Love comforter, hate feathers.

December 29, 2010 10:34 AM

Has anyone invented a down comforter that doesn't spew feathers everywhere? Are these comforters available for purchase?
posted by pwally to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

I've had multiple down comforters from Ikea that didn't belch feathers.
posted by sugarfish at 10:38 AM on December 29, 2010 [3 favorites]

Yes and yes. I have one from the Company Store that keeps its feathers where it should. You are using a duvet cover, right?
posted by The corpse in the library at 10:40 AM on December 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

Bed Bath and Beyond sells a basic white down comforter for 50 bucks (all sizes). I've purchased a couple of them, which I use without duvet covers, and I've never had an issue with feathers.
posted by MXJ1983 at 10:44 AM on December 29, 2010

Why don't you buy a duvet cover to put over your comforter. That should solve 99% of your feather issues.
posted by TheBones at 10:45 AM on December 29, 2010 [4 favorites]

Duvet covers are awesome though -- you wash those and then air out the comforter. The comforters last longer, the duvet contains feathers, win/win.
posted by Kimberly at 10:46 AM on December 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

Seconding Company Store, which we have used for 25 years with nary a feather escaping.
posted by beagle at 11:13 AM on December 29, 2010

Make sure you are buying a 100% down comforter, not a down/feather blend.

I just want to note that a true 100% down comforter costs thousands of dollars. Almost all accessibly priced down comforters will have some percentage of feathers, and that's ok. (The one linked is 5% down/95% feathers, which is not a good quality down comforter. A good quality one will be 75-85% down, with the remainder as feathers (sometimes called "other fill")).

All down comforters should be used with a cover, because you shouldn't wash your down more than 1-2 times per year, as excessive washing causes both the fill to break down and also oils, etc. to be stripped away from the fill, causing clumping.

Also, are you fluffing up your comforter daily? Long term compression can also cause the fill to break down, and its almost always broken fill bits that you see escaping through seams and the cover.
posted by anastasiav at 11:36 AM on December 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

My IKEA comforter for some reason leaks fewer feathers than the more expensive Pacific Coast Down one I had before. I assume this has to do with the tightness of the weave of the fabric.

Seconding frequent fluffing.
posted by slow graffiti at 11:57 AM on December 29, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks for the answers. Should added that I have a duvet and the problem is mostly when I have to wash the duvet and feathers get everywhere.
posted by pwally at 1:51 PM on December 29, 2010

Also do not introduce the cats to the comforter, at least without the duvet. Do not. Do not. Do not.
posted by toodleydoodley at 7:52 PM on December 29, 2010