Wool Duvets - The Ultimate Buying Guide

Wool bedding - duvets, mattress toppers and pillows - is becoming increasingly popular especially among the lovely ladies of a certain age. This is because the wool wages war on those dreadful, often debilitating, night sweats. While the wool bedding will not prevent the menopause-related melt downs, it will greatly reduce the disturbing side effects and will help you benefit from a more comfortable refreshing night's sleep.

There are now a baffling array of wool duvets to choose from - all slightly different and many prospective buyers are not even aware of what they should look for or what to avoid when making duvet purchase. Bear in mind there is no such thing as a bad wool duvet but not all wool duvets are equal and like most things in life, you get what you pay for. So here are some pointers.

1. The duvet should never smell like a barn yard. If there is any trace of a rural smell it means that the lanolin has not been washed out of the wool properly and this is unacceptable in bedding products. Ask for a swatch sample of the wool filling and make sure it passes the sniff test. If the brand owner is not prepared to send you a swatch sample, turn your nose up.
2. The wool fill should be light but warm - the highest warmth to weight ratio is achieved by duvets which are filled with short fibred wool. The technical term for a light cloud-like wool is lofty and the more loft in the wool the better. Longer fibred wool, such as Texel, Merino or Alpaca, tends to lie flat in the duvet, making it heavy and dense for the same tog warmth.
3. Research the company's return policy which vary widely between brands. Some require proof of product fault and require the duvet returned, unused, within a limited period in the original packaging. The better quality, more expensive brands will acknowledge that you can only know if a duvet suits you once you have tried it and will offer flexible refunds or exchanges (for a different tog weight). Call and ask before you buy - it will give you a very good guide to the customer service you will get once you have placed your order.
4. The wool should be covered in 100% pure cotton, preferably percale - nothing else. If the cover is anything else (some even have plastic in the fabric blends!) think hard before you buy. Duvets covered in blend fabrics can be noisy - they rustle and crackle and any synthetic covers reduce the wool's ability to absorb moisture and therefore the duvet will not deal as efficiently with the night sweats - a main reason for buying a wool duvet in the first place.
5. The outer cotton cover should be quilted vertically and horizontally across the duvet in approximately 8-10 inch squares. Duvets that are only quilted vertically are less ideal because the wool fill might slip over time and bunch in the duvet.
6. Some wool duvets are machine washable, others are dry clean only. Washable duvets will probably still need to go to the dry cleaner since it is unlikely that your washing machine will be big enough to take a king or super king duvet. Further, they probably won't be able to go into a tumble dryer since this might felt the wool and ruin the duvet. Can you imagine the weight of a wet king or super king size duvet and effort needed to haul it onto drying line? Dry cleaning works so long as you take your duvet to a reputable cleaner and they pay attention to the 'dry clean only' label. Wool 'breathes' so regular dry cleaning is not necessary and only needs doing if there has been an accident or spill on the duvet. In general just airing a duvet weekly on linen change is sufficient to keep your wool duvet fresh and clean.
7. Have you thought about trying a wool duvet before you buy? Ideally you want to fully experience a company's wool bedding as part of the buying process. When to talk to a duvet company, ask if there is a hotel, holiday cottage or B&B where you can stay, that is fully kitted out with their wool bedding. They do exist and once you have tried a wool duvet out for yourself, it is likely that you will fall in love and wonder why you didn't opt for wool years ago.

Visit us online: Southdown Duvets

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