The Truth About How Often You Should Really Be Washing Your Comforter

Few things beat hitting the hay and slipping into clean, soft bedding. But while you may be on top of how often to wash your sheets, or even vacuuming your mattress every so often, when is the last time you remembered to wash your comforter? Because we tend to lay them over us instead of lying on them, it's easy to forget how much dust, body oil, and debris can accumulate on comforters. It doesn't help that comforters are bulky, making them difficult to wash and dry properly. For these reasons, many people forget to launder them regularly, and even if they do, it's often not frequent enough. In general, comforters should be fully laundered every one to two months, but there are numerous factors to consider when deciding how often you need to wash yours. 

Are you not interested in doing a full wash of your comforter as often as once a month? You can extend that timeline by adding additional barriers around the comforter. For instance, a duvet cover can slip over a comforter and be changed out as easily as bed sheets, and you'll only need to wash the insert every few months. Using a top sheet instead of directly snuggling up with your comforter also provides an extra layer of protection. With a duvet cover and top sheet, you can wash your comforter just a few times a year. On the flip side, there are some factors that mean you'll want to launder it more often, like if you tend to shower in the morning instead of at night or if you allow your pets to sleep in the bed. 

Now that you know how often you should wash your comforter, let's talk about how to make this as painless a process as possible. To start, don't let spills and stains sit on the fabric until the next laundry day. Instead, treat them immediately, blotting up excess and treating the spots with stain remover before laundering. This will make the stain less likely to fully set and look good between washes. 

When it comes to washing, it's best to use a large-capacity washer and dryer. If you don't have one at home, you may be best off heading to a laundromat, as forcing a too-big comforter into a small machine can make it difficult to get fully cleaned or dry. Check the manufacturer's care label of the comforter to determine the optimal water temperature for washing. During the dry cycle, toss in some dryer balls to help keep the comforter fluffy and from becoming tangled — dryer balls are also the easiest way to keep your sheets from balling up. Heavy quilts and down comforters can take a long time to dry, so periodically stop the cycle and refluff and redistribute the comforter to ensure it's drying evenly. If the dryer just isn't doing the trick or you don't have a dryer, shake the comforter out really well before leaving it to hang dry — as a bonus, this can remove wrinkles from your comforter.