How Often Should I Clean My Doona?
It’s easy to tell when your benchtops or floors need cleaning; food stains, spills, and dust are obvious to spot and can be simply wiped down, vacuumed or mopped. From a very young age, we are all routinely taught to wash our underwear after every wear, to wash our clothes regularly (which can also mean after each wear), and we all (at least we all should) wash our bed linen weekly. But, how often should we be washing or dry cleaning our doona?
Did you know that humans can sweat up to 200 ml of liquid each and every night? That sweat may be soaking into your bedding during the night, going through the linens, and absorbing straight into your doona. It’s no wonder that pests like dust mites love our beds…and all the more reason to clean your linen regularly!
But, before you go ahead and throw your doona straight in the washing machine, it’s important to first take a good look at the care label and follow the cleaning instructions to the tee. It may say that the doona is machine washable up to 60 degrees; or, it may say ‘Dry Clean Only’, a common care label for the cleaning of doonas. If your doona is dry clean only, then it’s best to let the professionals handle it. Master Dry Cleaners provide doona dry cleaning services in Melbourne on a regular basis, with great results. These services help to eliminate dust mites and will simultaneously freshen your doona, so you can enjoy that freshly cleaned smell.
Doona Cleaning Tips
If your washing machine is large enough (and the care label permits), then it may be possible to sometimes wash your doona at home. However, drying a doona is tricky, as line drying can take up to a week! Most domestic dryers are too small to properly dry a doona and could create a fire risk. The better alternative is to use a laundromat or professional dry cleaner.
If your doona is made of a synthetic fibre it can more than likely be washed. However, if your doona is made of a natural fibre, such as wool or silk, then it is probably dry clean only. Master Dry Cleaners have the facilities to clean all doonas, no matter the size or care label instructions. In addition to dry cleaning, we also have the capacity to wash and dry doonas, with a large commercial grade dryer and washers onsite. So, either way, we can handle all your doona cleaning needs.
We would recommend cleaning your doona at least once every 6 months, although a good care strategy would be every quarter.
Case Study
Sharon lives in Hawthorn East and had used our specialist dry cleaning services on a number of occasions, including the preservation of her wedding gown a few years back. She was a regular, loyal customer who we’d see in our Glenferrie Road store on an almost weekly basis: having her business attire dry cleaned, as well as getting her husband’s tradie uniform and the kids St Josephs school uniforms cleaned.
Recently, Sharon came into the store at her wit’s end, to drop off her kid’s doonas. Her son James had been up all night struggling with his asthma, and eventually, she had to call an ambulance. James had recovered well with some treatment, after which Sharon had explained to the nurse how she had tried everything to prevent and manage James’ asthma. The nurse empathised, as she had experienced the same thing with her daughter and said she had found that dust mites in the home were often the cause of the issue. Sharon immediately denied this could be the problem, explaining to the nurse that their home is professionally cleaned twice a week. But then the nurse asked about the bedding. It turned out that while the sheets and covers of the bedding were being washed regularly, the doonas had never been cleaned. They were simply too big for the cleaner to take care of in the home washing machine. So, Sharon came into our store in desperation, wanting the doonas dry cleaned as a last resort.
Yesterday, Sharon came back into the store with fantastic news! She explained that since having the doonas cleaned, her son has barely needed his asthma spray, and his eczema has even started clearing up too.
While we don’t claim to be miracle healers and can’t categorically state that cleaning your doona is going to fix your asthma or eczema, we can confidently tell you that dust mites are commonly found to be the trigger for these conditions. Dust mites in the bed are often the biggest issue, along with soft toys and furnishings. It requires temperatures greater than 55°C to kill mites, and proper cleaning will also wash away the allergen they produce.
If you’re interested in having your doonas cleaned, call Master Dry Cleaners on 1300 885 245 to find your nearest store or ask us about our FREE Pick-up and Delivery service.
