How To Freshen Up Your Comforter Without Washing It

When was the last time you washed your comforter? According to professionals at Mulberrys Garment Care, most comforters need to be washed about every two months, but this depends on your sleeping habits. Using a flat sheet and wearing pajamas to bed helps to create a barrier between you and the comforter, limiting the amount of sweat and skin cells that collect over time. On the other hand, if you sleep with pets in your bed or you're especially sensitive to dust and allergens, you may need to wash your comforter frequently, perhaps monthly. If you're worried that your comforter (or your washing machine) won't live up to such frequent washes, one solution is to purchase a duvet cover. Duvets can easily slip on and off for washing, reducing the need to wash your entire bulky comforter. 

Even if you have a duvet cover, you'll still need to clean your comforter from time to time. Washing a comforter is a major task that can take several hours to complete, and it's frustrating to end up with a lumpy, damp comforter at the end of the day. What should you do if your comforter is made of a delicate material, you don't have time to wash it, or you don't have access to an industrial-sized washing machine? This simple hack will help you quickly refresh your comforter and extend the time between washes. 

To bring new life back into your comforter, simply tumble it dry on low heat for at least half an hour. For extra fluffing power, toss in a few dryer sheets and tennis balls or wool dryer balls to gently beat the blanket as it moves around the dryer drum. Tumble drying won't stop at making your comforter look and feel fluffier; it will also shake out some of the dust, dirt, and loose skin cells that accumulate over time. It's important to remove these allergens from your bedding as often as possible because they can affect your sleep quality and lead to musty odors in your bedroom. 

If your bedding material can handle it, tumble your comforter for at least 20 minutes on high heat. Research published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology shows that tumble drying this way is extremely effective for killing dust mites. If you can't tumble dry your bedding on high heat, consider laying it out in the hot sun for about 3 hours. The fresh air will help to rejuvenate and deodorize the comforter, and prolonged exposure to heat and sunlight is also fatal to dust mites, notes All About Dust Mites.

After your comforter is finished tumbling in the dryer or laying outside in the sun, spritz it with a generous amount of linen spray to keep your bedding smelling fresh. Linen spray, also called pillow mist, is a solution designed to refresh your bedding and give it a light, calming scent. Popular fragrances and essential oils used in linen spray include fresh cotton, lavender, rosewater, and sandalwood. These scents have calming properties to help you sleep soundly at night, and they can help to extend the freshness of your comforter between washes. 

If you don't have a linen spray on hand, Mind Body Green explains how you can make your own with items you probably have at home. Simply mix vodka, distilled water, and about 30 drops of your favorite essential oil in a dark-colored spray bottle. The dark bottle part is important; essential oils can react with UV light and quickly spoil or become toxic, but a dark bottle keeps them protected from sunlight. Don't worry; the vodka in this recipe won't leave your bedroom smelling like a bar. In fact, vodka helps to kill bacteria on your bedding and is odorless once it dries!