The first really cold night is when the comforter comes back out of the closet.
Most of us wash the duvet cover and forget about what's inside it. Washing the comforter itself is a real weekend job. It isn't hard, just slow, and the drying is the part people rush.
Below: how to wash a comforter without wrecking it, the dryer balls we'd toss in with it, a nail hole fix before the holiday guests arrive, the humidifier pad that's due, garlic to plant before the ground freezes, and a toothpick fix for a loose hinge screw.
Reply and tell us: down or down alternative on your bed? We read every one.
How to Wash a Comforter Without Wrecking It
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Cold nights are back, and so is the comforter. You can wash it at home, but plan on an afternoon: a down comforter can take 3 to 5 hours to dry, per down maker Feathered Friends.
Start with the machine. Consumer Reports says you want a washer of at least 4.5 cubic feet, and some makers say 5. Front-loaders are ideal.
A top-loader works if it has no center agitator, though CR notes high-efficiency top-loaders can be rougher on fabric. Feathered Friends warns an agitator can tear the stitched pockets that hold the fill in place, and it suggests a laundromat's big machine for a queen or king.
The dryer matters too. CR cites Maytag suggesting a dryer of at least 7 cubic feet.
Take it to a laundromat's big machines instead if any of these is true:
It's a queen or king and your washer is household size.
Your washer is under 4.5 cubic feet.
Your top-loader has a center agitator.
Read the care label first. Then:
Check for tears and loose seams, and mend them before washing.
Wash it alone, with a small amount of mild detergent. CR says other items can leave detergent residue on it. For real down, Feathered Friends uses a down-specific wash instead.
Pick the bulky or bedding cycle, in cold or warm water, never hot. Use delicate for a thin one.
Add an extra rinse, and skip the fabric softener. CR doesn't recommend it.
Lift it out carefully. A soaked comforter is heavy, and the weight strains the stitching.
Dry it on low heat with 2 or 3 wool dryer balls or clean tennis balls. CR says a dry towel in the drum helps it dry more evenly.
Stop every 30 minutes to fluff it and break up clumps by hand.
Keep going until it's completely dry, then let it air out for an hour or two.
That last step is where it goes wrong. Feathered Friends says a down comforter has to be completely dry before you store it, and that's why the dryer runs so long.
TLDR: big machine, gentle cycle, low heat, and more drying time than you think.
How often? CR's expert says every 1 to 3 months for a bed you sleep in every night. With a duvet cover, wash the cover monthly and the comforter itself every 3 to 6 months. Down alternative handles frequent washing better than real down, which should go through the machine less often.
Renters, this one's all yours. If your building's machines are on the small side, the laundromat is the move.
Scroll down for the dryer balls we'd use.
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The Dryer Balls That Keep a Comforter Moving
A comforter left alone in the dryer bunches into a ball. Consumer Reports says dryer balls help it dry faster and clump less.
The ones we'd point you to are Woolzies Wool Dryer Balls, Set of 6, at $29.99 at time of writing. They're extra-large balls of New Zealand wool, and the set comes with a small bottle of essential oil you can use or skip.
CR suggests 2 or 3 for a comforter, so six covers this weekend's job with spares for towel day. Woolzies says they last 1,000 loads and cut drying time by 25 percent in its own lab tests. Here's the 6-pack on Woolzies' site.
We haven't dried a comforter with these ourselves. The price comes from Woolzies' own store, and the load count and drying claim are the maker's.
That said, CR says clean tennis balls work for fluffing too. If you have a can in the garage, start there. Buy these if you'll toss them in with towels and sheets every laundry day.
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Fill the Nail Holes Before the Guests Arrive
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Thanksgiving is five weeks out. If a picture has moved since last year, there's probably a nail hole or two showing where it used to hang.
Small holes take a tub of lightweight spackle and a putty knife. Here's This Old House's method:
Clean the area around the hole.
Load a small amount of spackle onto the putty knife.
Press it firmly into the hole. DAP says to overfill it slightly.
Scrape it level with the edge of the knife.
Let it dry completely.
Sand it lightly if it isn't smooth.
Prime and paint to match.
This Old House warns against putting on too much at once. For anything deeper than 1/8 inch, DAP says to build it up in thin layers.
It's one of the few wall repairs that works in a rental, and doing it now gives the paint touch-up days to dry before anyone visits.
The Humidifier Pad That's Due This Month
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If there's a humidifier mounted on your furnace ductwork, it has a water panel inside, the pad the water trickles through.
Aprilaire says its 10, 12 and 35 panels should be changed once per heating season, and its 45 panel twice. The owner's manual puts it as at least once a year. Other brands follow their own manuals, so check yours for the part number and schedule.
While you're there, set the bypass damper for winter. Aprilaire's owner's manual has you close it for summer, so it needs to go back to the winter position now.
Then set the humidity to match the weather. Here's the manual's chart for a manual control:
40 F outside: 45 percent indoors
30 F outside: 40 percent
20 F outside: 35 percent
10 F outside: 30 percent
0 F outside: 25 percent
-10 F outside: 20 percent
-20 F outside: 15 percent
Fog or frost on the windows usually means too much humidity, the manual says, so turn it down a few hours before a cold snap. Digital controls in automatic mode adjust on their own. Renters, this one belongs to the landlord.
Plant Garlic Before the Ground Freezes
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Garlic goes in the ground in fall and spends the winter there. Penn State Extension says to plant it about three weeks before the ground freezes, and Iowa State puts that at October to early November.
Buy seed garlic, not grocery garlic. Penn State says grocery bulbs may be varieties that don't suit your area, and most are treated to last longer on the shelf.
Split the bulbs no more than a day before you plant, and keep the biggest cloves.
Plant each clove pointed end up, about 2 inches deep.
Space them 4 to 8 inches apart.
Cover the bed with about 4 inches of straw or shredded leaves. Iowa State says to use straw that's free of weed seeds.
Choosing a type? Utah State says softneck garlic stores very well and is the one for braiding, while hardneck has a stiff stem through the bulb and keeps for less time.
The Toothpick Fix for a Loose Hinge Screw
A cabinet door that sags, or a hinge screw that just spins, usually means the wood around the screw has stripped. It's a few minutes of work plus glue-drying time, and it works on cabinet doors in a rental too. Here's the Family Handyman fix:
Take out the screw.
Coat a few wooden toothpicks in wood glue.
Pack the hole full of them.
Let the glue dry for the time on its label.
Trim the toothpicks flush with a chisel.
Drive the screw back in.
Skip the glue-only version. Family Handyman says glue alone is too brittle to hold a screw. Wooden matchsticks, a dowel or a skewer work as filler too.
When you drive it back in, Family Handyman suggests finishing with a quarter turn by hand rather than the drill.
That's Saturday: a comforter wash, the dryer balls, nail holes, a humidifier pad, garlic and a loose hinge.
If you only do one thing this weekend, read your comforter's care label before it goes anywhere near the washer.
Forward this to whoever in your house hogs the comforter.
Have a good weekend, and see you Monday.
The Home Wire
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