can i wash my down feather blanket in the washer and dryer?

Question

its smaller, not made for a bed, its a throw blanket but i just dont want to have to take it to the cleaners. is it going to damage the blanket to wash it in the washing machine and put it in the dryer?

Answer 1

I wash my down comforters, blankets, jackets, even sleeping bags, all the time! Put them in a front loader on gentle or handwash. If you don't have access to a front-loader, you can still use a top loader, just go for the most gentle option. The first important trick is to NOT use detergent, because detergent damages the feathers. Use a gentle-wash SOAP, like Woolite.
Wash in cold water. It will look all clumpy when you take it out. Not to worry.
Now that you have it washed, you need to dry in the dryer on air fluff only (NO HEAT!). To avoid having it stay clumpy, you need to put something firm into the dryer with it that will move around at a different rate than the fluffy down item. A clean tennis ball is the classic suggestion, but I use a silicone oven mit, because I don't happen to have a tennis ball! It works fine.

Answer 2

There's usually a tag somewhere on the blanket that will tell you what the cleaning instructions are. I agree with the previous answerers, you shouldn't wash it in the washer.

Answer 3

you can wash it ,but the feathers get all bunched up ,it will smeel bad ,and it takes a long time to dry. I did my daughters down coat it took about an two hours to dry.

Answer 4

yes it will be ruined...anything with feathers can not be washed..... ever......use Dryel in your dryer....it is a home dry cleaning system that you can buy at the grocery store ot Target.... it won't do much for stains or heavy soil but is great for 'freshening'

Answer 5

Dry cleaning is your best option...when you wash it, it will cause the feathers the bunch up and it is never as fluffy

Answer 6

yeah, it'll ruin it. Very bad idea.

Answer 7

it will ruin if you do that. be all lumpy and stuff.