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SamIAm's avatar

How do you clean a down blanket?

Asked by SamIAm (8703points) December 8th, 2009

I woke up to my lovely male cat trying to jump off the bed before puking, but of course, he didn’t make it that far. Of the 2 down blankets I have, only one is a true feather blanket (the more expensive one is down alternative and luckily he made it off that one). The spot isn’t large, and I’m pretty sure that putting it in the washing machine will ruin the feathers. I opted to spot clean with a little dial soap on a hand towel and then proceeded to blow dry it. There may still be a little smell (not to be gross but the vomit wasn’t really food, it was mostly water). What can I do to clean this blanket? It has been suggested to proceed by spraying Febreeze if the stench is still there.

Please help!?

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9 Answers

dpworkin's avatar

Try an enzyme product, similar to the old standby, Nature’s Miracle.

Snarp's avatar

Apparently the biggest threat from machine washing is to your washing machine

You could try dry cleaning.

ItalianPrincess1217's avatar

Dry cleaners. That’s the only way I wash my down comforter.

majorrich's avatar

Washing down sleeping bags is part of maintenance of the bag. Body oils and sweat work their way into the down and degrade the insulation properties of the down. I clean mine at the laundromat in the front loading kind of machine with mild detergent like woolite. Dry in a big tumble dryer at low heat with a couple of tennis shoes (hopefully clean ones) and that will re-fluff the bag. I know its not a comforter, but probably pretty close.

Kraigmo's avatar

When summer comes, be sure to set it outside all day on the sunniest day there is. then the next day bring it outside again and flip it over. The sun kills gross stuff.

hungryhungryhortence's avatar

I suggest a combo’ of what @majorrich and @Kraigmo have written. I’ve owned down sleeping bag, down pillows and down comforters all my life, grew up with the stuff. The giant front loading washers are great for the laundering then hang or lay it out after to dry in the sun since sunlight really does a great job with smells. Finish up by putting it in a dryer with the sneakers so the dried down can be beaten loose and fluffed again.

faye's avatar

Use Prosolve. It’s a carpet cleaner spray on that fabulously cleans clothes, tableclothes[red wine], upholstery and down duvets[mustard stain from eating a hot dog in bed!]. You may have to spray a few times. You don’t have to scrub much just let it work. Magic!

lfino's avatar

My son used to have a down winter coat, and the instructions said to do what @majorrich said, using the tennis shoes to puff it back up. I did, however, just use my own washer and dryer.

threadcountqueen's avatar

I too recommend professional dry cleaning first… but if you want to save some bucks and have a big enough washer/dryer…. go for it:

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