washing a duvet

cathy_3

I wash my feather pillows and they come out fine

the trick is to tumble them for ages and ages on cold if you want, but dont let them sit drying on their own

System

This applies to man-made quilts

Always use a duvet that is well stitched. If it's 4.5 tog single duvet you can wash it in your own machine. If it's bigger use the launderette.

Always wash at a high temperature to kill those dust mites and dry at a high temperature as well. When it is getting dry you may want to turn the temperature down a bit.

But it costs at least £3/wash + £1/dry a quilt so if you only have a cheap quilt it may not be worth washing it at all - just throw it away.

Always wash your pillows at the same time (or throw them away). I use those pillow protectors plus two pillow cases as well.

16011996

do charities anywhere reuse duvets, bought new one (old one had fit in launderettes dryer and is all out of shape) but seems a shame to just throw it out. or any tips for what i can use it for??

cathy_3

I wanted a bed for my dog Jock but they were £40 ish

so i got the old quilt stuck it in an old cover folded it over a couple of times and big stitched the edges together easier to unpick for washing and hes delighted with it

Chris25

.........and you can cut down duvets or use two old pillows to make cushions for garden furniture. Just find a nice material to cover them with. The only problem is finding somewhere to store them when it rains or in the winter.

Bogof_Babe

Anyone know how to dispose of old unwanted quilts? Will the bin men take them? A double duvet is almost too big to go into a black bin bag and they might get a bit funny about taking it. :-/

(This is my first post, be gentle with me. Hi everyone. Been reading the site for a couple of weeks and it's brilliant.)

Chris25

Hi Bogof_babe, welcolm to the boards - love the name!

If it's still in good condition try the charity shops. Or school, church or scouts, say, jumble sale.
If I have any jumble I sometimes look at the 'what's on' in the paper and then pop down to wherever the sale is being held, either the night before (when most people are sorting for the following day) or early on the day of the sale and give it to the organisers. They are usually grateful for it.
If it's really seen better days then I don't see why the bin men wouldn't take it - it might be bulky but it would still fit in the back of the van.

16011996

kids made a sleepping bag wirth mine at weekend, all fought over who was gonna sleep in it. madness, now its three year olds toy dogs bed. doubt i'll ever see the back of it. ::)

Chris25

That's just reminded me................I went to a craft fair a while back and a lady was selling Action Man and Barbie sleeping bags. She had made them out of an old duvet, then she covered them in commando and lurid pink fabric (obviously not together! ::)!) and they were selling like the proverbial hotcakes!!
I suppose you could get kids to decorate sleeping bags for their own toys - something else to keep them occupied in the hols.

kabie

I've heard that some dog shelters take old duvets; could phone and ask any local ones if they do.