although I don't find them comfortable. I only use a top sheet in summer so I can throw the duvet off if its warm.
I don't change my duvet cover every week anyway - we haven't the energy and I don't see the need.
JackyB, I was about to post the You Tube video! I think it is worth showing again. It works for me on the odd occasion that I use a duvet. Being a hot body I sleep with only a sheet over me for most of the year.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRPfudNNd8Y
I use a top sheet in the summer under the duvet so when it gets too hot I roll the duvet back over the bottom of the bed and just sleep under the sheet. I am getting to the stage where changing the duvet cover is hard work - my husband tried to do it on his own the other week and reckoned it took him 45 minutes to change the bed! My mum always had a top sheet and light blankets on her bed under the duvet - she only changed the cover of that occasionally and seemed to think it was more for decoration - when I mentioned you could sleep under the duvet directly she was horrified
I have always used a sheet under the duvet cover. So much easier to wash a sheet than wash and change the cover, also often I throw the duvet off and only use the sheet. Hence my cover only gets washed once or twice a year.
I put off changing from blankets to a duvet until a couple of years ago because of the thought of changing it, however I found the rolling method and it is a life changer. The other thing have done is sew some tape onto the duvet and the cover and tie them together so the duvet does not slip down inside the cover.
I too use a top sheet. Its tucked in at the bottom so stays in place for a weekly change. Duvet cover only gets changed three or four times a year. Possibly. It’s really no different to the quilts we used to use and I don’t remember any way of washing the covers on those without unpicking the stitching.
Thanks, everyone!
All my bedding is pure cotton and I don’t iron anything. You soon stop noticing the creases.
Confession time: my cat and small dog both share my bed so I change the bedding often. I remove my hand-stitched patchwork quilt at bed time which, like Willow’s mum’s duvet, is only for ornament!
Marks sell coloured duvets, watermeadow no cover needed. A brilliant idea, just pop em in the machine now and again..dry them over an internal door...viola.
I opted for single bed summer weight washable duvets because they are so much easier to put the covers on. If one summer weight duvet is not warm enough I add another in its own cover.
I like the idea of washable uncovered duvets I will look out for those.
A friend from the US has recently visited the UK (staying in cheaper hotels as they moved about most days) for the first time, she was posting on FB to her friends at home about the odd/good/bad things she came across and one thing she mentioned a couple times was the fact that in the UK we don't use a top sheet, just a covered duvet. She told them to pack their own extra sheet if they ever came over here!
I don't find it difficult changing covers (two doubles and a king size) just hold top corners together and give them a good shake to get rest straight. In the summer I just use the duvet cover on the bed.
That roll up way looks easy so will have a go next time I change cover. I use top sheets as well, so much easier to wash weekly. Also use them on guest beds so that duvet doesn't have to be changed when someone stays one night.
I use a sheet between the duvet cover and bed - this way I can change that often and the duvet cover less so
I haven't used duvets for a long time. While visiting Malta some time ago I went to a 'Merino Wool' bedding sales promotion. I didn't purchase then, but did some research when returning home and decided to buy a package of the items, (Orthopaedic Mattress and Merino package)
It has been great.....I use a sheet under the cover.
Product details......
100% Natural Merino Wool Overlay
Double sided Palm pattern one side, plain cream on reverse
Helps to maintain your ideal body temperature
Allows excess moisture to escape from the bed
Warm in Winter - Cool in Summer
Adapts to your own body temperature
Promotes a deeper, less interrupted night sleep
Offers relief from aches and pains
Luxurious and fits in a standard Duvet cover
5 year guarantee
Manufactured in Italy
The Merino Wool Overlay compliments the Merino Wool Underlay creating a natural, breathable and sumptuous sleeping environment. One side has the ever popular Palm pattern or you can reverse it to use the plain cream side.
The site for further info is....
www.sleep-matters.co.uk/Merino-Wool-Bedding/merino-wool-overlay-palm.html?osCsid=bfn0itqrga9h1100jslrvleem4
Just bought a patterned washable duvet, from m and s. Use with a top sheet. Has transformed my life as I can’t change a duvet cos of arthritis. Also feels more hygienic.
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