It’s summertime and while many are sweltering in the heat, the last thing on your mind is your favourite down comforter, down pillow or featherbed. If you did not get around to it in the spring, it is still not too late to give the proper care and attention to your down favourites so they are good to go, cleaned, refreshed, re-fluffed for the fall and those first cool nights, plus give you a lifetime of luxury, comfort and better sleep.

If you have a high quality down comforter, that is with a high thread count down proof casing, plus a high lofting white goose down over 650 fill-power, and the right weight for the way you sleep (the temperature in your bedroom), it is not necessary to take it off the bed in summer. Having a baffle channel style is even better as the filling can be massaged down to the bottom of the comforter leaving it extra light on top. If you do keep your comforter on the bed all year, this is the time of year you can afford to give it up to take care of it.

If your comforter or featherbed is over 10 years old, or it is very dirty or leaking it should be renovated. Renovation is cleaning the filling and putting it into a new casing. If your pillow is over 5 years old, very stained or leaking, it is time to renovate. Pillows tend to be renovated more often than comforters even when using pillow protectors due to a person's natural hair oils. Extra filling can be added to your comforter, featherbed or pillow if needed at this time, plus if you wish to change your comforter style from a box stitch to a baffled channel, this is an opportune time to do this.

If your down favourites are fairly new and you have access to a clothesline or a flat surface outside, put them out on a sunny warm day when the humidity is low. In some parts of the country that may mean waiting until the first weeks of September. Doing this annually will keep your down products refreshed and remove any excess moisture. You can also do this during the winter in the clothes dryer (if you missed doing it in the spring or summer), but only with a pillow or comforter as featherbeds would not fit, even in a commercial dryer. Set the dryer on low and add 2 clean tennis balls or a clean sneaker. This will re-fluff your downs and remove any excess moisture.

Always protect your down comforter with a duvet cover, protect your pillows with high thread count cotton zippered protectors and your featherbed with a cotton featherbed cover, also with a high thread count. Wash these protective covers every 3 or 4 weeks.

Some other articles of interest in the care of down bedding.