Winter or no winter, who does not want to snuggle under the warmth and softness of your favorite dohar and cotton comforters? Call them dohar, quilts or comforters, many of us who refuse to give up on our comfort blanket come rain come shine. Given the tropical summers and extreme heat and ACs running to full capacity, the children almost always need their favorite 100% Cotton quilt and we adults also love our comforting, temperature regulating light blankets and cotton blankets all through the year!

Now that our blankets and comforters are going to be quite around, have we thought about keeping them nice and clean? Of course, we cannot keep changing them like our bed sheets and clothes daily but since it comes in direct contact with the body, there’s no ruling out they are free of dust mites and micro-allergens. To enjoy healthy sleep through the year, comforters must be thoroughly washed and cleaned 2-3 times in a year besides the daily maintenance at home.

Here’s how you can clean your comforters.

Check label and read washing instructions

Comforters and blankets come with their own washing manual – you can either dry clean them or clean them in the washing machine to maintain comforters properly. The filling of comforters determines the mode of achieving clean comforters. There’s no rigid rule that comforters cannot be washed at home and must be dry-cleaned always.

Check for any tears and stains

Any loose seams should be stitched up before washing the comforter or else one spin in the washing machine or the dryer will further tear it apart. Stains can be topically attended with a solution or a home hack of baking soda and water.

Use the right washing machine

Check the load capacity of your washing machine, there should be enough room for the comforter to spin and move. If not, opt for a commercial washing at a washing service provider. Also, do not throw in other garments, however tempting.

Use appropriate laundry detergent and select the correct wash cycle

Again, the washing instructions on the label will direct the use of a mild or liquid detergent and which wash cycle to select – gentle or delicate. The temperature setting is also equally important. A cold-water cycle is ideal for protecting colors while a hot wash will kill all dust mites. We need to be extra careful to get the best desired result.

Dryer instructions

If appropriate dryer instructions are not followed, the comforter or blanket may lose shape. It is important the fluff is re-distributed evenly. Reading label instructions is very critical here.

Once your favorite comforter and blanket is all washed and dried, it is important you take adequate care to keep it ultra clean because it is not a piece of bed-linen that you can wash and replace everyday.

To maintain clean comforters, you must ensure the bed is made the first thing you wake up in the morning. Doors and windows should be left open so that some fresh air can circulate through. However, this is subject to the area you live in. If there is massive construction or automobile pollution or dust pollution around, your comforter and bed linen may end up absorbing more dust and allergens.

Switching on the air purifier machine is a good idea. Once the bed is made and the comforter folded neatly, a duvet cover can come in handy to protect the outer layer. Also, once in 3 weeks the comforter or blanket should be given a hot spin in the dryer to kill all the dust mites.