Anti-allergy duvet - worth buying??

kitty123

I suspect I have a dust allergy - my optician says I have an allergic reaction in my eyes, I sneeze every morning shortly after I get up and I have an itchy/runny nose frequently throughout the year. In the last few weeks I notice this is worse after hoovering, changing beds etc.

We've had a cat for 3 years and I am not allergic to her. I also do not seem to suffer with classic hay fever symptoms.

We have a duck down duvet and I would like to know whether to change it for one of the hypo-allergenic ones I have seen advertised. Hubby is worried about one of these being too hot as we also have a memory foam mattress whch seems to feel quite warm. But I guess they can be bought in a low tog?

Can anyone advise whether hypo-allegenic duvets are worth the money/any good and what is a good brand, or whether we should just start routinely taking our existing quilt to dry cleaners and follow all other precautions for a dust allergy?

A lot of people in the previous threads on this subject seem to advise washing duvets, but I don't think ours would be suitable.

Any thoughts much appreciated.

aliasojo

My son has the same problem and we too considered an anti-allergy duvet. What put me off was the fact it could only be washed at a maximum temp of 40 degrees and dust mites will only be dealt with at 60 degrees.

Washing bedding often, is important with allergies (so I'm told, lol).

So we opted for a Fogarty Superclean instead as it can be washed as often as we like at 60 degrees.

It's early days but son seems to think he's been better with the new duvet.

kitty123

Thanks, that's useful to know. I would prefer one of the "all year round" sets, where there is low tog and a medium tog so they can be put together in the very cold weather. A lot of the fogarty sets only come in a high tog or are not washable t 60C but I'll keep searching!

the_devil_made_me_do_it

Defo get rid of the feather duvet. They are a total no go when you suffer with allergies, in fact, wouldn't recommend feather anything when it comes to bedding.

You don't have to spend a fortune on a regular duvet. I got a really nice king size silent night 4.5 tog for about £12. I just put in the washing machine maybe one every 3 months & that helps with reducing allergies. I never buy any high tog duvets, as I just use flat sheets instead if I get cold. I find high tog duvets too heavy. At least with a low tog & sheets, you can always remove layers.

Pink_fluff

Silly question. Does a double duvet fit in a standard washing maching, or do you need to take it to a launderette?

pjran

I too suffer same symtoms and changed our duvet from feather to polyester one but I never noticed any change. I now use an "Allergy Reliever" nasal light therapy every morning for the past few months, and it helps me. It was definately less than £20 but worth every penny as it makes my husband laugh if he catched sight of me when the probes are up my nostrils. I must add it's painless.

Our king size duvet doesn't fit our washing maching.

Pj

s@sha

Hiya, in answer to Pink fluff's question, I've just bought a Fogarty Super Clean 'wash at 60 degrees' double duvet in the recent Amazon sale & on the box it says it can be washed in a 'large capacity machine'.

So I guess that rules out home washing unless you have one that takes extra- large family sized loads, say the Bosch Maxx-type machine?


For kitty: Very nice duvet by the way, i got it in 10.5 tog, but they also come in a 6 tog version if you think you'll need a cooler one. I have a 6 tog siberian goose down duvet and we find that fine all year round. I just throw an extra blanket on on the coldest nights.

Amazon have a good selection of duvets, they're currently selling the Fogarty Super Cleans and anti-allergy ones. Snuggledown of Norway (also Amazon) also have a good range of washable and anti-allergy duvets and they all come in lower togs as well. Don't think the sale is on any more though.

bubblepirate

Hi

I would definetly change the feather quilt to a synthetic one (Hollowfibre is more efficent than polyester so look for hollowfibre).

I would agree that Fogarty is a very good make or for a less expensive choice Silentnight do a whole range of Bed Protection, Pillows and Duvets designed to be Anti Allergy/Anti-Bacterial/ Wash at 60 Degrees (Where I work we have had the same product come in with three different names all by silentnight - so don't know which is current name) Also the fibres of the silentnight range are coated in an Anti- Allergy coating which is a bonus (i'm not sure if Fogarty or other makes offer this)

Any synthetic duvets can be washed as much as you want and most at 60 degrees.

Depending on the size of your washing machine and tog of quilt we wouldn't normally suggest washing anything over a single in a domestic washing machine but would suggest taking it to a laundrette and using one of their large industrial machines (though saying that I have washed my double 10.5 in my own washing machine many times)

Look at the tog of the quilt that you buy as a 4.5 tog synthetic filled quilt will be as warm as a 4.5 natural quilt. If you have no luck finding an all seasons quilt which is anti allergy you could buy two seperate quilts (4.5 &10.5 togs) and add velcro to each corner so you can join the two quilts together (some all seasons quilts are designed in this way)

If you like the feel of the feather quilt try a just-like down quilt (again silentnight do one but others may as well), these feel like feather and down but they are a sythentic filling so less likely to produce an allergic reaction and because these tend to be a higher spec quilt they often have a egyptian cotton sack )

If you do have allergies I would suggest buying Anti-allergy bed protection as it give extra protection (I use an anti-allergy mattress protector over my Memory foam mattress topper)


Whatever you do: DO NOT TAKE YOUR DUVET TO THE DRY CLEANERS as the fumes can get trapped between the fillings of the quilt/duvet (they are the same thing and I go change between the two terminologies all the time) and you can suffocate You have to air the quilt for a few good weeks to allow all the fumes to escape. It also works out quite expensive to do this (it is almost cheaper to buy a new quilt )

Hope this helps

kitty123

Thanks or the advice everyone. We luckily have a memory foam mattress which we bought a few months a go, s tht is a start. I must admit it seems a bit daunting knowing where to look and how to decide what quilts would be best and what is a reasonable price to pay! But I will start with amazon and some of the brands suggested and see how I get on.