apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Has anyone ever washed a down-filled bed pillow before? I read that they are machine washable and should be washed every three to six months; I'm interested to know how they came out. I wash my down duvets and they always emerge just fine, but pillows have such heavy down concentration I wonder how well they will dry. I do use those "fluffer" things in the dryer with down, but I'm worried the exteriors will feel very dry and the deep interiors will stay damp-ish and will mildew.

hi everybody,

so ... i'm visiting new york next monday-wednesday to secure my own tiny place in the city. hurrah! i start a new job april 23.

so in the spirit of some pre-apartment-hunting-therapy, i'd love to hear any general tired and true tips from experienced new yorkers. as i'm determined to live in manhattan, i'm prepared for a tiny space, no worries. thanks.

Sydney,

I washed a down pillow and read (in a tip section somewhere) that if you tossed the wet pillow in the dryer with a new tennis ball, the pillow will dry evenly and the down will get redistributed. I tried it and the pillow is dry (I think) but uneven and lumpy. I can't get the down to redistribute to its former fluffy glory.

Sorry I don't have a more helpful response.

Sydney
I have down couch cushions(which I don't wash) and I bet if you wash your pillows as has been recommended and then try to lay them in the sun, they will completely fluff and dry. Periodically, I drag my down couch cushions to the hammock to lay in the sun. An upholsterer told me that trick. It puffs up the air around the down.

I want to order outdoor furniture from a company, but they only take orders from designers. Any way around that? I don't know any designers either.

Sydney,

I usually take my down comforter to the dry cleaners. I've never taken pillows, but I assume they could do those, too.

Good luck!

K8, please contact me about finding that right apartment. artHouseRealty@aol.com

I've had a down pillow dry cleaned. When they do it properly, they take the down out of the pillow to clean it, then put it back into a new ticking. Costs about $25.

Does anyone know where the lamp in this photo is from?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36355274@N00/413429483/

back in the day when I had down duvets and pillows (before my allergies sent me running back to fiberfill), I always threw them in the dryer with a pair of sneakers. The weight of the shoes tumbling around helped beat and puff the pillows better than the tennis balls (which I've also tried).

k8 - check out rentometer.com
It'll help you judge the prices your being shown for the area you are looking in....

Hey Syndey,
I've not had the courage to wash my pillows, but every so often I take them outside in the sun and set them on top of my drying rack to let them air. Usually the first time I do this in the spring, I'll put a little diluted non-clorine bleach into a spray bottle and spray the covering, then turn and fluff them several times thru out the day.

K8 try Kexter (via the link in my name). It's pretty helpful with getting an idea of price ranges and what's available/normal in various neighborhoods.

Thanks for all the tips about washing down pillows; I'm still too chicken to try it, especially given what I paid for them. I think I'll try some variation of sun and a spritz of vinegar and water (great disinfectant).

Molto gratzi!

I'm checking out a place (something with "Feather" in the name; can't remember the rest of it) that will refurbish down pillows. I've got an old one that I'd like to keep using, for sentimental reasons, and I realized recently that I've used it for years without any maintenance except changing the pillowcase.

Apropos of nothing, but I just went to the squeeze bottles link below and if you are fairly new to AT (like me...but I have an AT shirt!) and haven't read that thread before, it delightful. Really made me giggle.

PS - where/how do we register for the new posting method?

I meant in the link in Maxwell's next section on "labels"

C683 Sofa
Kho Liang Le

Does anyone know where I could get a knock off this sofa? (I really like the general shape, but want to spend, like, 1/4 of this!) Thanks.