Down comforters can feel like the luxury car of the bedding community: highly prized, but difficult to maintain. These incredibly cozy pieces of bedding are inarguably the gold standard for a bed so fluffy you can’t help but jump right in—but we’ve all been warned not to risk getting them wet for fear they’ll be ruined.

If you’re feeling cautious about cleaning your covers, we have you…well, “covered.”

Why Down Is A Good Choice

Let’s talk about why down comforters are so magical.

Down is the undercoat of all waterbirds—super soft and insulating so as to protect our avian friends from the cold temperatures they encounter on top of (or sometimes underneath) water.

In bedding, it provides a lot of the same function: It’s paradoxically lightweight and incredibly warm. In birds, down provides a layer of insulation that doesn’t get weighed down with moisture as the feathers themselves are a bit hydrophobic and don’t retain water.

What To Know About Cleaning Down Comforters

You can understand, then, why washing a down comforter has gotten such a bad reputation. Putting a water-resistant item in the washing machine can lead to clumps and lumps of feathers as they gather to one side or another—and with that clumping comes a high likelihood of mildew and smelliness. Since good, humanely-sourced down comforters are sometimes on the pricier end, that’s not something anyone wants to risk! As our expert, textile designer Laura Dro of Laura Dro Designs put it: “Bacteria and mold can form in the clumps of down which can do a number on allergies, and no one needs that! ”

It is possible, however, to clean your down comforter without posing the risk of mildew. It just takes a little extra “doing.”

You’ll Need

• A large barrel washing machine or a clean basin
• Gentle detergent
• Tennis balls or wool balls
• A large barrel dryer

Step 1: Determine The Capacity Of Your Washer And Dryer

As you’re considering whether to wash your comforter in your home washing machine, determining the size of the comforter and the capacity of your washer is key. If your comforter is very large—a king or California king sized piece—it will likely need to be dry cleaned. Stuffing a too-large comforter into a too-small drum is almost a guaranteed recipe for mildew to appear. Before you start, make sure you can complete the process at home instead of realizing halfway through that your dryer is too small.

Here’s how to check: If you’re noticing that you’re having to smash your comforter into the drum, the machine is too small. You should be able to comfortably place your item inside with minimal elbow grease.

Step 2: Wash On Delicate With Gentle Detergent

If you’re confident your washer can accommodate your comforter, wash it on your machine’s delicate cycle with a small amount of gentle detergent.

Alternately, you can opt to hand-wash your comforter in a large, clean basin (like a bathtub!). Use the same steps, soaking your comforter, adding a small amount of gentle detergent, and agitating your piece. When you’re finished, allow the comforter to soak for about 20 minutes before gently flat-pressing out excess water—twisting or wringing it out will cause clumps to form.

Step 3: Transfer To Dryer On A Low Heat Setting With Tennis Balls

Like your washer, ensure that your dryer drum is large enough to accommodate the down comforter. Then transfer your down comforter from your large basin or washing machine to the dryer, adding in a couple of tennis balls or wool balls on low heat. Check in on the drying process every half hour or so, adjusting the comforter to ensure that every nook and cranny is getting thoroughly dried.

Why tennis balls? “Tennis balls will help maintain the fluffiness and loft (the fluffy feeling) by bouncing around breaking up the larger clumps,” says Dro. “The tennis balls, or dryer balls that you can purchase, speed up drying as well, which also helps guard against mold, since there’s usually so much fabric to dry!”

While some resources might tell you do leave your down comforter in the sun to dry, that’s actually a no-no. When clumps form and are left without being broken up, mold and smells begin to set in, and once they’re there, they’re pretty impossible to get rid of.

Now that you’re armed with great tips, you can keep your down comforters looking fluffy and long-lasting! Happy down drying!