I have a feather blanket that says "professional Cleaning only".  I
have seen numerous blankets that also have a goose down filling that
says machine washing is ok.  What is the difference if any between the
ones that say it is ok to wash them and the ones that say they can not
be machine washed?

Is it realtivly safe to wash my blanket in my home machine?  I am not
too worried about camicity as I have one of the extra large machines
here at home.

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Request for Question Clarification by kriswrite-ga on 05 Apr 2004 07:55 PDT

Hi Jamiedolan~

What is the blanket made of?

Kriswrite

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Clarification of Question by jamiedolan-ga on 05 Apr 2004 15:10 PDT

I think the outside is cotton & the inside is just down (features)

Hi Jamiedolan~

If the outside is cotton and the inside down feathers, you should be
able to wash the blanket in a large-capacity washer. Wash it in cold
water and tumble dry on low to minimize shrinkage.

HOWEVER, the main reason dry cleaning is recommended for down items is
that they will last longer if not washed. When washed, down blankets
and comforters quickly loose their "loft."

You may be interested in this article "Down Comforters and Mattresses"
from Martha Stewart Living, which addresses caring for down items
without washing them:
http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=tvs2688b

---

Clarification of Answer by kriswrite-ga on 05 Apr 2004 16:35 PDT

I apologize; part of my Answer got caught off.

Here is the Research Strategy:

Researcher's personal knowledge
A search at marthastewart.com

Regards,
Kriswrite

The information here may help:

http://www.downfactory.com/customerinformation.html

Thanks!  

I did not have any trouble with washinging my "professional clean
only" blankets in my washing machine.  I just made sure that I ran it
through an extra cycle to get all the soap out, and I dried it for
like 3 hours.  It took a really really long time to dry.  When I took
it out of the dryer, it was still just a smidge damp, but I would say
it was like 95% dry within the 3 hours!  It is actually in much better
shape now than it was in when it went to the cleaners last time,
because they put a couple little holes in it.  I am really glad that I
eneded up washing my blankets at home.

jamiedolan-ga,
There is nothing more comfy than a good old fashioned down filled
comforter or pillow is there? :-) I know the tags often read "for
professional cleaning only"... but if that were the case, my poor
sweet grandmother would have never gotten anything cleaned! My grandma
always machine washed all of her down comforters and pillows...roughly
about once a year. And then she would hand them out on the clothes
line on the hottest, sunniest day...to kind of let them bake in the
sun. She would periodically go out there and give them a good "whop"
or two and shake them a bit and re-adjust them. Her pillows and down
filled comforters have stood the test of time, as I still have a few
of them that she made long before I was born. Her secret for keeping
them nice and clean and in good shape was having a good duvet cover
for the comforters, and good pillow cases/shams for the pillows, which
of course were washed weekly. :-)
She would also quickly spot clean any stains that might have gotten
onto the pillows/comforters asap, letting them dry out in the sun to
make sure there was no moisture in it before putting it back on the
bed. In later years, when vacuum cleaners w/attachments came into
vogue, she would give all her down filled bedding a good once over
with the upholstery attachment to keep them dust free.

http://www.down-comforter-info.com/down_comforter_care.html

Hope this helps some!
chellphill-ga

I actually ended up trying to washing my feather beds as well.  I
tryed at home, but they were just too big, so i took them to one of
thoes 24 hour laundry mats with the really big washers last night.  It
worked very well.  It look a really really long time to dry even in
there big dryer, but it worked, and all my bedding is in great shape
now.

I do have the duvey covers and they help a lot!  After washing, I
really noticed a huge difference in the dust / alergen level comming
from the blanket and feather beds.  Much much eaiser to breath now!

I am washing all of the curtians also, I think that will help with the
allergies as well.

All of the blankets and feather beds seems to have held up very well
to the washing.

It is really amazing how much dust gets into the air / house, even
with a good air filter / purifier running.  It is really quite
disturbing.  I think I am going to wash the feather beds and all more
like every 4 to 6 months.

Thanks again for the help.

:-)

Jamie