Ok will take advice on board and take it to laundrette or maybe buy a better duvet, not sure about synthetic. What do you guys think about that VS?
Printable View
Ok will take advice on board and take it to laundrette or maybe buy a better duvet, not sure about synthetic. What do you guys think about that VS?
I don't know about synthetics, Marcos, but the advice I was given (in John Lewis, but several manufacturer sites agree) for washing down duvets was ..... don't. Or at least, not unless you absolutely have to, such as because they've been soiled.
The advice (for down) was ....
- use a decent quality cover. Wash that weekly.
- "fluff" the duvet daily. That keeps it efficient.
- air it outside periodically, couple of times a year, or more. That helos it release any trapped moisture.
- don't air it in humid conditions.
- If a spot gets soiled, wash the spot, use mild, liquid detergent. Dry very thoroughly, but naturally or on "gentle" heat.
- NEVER use normal washing powder.
- NEVER dry-clean. The chemicals damage the down.
- Probably best to use large launderette machines.
Washing WILL shorten the life of a down (or feather, or down/feather) duvet, so if the above is followed, it shouldn't need cleaning at all, short of accidents with kittens, etc. And given the price of down duvets, you don't want to ruin them, or even shorten the life.
On the other hand, they're reckoned to last three or four times longer than synthetics, so .... ;)
I will only buy synthetic duvets. You can get cheap but nice microfibre ones from Tesco (whatever brand that hippo is, can't remember), and microfibre filled ones with cotton covers that are nice as well. There's a full range of microfibre types - light, heavy, insulating, breathing, humidity regulating, long lasting, stay-fluffed.. and they're inherently better for preventing house dust mites etc. than a natural fibre duvet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcos
Hadn't thought of John Lewis, might go for something like this:
http://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-...-duvet/p439214
Ok looks like we have a good old-fashioned debate on our hands :-pQuote:
Originally Posted by kalniel
So is the dust mite thing a fact? Because I'm all about 100% cotton clothing for comfort etc, so I thought that kind of organic approach would make sense in bedding. I absolutely despise non-cotton bedsheets, polyester gives me a weird sweaty night.
I agree with that - always 100% Egyptian cotton sheets and covers here, but micro-fibre duvets are miles better than they used to be.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcos
Yes sythentic duvets are miles better for preventing house dust mites. Natural filling duvets can only prevent them with barriers - ie you make the cover so tightly woven that they can't get in, or worse, use some kind of pesticide in the down. Synthetics don't have to worry about any of that - they still have barriers to prevent your skin material entering the duvet, but the synthetic environment doesn't support mites as well as down, so it practically eliminates them - though of course that's just the duvet - you should consider your mattress + pillows + carpet, not to mention usual cleaning routine, if you need a mite-free environment (as I do, unfortunately). We have a latex mattress and pillows which I can't sing the praises of enough (so OK it's technically natural - as is cotton, but it's not animal material) and together with hard flooring it completely transformed my breathing :)
There have been a number of studies that show exactly the opposite - that natural fillings, including down and silk, are far better for avoiding dust mites. At least one was a study done by a London hospital, byt I don't remember which one. This shows some academic perspectives, though.
For example, from Kiel University
Silk (like Mulberry silk) is apparently naturally anti-allergenic as the silk is inhospitable for dust mites. Down provides neither the temperature profile, nor the retention of humidity, that dust mites require to survive.Quote:
H. W. Jürgens, Ökologische Untersuchungen zu Hausstaubmilben [Ecological research on house-dust-mites] (1992), Der Kinderarzt 23 [The pediatrician 23], 1884-1889
www.nomite.de/juerg_de.htm
Jürgens claims: “The temperatures in down- and feather-filled duvets rapidly exceed the value where mites thrive, after you tucked yourself in. It gets too hot for the mites. In the restitution phase the humidity absorbed before by the duvet will quickly be released, due to the favourable climate dynamics of the filling. As a result the humidity level drops swiftly below the critical value where mites comfortably survive: it gets too dry for the mites.”
It's true that some people have an allergic reaction to feather or down, but it is rare.
Interesting compilation of papers from a pro-down site ;) So the two features that most help prevent mites are a barrier (ie tightly woven cotton cover, which both micofibre and down duvets should have) and breathable to reduce humidty, which again modern micro-fibres have. It does suggest that a poor synthetic duvet (one that doesn't breath for eg.) is worse.
The NHS still advise using synthetic bedding for controlling house dust mites however, for eg: http://www.thh.nhs.uk/documents/_Pat...y_A4_May13.pdf
Bah, I hate inconclusivity
That should be a word, I might have just coined that :-p
Also, Ikea Vs John Lewis for duvets?
Ikea have their own sizes that aren't quite the same as "standard" sizes, so you need to be aware that an Ikea duvet might be a slightly different size than your bedding is expecting. Frankly, though, I've never really found it a problem, and Ikea is the only place you can reliably get a 4 Tog duvet, so it's where I normally get mine from :) Just don't get carried away and try tumble drying them - it doesn't work as well as you might think ;)
John Lewis for me! But then, I enjoy visiting JL while Ikea feels more like pugatory :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Marcos
Hmm, I think I currently have Ikea duvet and cover, drat :-pQuote:
Originally Posted by scaryjim
But .... be aware that NHS criteria may also be different. For instance, with some patients, "soiling" has to be more likely. Also, I rather suspect a highly desirable criteria for NHS (or for that matter, the hotel industry) use would be washabiluty, especially given that they either gave hufe laundries, or large-scale commercual laundry contracts, anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by kalniel
And, no doubt, up-front cost has a role too. Can you just imagine the fun the Daily Fail, or even the Grauniad, would have if a hospital was buying £300 Siberian or Hungarian goose down duvets?
And, the usage profile will be different too. For home use, about the only people I ever expect to sleep in my bed, with my duvet, will be the wife and myself. So, we know when it gets used, how it gets "fluffed", when and how often it gets aired, etc. We can look after an expensive down duvet in a way a hospital just can't.
As for it being a pro-down site, well maybe. It was just a site I came across. But, the papers quoted were university research. We all know that can mean a variety of things, including depending on who funded it, but it does at least give sound reasoning for why down works just fine for dust mites IF used properly, like being fluffed up every time you make the bed.
To use a horrible, but in this case highly apt saying, at the end of the day (geddit? :D ) it comes largely down to personal choice.
A goid quality down duvet is expensive, there's no arguing that. But quality usually is. Part of the reason I like them us tgat they are thermally very efficient, but also breath. And they're light. So light that if you're used to artificial, you'd think they cannot possibly work and keep you warm. But after a minute or two under one, you realise they sure do work.
One thing to be careful if, though, is noise. Cheaper feather, and even down/feather duvets can, erm, rustle., when you move. A good one with high percentage of down doesn't.
Yetanother factor that affects duvet choice, making giving advice awkward, is that the people under them are different. My metabolism, at the risk of going firmly into TMI territory, is that I sweat quite easily. With artificial duvets, I tend to either be too hot, and throwing it off, or then, too cold and pulling it back on. The result, a restless night.
But with a good down duvet, my body temp is regulated, I'm warm but not sweaty, and I get a FAR better night's sleep. Period.
Given that a good quality down duvet, properly xared for, will last many years, and therefore give me 15, 20 maybe more years of better sleep, I regard £300-400 as actual being, say, £15-20 a year, -ish, and about the best value I can get for money.
I mean, £400 over 20 years works out at 5p a night, or so, and it buys me sound sleep versus hot, sticky and restless sleep.
So yeah, £400 on a duvet is a lot, and some people cannot afford it. I'm not wealthy, but there's a lot of things I give up to pay for sound sleep, especially at £20 a year. If need be, I'd do without Sky/Virgin TV or internet access for 6 months or a year to pay for it, ir forego a holiday. Or give up a cheap meal out once a mibth, ir even forego a puzza home delivery a month. for a year. And so on.
But I agree with Marcos. There are no simple, categorical right/wrong answers to this. It's a bit like Canon v Nikon, or PC v Mac, iPhone v Samsung S5, Xbox v Playstation, BMW v Mercedes, Daddy or chips, etc.
Personally, I have NO regrets about going "down", as it were, for my duvet. None at all. But your mileage may vary, and may be right for you.
All we can do, Marcos, is give you personal perspectives. Ultimately, you pays yer money and takes yer choice. But my perspective is that a few things in life really are worth spoiling yourself with, if you possibly, conceivably can. Comfortable shoes are one, and a good duvet is another. But it's your money. And your night's sleep. And your call. ;)
Ikea or John Lewis?
For me, JL every time.
They aren't necessarily cheap, but that tends to be more about the lines they choose to carry than pricing (compared to other high street retailers, not online box-shifters) on what they do have. And, by and large, they tend to carry quality product, not cheap stuff.
Moreover, my experience, again and again, is that Customer Service is excellent. For instance, my elderly mother-in-law bought a TV a couple of years ago, complete with a JL glass stand, and optional castors. A castor broke, and they not only replaced it but sent a guy out to do it. A few weeks back, another castor went. I took the broken one in, with paperwork, and bearing in mind I'm not even the customer, they just replaced the whole set of four, with not a quibble in sight.
To be honest, my experience has been so positive that JL is my first stop, and while I keep one eye on price, I'd cheerfully pay a premium there over Ikea or, shudder, PC World group. I don't, therefore, get much experience of Ikea.
Oh, and at least some of JL's duvets, like the Siberian goose down, carry a 15 year guarantee, and I wouldn't expect any hassle over any reasonable complaint. I don't know what Ikea offer.
Completely agree about JL customer service, but in my experience Ikea's has also been pretty good.
never wash a duvet.. or a pillow.
total waste of water and enery.. and stress trying to hang it out...
cos it'll always be ruined anyway.
give it to someone for their horse.. and buy a new one