How to Wash a Comforter That Will Not Fit Your Machine

Why your home washer cannot do it

It is not really about whether the comforter physically fits through the door. You can usually cram one in. It is about what happens once it is in there.

A comforter needs room to tumble so water and detergent can move through it. Packed tight into a domestic drum, it just sits there in a wet lump. The outside gets wet, the inside stays dry, and detergent never reaches the middle.

Worse, a saturated comforter is extremely heavy. In a top loader it goes badly off balance, which is hard on the transmission and the suspension. This is genuinely how people kill washing machines, and it is why laundromats put signs on top loaders telling you not to.

Then there is the drying, which is the real killer. A domestic dryer does not have the capacity or airflow to dry a comforter properly. What comes out is dry on the surface and damp in the core, and damp filling grows mildew.

Use an extra large front loader

Front loaders tumble rather than agitate around a central post, so a bulky item can actually move. Extra large capacity gives it room to do that.

At Plaza Laundromat this is exactly what the big front load machines on our self-service floor exist for. Comforters, duvets, king bedding, sleeping bags, dog beds, moving blankets, and mattress pads. One machine, one cycle, done.

Please do not put comforters, rugs, or heavy items in the top loaders. There are signs on the machines. It damages them, and it will not clean your comforter anyway.

Step by step

1. Check the care label first. Some comforters, particularly wool or certain silk fills, are genuinely dry clean only. If it says so, believe it 2. Look for damage before washing. A small seam split becomes a machine full of loose filling at the end of the cycle. Repair it first 3. Pre-treat visible stains, gently, rather than scrubbing 4. Load it loosely into an extra large front loader. It should have room to move, not be packed 5. Use a moderate detergent dose. Too much detergent in bulky filling is very hard to rinse out and leaves it stiff 6. Wash warm on a normal or bulky cycle. Skip hot unless the label calls for it 7. Run an extra rinse if the machine offers one. Getting detergent fully out of filling matters more than anything else here 8. Dry on low or medium, not high. Down and synthetic fill are both damaged by high heat 9. Add clean dryer balls, or tennis balls in a sock, to break up clumping in the fill 10. Take it out and shake it partway through drying, then again at the end

Make absolutely sure it is dry

This is where most home attempts fail, and the consequence is a musty comforter that has to be washed again.

Feel the middle, not the edges. Squeeze the thickest section. If there is any coolness or weight that feels damp, it needs more time. A comforter that goes into a closet slightly damp develops mildew, and mildew in filling does not wash out.

Our dryers are sized to match the washers, which is the whole point. A load out of an extra large front loader has a dryer that can actually finish it.

Down versus synthetic

Down clumps when wet and needs the dryer balls and the shaking to redistribute. It takes longer to dry than you expect. It is worth the effort because down lasts decades if it is looked after.

Synthetic fill dries faster and clumps less, but it is more heat sensitive. Keep the dryer low.

How often

Once or twice a year is plenty for a comforter with a duvet cover on it, since the cover takes the wear. Without a cover, three or four times a year.

Most people find the turn of the season is the natural prompt, which is why our big front loaders get busy in October when the winter bedding comes out of the closet.

Or just drop it off

If none of the above appeals, bring it in during attended hours and let us handle it. Our drop-off service is $1.99 a pound, and a comforter is one of the most common single items people hand over.

Keep reading

- Why your towels feel scratchy in Arizona - How much does wash and fold laundry cost in Mesa? - How to choose a laundromat in Mesa

Get started

Extra large front loaders and dryers to match, 6am to 9pm daily. Call (480) 531-3048.