Advice please. How often do others wash their duvets and pillows?

Joseann

I have a query ..... is it OK to dry clean duvets? Does the process not use chemicals that can affect the filling materials and be detrimental to health?

No, it's not ok but I think some cleaners will wash them.

Tinygranma please don't leave gransnet. The vast majority of people on the site are friendly and helpful honestly.

I hope you’re still with us, OP. We’re not that bad when you get used to us!

I can just manage to fit my duvets into the washing machine and I wash and line dry them and all the pillows once each summer. The duvet covers, sheet and pillow cases get washed every week, but having read some of the replies I’m wondering if fortnightly would do. I’m always looking for ways of saving resources for environmental reasons, and as far as I’m concerned you’re never too old to learn something new.

In the winter I use brushed cotton duvet covers and a brushed cotton flat sheet under the duvet. Sooo cosy. The flat sheet gets washed once a week or so. And the duvet cover every couple of months or so. I figure with the sheet and clean me in my clean PJs the covers dont need washing more often.

They take longer to dry as well being thicker all cotton unlike the poly cotton summer duvet covers.
My mother sent all her bedding and towels to a laundry when I was young. I dont think it could have been expensive as we were not well off. I wish we had a launderette in our town. The only one closed some few years ago.

If you are happy with your cleaning routine it doesn't matter whatever what others do.

I thought it was a good idea to have the duvet in two covers

MayBee70 I have thick white brushed-cotton covers on my duvets, then the normal covers on top.

For goodness sake, she is only putting it out there, isn't that what Gransnet is all about ?

Tinygranma don't leave..... start a thread on what the heck you like.

I used to change my sheets whenever I remembered which could have been up to 6 weekly, and was ok with that until
I read about grands changing bedding fortnightly or even weekly ( omg) !
So I p have since made the effort to do it fortnightly, but have a sheet under the quilt so only change the sheets and pillowcases regularly and leave the quilt Cover til the sun shines…..yes it may be a wait.
am short and the quilts are king size so I hate the process often getting lost inside them.
Believe it or not laundry is probably my favourite household job and I have never seen a bedbug. Thank goodness 😅

Joseann

I have a query ..... is it OK to dry clean duvets? Does the process not use chemicals that can affect the filling materials and be detrimental to health?

No, please don’t! The fumes from the dry cleaning agents are toxic, and will still be present for a while.

Thanks Witzend.

I change my bed every week or fortnight in winter.
My feather pillows and feather duvet get thrown onto a hot cycle in the tumble dryer every 3-6 months. The heat kills ant nasties and the tumbling gets rid of the dust, etc.

I change bedding every week, or between visitors on the guest beds. Because we have so many people staying throughout the year I use thick pillow protectors and mattress covers to try to prolong their life, but still wash pillows every three months or so (sometimes the become misshapen and get thrown out though). Lightweight duvets are washed at changeover from summer to autumn and then the others are washed at the changeover to summer.

We’ve recently lost the only launderette in our town, so I think a local laundry will be doing them next year.

I’ve had three grandsons staying over the weekend, so tomorrow I hope to utilise the wind to get my washing dry. 💨

fancythat

Guest pillows - the pillowcases I wash frequently. Eventually go to multiple covers.
Then throw pillows early, as have never found a successful, non expensive way to wash them.

Duvets - hand wash in bath.

^ duvets -hand wash in the bath ^ surly that would be a hard backbreaking job !

I’d rather buy new than to pay at the laundry , pillows , especially, are not expensive to buy , I just bought pair of lovely soft comfy pillows at Asda for less than £10 .

Tinygranma…please don’t delete your account, it’s not worth it just because of some smart alec , there are a lot of those about , best take no notice.

We use sheets under our duvet which have covers on. We top and tail the sheets like my mother used to do and we put clean duvet covers on every fortnight. l have a large collection of duvet covers, seasonal prints as i'm stuck in bed a lot so like to have a nice change. At moment got a lovely blue snow scene with wolves.We will change covers this Friday (Bedroom cleaning Day) )to my red tartan set. Set before these was my lovely snowmen cover. We wash our duvets and pillows once a year in summer and we air them weekly, weather permitting.
We use our old clean duvets under the bottom sheets starting Oct to April (again washed in summer with main duvet) as they act as a great heat insulator and so comfy and cozy on the mattress during the winter.

HelterSkelter1

In the winter I use brushed cotton duvet covers and a brushed cotton flat sheet under the duvet. Sooo cosy. The flat sheet gets washed once a week or so. And the duvet cover every couple of months or so. I figure with the sheet and clean me in my clean PJs the covers dont need washing more often.

They take longer to dry as well being thicker all cotton unlike the poly cotton summer duvet covers.
My mother sent all her bedding and towels to a laundry when I was young. I dont think it could have been expensive as we were not well off. I wish we had a launderette in our town. The only one closed some few years ago.

yes l forgot to say all my winter sheets are flanelette and cotton sheets for summer, just like my mother used. She too sent of all bedding etc to outside company to be laundered as in those days the charges was very low.They were so starched l remember as a child l was facinated trying to open them up when helping mom make the beds lol.

I just do whatever I want, whenever I feel up to doing it.
I don't have a routine anymore. 🙂

I wash my coverless duvets like they were bedsheets. I wash pillow cases more frequently than I wash the duvets. I prefer cheap throwaway pillows that go into clumps if they are washed.

Boz, thanks for that. I have never heard of coverless duvets but sounds great. Did you mean Nightlark not Nightowl?

i've given up with duvets.
i tend to buy cheap fleecy blankets and wrap myself in those.
they are easy to wash and dry.
i don't bother with sheets either mostly.
in winter i get inside a sleeping bag, or put it under me unzipped if it's not quite so cold.
i have a thin fleecy throw inside with me, and others on top.
i kind of become like the filling in a pie.
the sleeping bag acts like pastry base.
each to their own.

i read recently that a king sized duvet can be washed in a 9kg machine.

there will be care instructions on the packaging and also on the sewn-in label.
a circle crossed out means do not dry clean.

I have tried countless times to launder pillows and regardless of how much they cost they have ALWAYS gone lumpy in the wash. Now, I simply don't bother washing them, just dump them when they look discoloured.

MissAdventure

I just do whatever I want, whenever I feel up to doing it.
I don't have a routine anymore. 🙂

put it there pal !
a person after mine own heart.
a 'helpful' friend told that each set, of duvet cover and base sheet, could be neatly folded to fit inside its matching pillow case, and this helped storage and retrieval.
i thought that would have really interested me when i was about 20; latterly i couldn't care less what colour or pattern, just anything that fitted.
i didn't want to shock her by dismissing her idea, so it's good to own up here. anon.

i also found pillows go irretrievably lumpy or twisted after washing.
easier to just bin them.
got 4 for £12 in B&M recently.
they have lots, different prices/qualities.

Ailidh

I change the bedding once a fortnight. The duvet and the pillow are wool filled, I'm kind of hoping they're sort of self-cleansing.

Same here. The care instructions said to air them outside on a sunny day, so I do that a few times each year. Love my wool duvet, it’s such a treat on cold nights!