So, I just WASHED my down comforter in my clothes washer.

[Kimberlina]

I felt very brave to be sticking my beloved down comforter in the washer. I read somewhere else that someone had done this with no problems, so I just did it. It was a little scary, but it actually worked! Mind you, I don't really recommend anyone else doing it, because I don't want to be held responsible if anything bad happens.

I have a new HE front-loading washer and matching dryer. I ran it the comforter through the gentle cycle with medium spin, and then had to run it through the dryer for a LONG time (about 120 minutes.) I had already stuck it in the wash when I read that you should really do this on a sunny day so you can do part of the drying (the first part) outside to save even more money. In truth, I could have just spun it on high or spun it again and probably shortened my dry time, but I was just being extra careful. I think it also would have helped if I had gone in every 20 minutes and taken the thing out of the dryer and flipped it around a bit. It is big enough that it doesn't completely tumble freely in the dryer, so there was always a small inner patch that didn't seem as dry.

Anyway, I am sure I saved a ton of money by not having to take it to the cleaners to have it done professionally. DD is laying under it now (despite the temp) and enjoying it.

[kabin63]

You should also be able to put clean tennis balls in the dryer while drying to fluff it up. That's what the directions told me to do on my down coat. Worked nicely. DD looks really cute, I bet she is enjoying it...LOL

[frugalfarmwife]

You know I did this a few times and even dried it in the dryer, all was fine, until the time that the seam ripped while it was in the dryer! If I'd had a video of it I'd have made $10,000 on funniest home videos, lol! You have NO CLUE how many feathers are in there until they all fly free!

kj

[Daisygirl]

Oh my gosh, frugal farm wife! Thanks for the hilarious image, that kills me! ROTFL!!!

[suzysaver]

warning it doesn't always work. I have done this a number of times also: one time one of the corners must have gotten caught under the ringer and it put a nasty rusty brown stain on one corner ( I never could get that out). also a couple of times the thing was just too big to rotate in the tub and would come out with big soup puddles and white smeers ( no big deal, can be scrubbed out and rinsed). After you have washed them a couple of times, they seem to flatten out and are easier to wash the next time...but they do loose a little fluff.

[Edelweiss]

Mine actually has machine washing instructions on the label. It says you should do basically what you did, or dry clean. I've washed it without a problem, but then I'm brave - I wash everything, even stuff that says dry clean only!

[slowtypinwoman]

Mine has been up in a bag in the atic because I didn't have the $50 to dry clean it. I had read you could do this, but have not been brave enough. I think I'll take it to the laundry mat and wash it in the double machine. Thanks for giving me the boost of confidence to try it.

[amysh]

I don't know if this will make anyone feel more comfortable, but my parents owned a drycleaners while I was growing up, and even so...my mom washed our down comforters, and we would recommend to customers that for the most part they could be washed. (Depending on the cover and the type of quilting used in the construction. Washing is harder on the quilting because the stitching is more likely to get ripped out during washing.) We suggested a clean shoe or tennis balls in the dryer. The reason that it costs so much to dryclean them is that they absorb a lot of the perc that is used for cleaning, and it is hard to reclaim it.

Good luck!

P.S...I too wash a lot of things that say dryclean only - many silks (as long as their not printed fabrics), linen, some rayon. But not wool stuff.

[Kimberlina]

Great info about the dry-cleaning- thanks! And the fact that they absorb a lot of chemicals just makes me happier that I cleaned it at home.