Did you know that the pillow you lay your head on every night may be increasing your exposure to health problems?
Keeping your duvet and pillow for longer than advised increases the chances of having restless nights and furthermore risks sleeping for long periods without the correct level of support to the neck and head. It is suggested by the Sleep Council that pillows should be changed every 2 years and duvets every 5 years.
We worked with the experts at Naturalmat to share the top 5 reasons why you might need to change your duvet and pillows.
1) It looks overused
Of course, your duvet will differ to when you had first bought it as it is in daily use. The filling in your duvet might lose springiness, its ability to trap air and maintain a comfortable body temperature. These are major signs that it need to be changed.
2) It is the wrong tog rating
If you’re struggling to keep warm or to get to sleep during the winter months, then it could be because your duvet is too low a tog. If you have a summer duvet with a low tog it is suggested to clean and store it away in exchange for a warmer, winter one. The Goose Down Duvet comes in two ratings, one for Winter (9 tog) and one for Summer (4.5 tog).
3) It is impractical to wash
If the duvet has synthetic filling, wash it at 60C to kill off dust mites, feather fillings need professional dry cleaning twice a year. Cleaning them is particularly important for people who suffer from asthma or other respiratory ailments. Duvets can be impractical to wash due to the size and the inconvenience of washing and drying as most people choose to throw away their bedding to replace it. A top tip when drying your duvet is to pop a couple of tennis balls into the machine, this will give you a lovely fluffy duvet.
4) Hygiene issues
A third of the weight of any two‑year‑old pillow is made up of dead skin and dust mite faeces, duvets can in fact harbor live and dead dust mites, skin scales and fungus. If they are not changed after two years, they can lead to allergies such as rhinitis.
5) It feels thin and lumpy
The quality of your duvet will determine how long you should keep it, with a higher quality duvet tending to last remotely longer. If it feels limp this is due to the filling being compressed which will mean it can’t trap air and maintain your body temperature correctly.
If it feels lumpy this is due to the filling being unevenly spread but this can happen after an incorrect wash so be sure to check if your duvet is marked dry clean only. The Original Wool Duvet is a natural insulant because of the main ingredient used, wool. This means you can be nice and cosy without the extra plushness of traditional duvets, it also has cotton ties around the edges meaning if the temperature drops you can tie them together!
