Bed comforter questions

[tea4one]

I still want a down or down alternative comforter and most of the ones I've seen are dry clean only but I did find one that is polyester. How long will a polyester one last? Will it take all day to dry it if I did get it? I know that you can clean a down comforter at home but it takes forever for it to get dried all the way through (no, I have never done this as this down comforter will be the first one I have bought/will be buying but have heard of people cleaning and drying dry clean only comforters at home). What size should I get? Do you go with the size your bed is? i.e. A queen comforter for a queen bed, etc. I currently have a twin size bed because thats all I have room for, I am using full comforters that were made for me when I was a kid and I want another bed and don't want to make the mistake of buying something I won't like after I use it for a while. I also don't want too much of an overhang.

[Robyn1007]

Personally I wouldn't wash a down comforter but I also always have mine in a cover so I wash the cover. As far as the size, when I got my first down comforter it was a queen but I had a twin bed. I just folded the comforter in half in a twin cover.

[misskitty100]

We have a king down comforter and I have taken it to the dry cleaner - they clean it for about $60 bucks. A cover for your comforter is a great way to avoid the dry cleaning bill. Our previous down comforter I washed in our washing machine and dried in our dryer. It worked fine. It did take maybe 2 cycles on the dryer to fully dry and I would "fluff" the comforter every 30 minutes or so just to make sure all of the spots got dry. The only reason I take our current comforter to the cleaners is because it is soooo big and thick I don't think my washing machine could handle it.

[Valerie226]

I've had a queen size synthetic fill comforter 15 years or so. I keep it in a duvet cover so I don't wash it often. the cover runs thru the wash easily. comforter is too big to fit a standard home washing machine. you can wash in a big front loader at a laundromat. any machine with a central agitator can tear the baffles that separate the sections of fill material, regardless of synthetic or down. so I wash it rarely.

If I had a down comforter I'd do the same. I don't want to smell dry cleaning solutions in my bedding. I've washed large down sleeping bags & jackets at home. Outdoor stores have special soap for down. dry in a regular dryer on low with some tennis shoes tossed in to break up the down clumps. but for something as large and expensive as a down comforter I'd probably do the laundromat route, if the directions said it was washable. and I'd keep it in a duvet so it wouldn't be a frequent issue.

[leightx]

I have a front loader, and wash my king size down comforter (light weight) in there at least twice a year with no problems. I can't remember if it says dry clean only or not, but I don't know why feathers couldn't get wet. They are, after all, from ducks. :p

[tea4one]

Ok, but what about the size? Should I go one size larger than my bed? Buy the size for the bed?

[Robyn1007]

Ok, but what about the size? Should I go one size larger than my bed? Buy the size for the bed?

Like I said before, buy what you think you'll want and then just fold it in half into a smaller cover.

[Valerie226]

Depends on how much you want draping over the sides. measure something you like on the bed and then check measurements for a queen, king of the comforter you're considering. see what looks closest. Mine might actually be a closer to a king but I wanted it over the sides generously. when I bought mine there was a wide range of measurements of what equaled a queen or king.

[mbrogier]

I have a king size comforter for my king size bed. It hangs off the edges a couple of inches. If you want considerable hang off, get a larger size for your smaller bed. I wouldn't since you said you didn't like a lot of extra.

I bought my synthetic comforter at Tuesday Morning. Rob was having a lot of allergy issues, and I thought the synthetic would be better for him. I have washed it occasionally when I had a large washing machine. I do use duvet covers.

Garnet Hill www.garnethill.com has some great comforters that aren't down but are still really warm. They have a silk comforter and a wool blend one. That's the next one I'm going to get. The warmth of down without all the bulk.

[tea4one]

I want the overhang for the drape and I think it will look better.

[tea4one]

How many have a down alternative that is filled with silk? I did see one that had silk in it but for the most part they were filled with polyester.