There's a moment every year when the duvet comes out of the wardrobe, almost always with that stale, shut-away smell that doesn't exactly invite you into bed. The good news is that washing a duvet in the washing machine at home is perfectly doable in most cases. What ruins a duvet isn't the wash: it's too much detergent, the wrong cycle and, above all, not drying it properly.
This guide gets straight to it: how to tell whether your machine can handle it, what to do beforehand, which cycle to use and how to dry it without ending up with a damp smell.
Washing a duvet in the washing machine: will it fit in yours?
The rule of thumb is simple: the duvet needs to go into the drum with room to spare. If it's crammed in, water and detergent can't circulate, the filling never rinses out, and you end up with tidemarks and a bad smell.
- 7 kg: single duvet, no problem.
- 8 or 9 kg: a lightweight synthetic double duvet.
- Under 7 kg, or a thick double or down duvet: take it to a launderette. The 10 to 18 kg machines handle it well, and it works out cheaper than wrecking it.
Read the care label first. If it shows the crossed-out tub symbol, it's dry clean only and there's nothing more to discuss.
Five minutes beforehand that save you a lot of grief
- Check the seams. One small split turns into a machine full of feathers or fibre. Sew it up first.
- Get the hair and dust off. If you have a dog or a cat, the duvet is covered in hair that grips the fabric once it's wet and never comes off. Run a reusable pet hair remover roller over both sides before you roll it up.
- Treat stains separately, with a little detergent applied directly and a few minutes' wait. The machine on its own won't lift old stains.
- Roll it up and feed it into the drum that way, rather than shoving it in in handfuls. It spreads out far better.
- Wash it on its own. Don't use the spare space for an extra load of laundry.
Cycle, temperature and detergent
If your machine has a duvet or bulky items cycle, use it. If not, go for synthetics or delicates with a low spin.
- Temperature: 30 °C for synthetic filling. 40 °C if you want to deal with dust mites. 60 °C only if the label allows it.
- Detergent: half what you'd normally use, and liquid. Powder doesn't dissolve fully and stays trapped in the filling.
- Fabric softener: none. It mats the filling down and strips out the insulating power, which is exactly what you bought it for.
- Spin: 800 or 1,000 rpm, plus an extra rinse. The more water comes out, the fewer hours of drying ahead.
Drying the duvet: the part almost everyone gets wrong
A duvet that feels dry on the outside can still be damp in the filling, and that's where mould and the smell come from. If you have the slightest doubt, don't put it back on the bed.
- In a tumble dryer: gentle cycle and three dryer balls (or clean tennis balls inside a sock). Stop it halfway, shake the duvet out and break up the clumps of filling with your hands. You're going to need more than one cycle.
- Air drying: lay it out flat over a double airer, never hung from one edge, because the filling slides straight to the bottom. With sun and a bit of wind it can take two days: turn it every couple of hours.
- Indoors in autumn: avoid it. A duvet drying in a closed room releases litres of water into the air. If there's no alternative, pick a room with the window open and put a dehumidifier next to it if you have one.
Before you put it away, feel the filling in several places, especially the corners and along the seams. If it feels cold or unusually heavy, it isn't ready.
How often should you wash it
Once or twice a year is plenty if you use a duvet cover and wash that every fortnight. The cover does the dirty work. Washing the duvet itself every month only shortens its life.
And when you put it away for the summer, make sure it's bone dry and store it in a fabric bag, never a sealed plastic one: plastic traps the moisture, and that is exactly how it comes out smelling stale again next year.