Most synthetic and many feather and down doonas can be machine washed, as long as your machine is big enough and you can dry them all the way through. Check the care label, wash on a gentle cycle in warm water with a little mild detergent, add an extra rinse, and tumble dry on low until the middle is completely dry. Wash the doona itself once or twice a year, and the cover every week with your sheets.
Check the care label first
The label tells you whether the doona can be machine washed, at what temperature, and whether it can go in the dryer. Most synthetic (polyester) doonas can. Many feather and down doonas can too, on a gentle cycle. Wool doonas vary the most: some are machine washable, others are hand wash only.
If the label says Dry Clean Only, take it to a dry cleaner.
Will it fit in your machine?
A doona needs room to move in the drum. Packed in tight, the middle stays dry and the detergent doesn't rinse out. A single doona fits most home front loaders, but a queen or king often needs a bigger drum than a standard 7 to 8kg home machine.
If you have to force it in, it's too big. The large washers and dryers at a laundromat, or a service that uses them, will do a better job.
How to wash it
- Use a gentle, wool or bulky cycle with warm water, unless the label says otherwise
- Use a small amount of mild liquid detergent: too much is hard to rinse out of the filling
- Skip the fabric softener, which flattens down and synthetic fibre
- Add an extra rinse so no detergent stays in the filling
- A front loader is gentler than a top loader with an agitator, which can tear the casing
Drying is the hard part
A doona that feels dry on the outside can still be damp in the middle, and a damp filling soon smells musty or grows mould. Tumble dry on low heat and take it out every 30 minutes or so to shake it and break up the clumps. Two clean tennis balls or dryer balls in the drum help fluff it up.
Feather and down takes longest, often several hours. If you dry it on the line, pick a sunny, breezy day, turn it regularly, and finish it in a dryer if you can.
How often to wash a doona
Once or twice a year is enough for most people, for example when you swap between a summer and a winter doona. Wash it sooner after an illness or a spill, or if you have a dust mite allergy. The cover goes in the wash every week with your sheets, and that's what keeps the doona clean in between.
Sending it out
If your machine is too small or you don't have a dryer, we wash doonas as part of our wash, dry & fold service. We take synthetic, feather and down and wool doonas, plus quilts and other bedding, wash and dry them on commercial-grade machines at our own laundromat, and bring them back folded. Doonas are priced by weight like any other load:
- Single doona: usually a Small load, $49
- Queen doona: usually a Medium load, $67
- King doona: usually a Large load, $95 with free pickup & delivery
We don't take electric blankets, weighted blankets, pillows, mattress toppers, mattress protectors with foam, or anything labelled Dry Clean Only. Small and Medium loads have a $12.50 pickup & delivery fee. All sizes are on our pricing page.
