Getting an eiderdown cleaned

[mr bill]

I'm looking for a recommendation for a cleaner that can properly clean eiderdowns without destroying them - any suggestions?

Thanks

[meroberts]

Pardon my ignorance... What are eiderdowns?

[corpsdriller]

eiderdown also eider down ( ) n. The down of the eider duck, used as stuffing for quilts and pillows

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eiderdown also eider down ( ) n. The down of the eider duck, used as stuffing for quilts and pillows:-/

[laconstance]

Bill, I would not recommend dry cleaning of any kind for a down article. It will strip the natural oils from the down and flatten the natural loft. But, you can wash it yourself -- though that's not for the fainthearted. As a nearly 50-year resident of Colorado, I can tell you that I have washed plenty of down jackets, vests, comforters, sleeping bags, and pillows over the years.

First, make sure that the cover is washable. Most fabrics are; manufacturers put "dry clean only" on tags just to protect themselves. Cotton, rayon, silk, and blends are all washable. Second, find some pure mild soap, not detergent. This is the hardest part. People used to wash all baby things, including diapers, in pure soap but it is extremely hard to find nowadays. Especially, do NOT use regular laundry detergent. Lacking pure soap, Dawn dishwashing liquid works well; it is mild enough to leave natural oils in the down, yet will clean grime from the cover.

Here's how: Locate the grimy parts of the article, and wet the cover only in those areas. Squirt some Dawn on a fingernail brush, and scrub the grime. Do this to every grimy area of the article, until you are satisfied that the grime has released. Next is the scary part. You must put the whole article in just-warm water, and squeeze the suds through it, thoroughly, adding more Dawn if you need it. A bathtub works perfectly, but I know they are scarce in M?xico. You could use your washing machine, but if you agitate do it on the gentle cycle and for less than a minute. It is best to just squeeze the suds through by hand. Don't rub the down between your hands, only rub the cover. You can spin gently to get rid of the suds, but don't let it go through a whole spin cycle -- you don't want to mash the down. Then do a couple of hand rinses, in the machine without machine agitation, and let the water spin out but not hard.

You will be left with a lumpy sodden mess that looks to be completely ruined. Don't lose heart. Find a place inside or out that is always in the shade, and spread a clean sheet on it. Better yet, if you have some old window screens (again, rare in M?xico) put them up on bricks for air circulation, spread the sheet and then top with the washed article, spreading it out and breaking up the lumps as best you can. (Maybe you could improvise with a hammock, if you can keep it stretched out.) It will take several days for the article to dry, during which you must turn the article and continue to break up the lumps by gently pulling them apart so that the drying can continue. When it gets dry enough, you can fluff by shaking as you would shake out a rug. Finally, if you have access to an automatic clothes drier, put it in a drier with a couple of very clean semi-hard articles like flip-flops, canvas tennis shoes, rubber balls, or some such, and run the drier WITHOUT HEAT. This will take care of the final fluffing, but do not try to short-cut by trying to dry it in the dryer from the beginning.

Now, if what you have is an eiderdown comforter, rush right out and buy a duvet cover, so next time all you have to wash is the cover! Hope this helps.

[mr bill]

Hi Constance,

THANK YOU ! for the in depth instructions especially about drying. I have some clean construction malla that will work for the aerating screen. Yes its a down comforter and we do have covers but in the rental business being what it is sometimes the first line of defense fails - and we Scotchgard the duvet covers - I should do that to the comforters as well.