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Thread: 90% down 10%

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    90% down 10%

    I have the chance of getting a blanket that is a grade 1 goose 90% down 10% feather mix. Could i cut this out and use this as a filler for my diy under quilt and if so what is the best way of washing the mix before i use it.

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    Senior Member turnerminator's Avatar
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    Yes you can.

    I'd recommend washing it in Nikwax down wash in the machine or the bath and then harvest it from the quilt. Wool and silk detergent will also work. Non bio will aslo do it but I think you'll be better treating it with some love.

    Theres lots of tips on here about harvesting down without turning the house into an explosion in a feather factory. I put a tent up in the house, don a dustmask and then take out the down.

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    so is the mix of 90% 10% any good or would it be better to buy 100% down

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    Senior Member BrianWillan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by simonmx23 View Post
    so is the mix of 90% 10% any good or would it be better to buy 100% down
    If you have some time on your hands, you could pick out the feathers from the down to up the down to feather ratio. The other issue is the fill power of the down to begin with. Just because it is 90% down, doesn't mean that it will be of the same quality as 800 or 900 fill power down. For blankets, 550 fill power or less would be common.

    Cheers

    Brian
    Good judgment comes from experience, and often experience comes from bad judgment. - Unknown

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    Brian how can I tell what fill power it is

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    Senior Member turnerminator's Avatar
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    There may be a label on it with the fillpower. Is the product still for sale? Can you check the manufacturers or vendors website?

    If you want maximum performance, theres no substitute for high quality down but its not cheap. Your quilt is unlikely to be high quality unless its £300 plus.

    FWIW, 100% down can be up to 10% feathers by law. Its impossible to remove all feathers and the best you'll find anywhere is 96/4.

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    Senior Member Ramblinrev's Avatar
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    Never use laundry detergent (eg Tide and similar ilk) to wash down. It strips the oils and makes the down brittle. Use a special down cleaner (preferred) or something like Ivory Snow _soap_.

    I personally recommend a commercial size front loader washing machine and a commercial sized dryer.
    Wash the whole bag/quilt whatever. DO NOT try to wash the down right after harvest. Then harvest it and stuff your little heart away.
    I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.

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    Senior Member BrianWillan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by simonmx23 View Post
    Brian how can I tell what fill power it is
    Hopefully that information is stated on the label of the blanket. Fill power is the amount of volume in cubic inches that 1 ounce of down will fill. It gets a little more scientific than that. Place your 1 oz of down in a box, mark the height that the down gets to. Then measure the length, width and height to the mark you made (in inches) and multiply all 3 numbers together and the result will give you the approximate fill power of the down.

    I hope this helps.

    Cheers

    Brian
    Good judgment comes from experience, and often experience comes from bad judgment. - Unknown

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    Senior Member AaronAlso's Avatar
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    While I'm not saying this is the case here. I have 2 items (vests) that where marketed as 80/20 down. When they reached me they are both clearly labeled 800FP.

    Generally speaking the longer the down hairs/fibers/whatever and the less feathers in the mixture the more it's fill power.

    Based on my experience, I would assume that a 90/10 (down/feather) item would be of sufficient quality. The one caveat would be to ensure that it's not mislabeled and is actually 10% down 90% feather which is a common fill used in cheaper pillows sometimes labelled as "down".
    "Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." -Plato

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    it does say 90% down 10% feather and it is also white duck down. So this should be ok. I will only be using it to -3oc and no lower

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