Causes and Solutions of Down Bedding Odors
2017-08-03
Summer season has come again and it is time to wash your down bedding used throughout the winter season and take out thin comforters. However, sometimes you face unexpected and unpleasant odors from the down bedding after washing. There are even cases where your newly purchased down bedding smells. Why does down smell and what are the precautions to prevent it?
What Makes Down Smell?
1. Storage in an environment with high temperature and humidity
Down is basically composed of a protein called keratin, similar to hair and fleece. Such a protein material, due to the nature of its components, may smell under high humidity. If the environment for producing or storing down bedding has a high temperature and humidity, odors may occur when down bedding that traps humidity inside is kept in a closed space.
Solutions
– Leave your down bedding in a well-ventilated place for a while.
If your down bedding is well manufactured with proper quality control, odors due to humidity decrease after the air in the down & feathers is ventilated through this process.
– Wrap the down bedding with fabric with good ventilation for storage.
The plastic or felt bag provided at the time of purchase is poor in ventilation and is not suitable for long-term storage. In particular, during the rainy season, it is better to regularly dry the bedding or allow the air inside to circulate.
2. Insufficient drying after washing
When washing down bedding, you should pay particular attention to drying. Odors occur when the moisture of down is not sufficiently removed and left for a long time. Depending on temperature and humidity conditions, there is a possibility that decomposition will occur in the worst case.
Solutions
– Use a tumble dryer.
In the case of tumble drying, dry your bedding with a tumble dryer first and then further dry it in a well-ventilated place. It is recommended to pat the bedding to loosen the bunched down & feathers with hands or a rolled-up towel.
– Increase drying effect by using laundry rods, electric fans, etc.
In the case of line drying, dry it on a well-ventilated floor and use a fan to increase drying speed and effect. If you use clotheslines, the down may be clumped on one side due to the weight of moisture, and the drying may be delayed. Use two or more laundry rods or a drying rack that can flatten the down bedding.
<In the case of line drying, it is recommended to use two or more laundry rods>
3. Down processing not properly carried out
The down & feathers plucked from waterfowl contain a large amount of oil and fat, so it is necessary to remove excess oil and fat and leave only an adequate amount by applying appropriate chemicals and processing time. An oil and fat content of about 1.5 to 1.8% is optimal. If oil and fat content remains excessive, down may easily decompose depending on the environment. This causes not only odors but also make fabric turn yellowish, making the product defective. However, if too much oil and fat is removed, the down will lose its elasticity and be easily damaged, which leads to a decrease in fill power. That is why thorough processing by experts is required in the production of down. In addition, if the process of removing landfowl feathers (from chickens or turkeys) is not properly performed during the production process, it may also cause odors. If each process step is not thoroughly and precisely carried out, an odor may occur due to various causes.
Solutions
– Choose a proven down (brand) for a transparent and professional washing process.
Washing process, which is the most important in down processing, greatly affects the quality of down. The down products produced through a thorough and professional washing process have higher quality and are less likely to emit an odor.
<Machines used in washing(left) and drying(right) during down processing>
What if down bedding begins to smell over time?
What if your down bedding begins to smell after you have been using it for a while? The best way to try is to wash the bedding in the proper way and dry it well. If the smell still remains afterward, it may be difficult to solve the problem because it can be attributed to certain defects of the product itself.
What are some common misconceptions about down bedding care?
Since the down bedding market is still in its early stages and this type of bedding has not yet been popularized in some countries, there exist many misconceptions about it.
1. Does down bedding require dry cleaning?
Many believe that expensive bedding products require dry cleaning, which is, however, not recommended for down products. Dry cleaning removes the oil and fat of down, damages down & feathers, and eventually decreases fill power. It is better not to dry-clean down bedding except for contamination that cannot be removed by machine washing.
2. Can fabric deodorizers help remove down smell?
Some people use fabric deodorizers such as Febreze to get rid of the smell from down bedding; however, it is not a recommended solution either. Deodorizers damage down & feathers, resulting in faster propagation of bacteria and germs. As fabric deodorizers only have a temporary deodorant effect and cannot fundamentally remove the cause of odors, it is advised not to use them on down products.
TopDeo, New Kind of Odorless Down
To be able to use odorless down bedding, the most important point is to select products manufactured with thorough processing. Particularly, if you have difficulty making a choice, or if you are overly sensitive to odors, it is recommended to purchase a product with the added function of minimizing odor generation. If you already have down bedding, the best way is to keep your down bedding away from humidity through a practice of regular care and thorough drying to minimize odors.
PRAUDEN has developed special processing methods with a deodorant function such as phytoncide coating and citrus phytoncide coating for customers who are overly sensitive to odors. Recently, it has taken a one step further by releasing “TopDeo,” a special processing approach that can decompose odor components of down to completely eliminate odors.
<TopDeo coated down and the special hang-tag>
Fragrance-treated down products that have been released to the market are made by sprinkling components of a certain fragrance to obscure the original odor of down. In this case, when the product is used over a certain period of time or is repeatedly washed, the fragrance components are removed and the down product may start to smell again. As TopDeo processing removes the fundamental causes of the odor, it does not reoccur after washing or over time. More information about this patent-pending technology can be found here.
By PRAUDEN Living Part Lee Mi-ra/ Choi Wu-jin/ Kim Min-gyeong
