Every material changes over time, and down and feathers are no exception. Whether this change shows itself as loss or as durability is not decided in the first weeks after purchase, but by the recurring, mostly inconspicuous habits that follow. In this sense, care is not a question of effort. It is not about doing a lot, but about doing the right thing, at the right rhythm.
Daily care
Pillows and duvets should be shaken out briefly after getting up, so that the filling redistributes itself and regains its loft. Just as important: down needs air to unfold. Making the bed straight after getting up takes away exactly this time. An hour by the open window is usually enough in summer; in the colder months it may be two. Direct sunlight and moisture, on the other hand, should be kept away from down and feathers, as both make them brittle over time.
Washing
When it comes to washing, care matters more than frequency. A pillow can take one or two washes a year and, well looked after, will last up to five years; a duvet needs far fewer and, treated accordingly, will accompany you for ten years and longer.
Wash at 60 degrees with a low spin speed of around 300 to 400 rpm, and never with fabric softener, which causes the fibres to clump together.
Our in-house down detergent, for example, relies exclusively on plant-based surfactants from wheat, corn and potato starch: phosphate-free, pH-neutral and without optical brighteners.
The real test, however, lies in the drying: the dryer may run at up to 120 degrees; what matters is that the filling dries through completely, as only then does it stay odour-free and free of clumps. A few dryer balls in the cycle help the down to fluff up again.
Eiderdown
Eine Ausnahme bildet die Eiderdaune. Ihre Feinheit verträgt keine Waschmaschine, ihre Seltenheit erst recht keine Kompromisse. Für sie trennen wir die Füllung von der Hülle, reinigen sie einzeln von Hand und fassen sie anschließend neu ein: eine Arbeit, die ausschließlich unser Pflegeservice übernimmt. Es ist die einzige Behandlung, die einem Material dieser Klasse gerecht wird.
Lifespan
In the end, care is not a one-off effort but a habit. Treating your bedding properly extends not only its lifespan, but also the feeling with which you settle beneath it, night after night.
