Laundry and dry clean
Laundry and dry clean
A spring bedding changeover in Sydney means one thing above all else: clean the winter doona before it goes into storage, not after. Sweat, body oils and skin cells are invisible on a doona but very present. Over six months in a cupboard they oxidise into yellow stains, a stale smell and an open invitation to moths. Do it in the right order and your bedding comes out next winter ready to use. For a quote, email info@washmate.com.au.
There is a specific night every September when the winter doona goes from cosy to stifling and you kick it half off the bed. That is your cue. This guide covers what to clean, how to read tog ratings, and how to store winter bedding so it survives Sydney humidity.
Most Sydney households make the switch in the first two to three weeks of September, once overnight lows settle above about 12 degrees. Watch your own sleep rather than the calendar. If you are waking up hot or pushing the doona off at 2am, it is time. Doing it early also means you beat the seasonal rush for professional doona cleaning.
Because the damage happens in storage. A winter’s worth of perspiration and skin oils sits in the filling, and warm cupboard air turns it into set stains and a musty smell. Silverfish and moths are drawn to exactly those residues. A clean, completely dry doona going into a breathable bag comes out fresh. A dirty one almost never does.
Tog measures thermal insulation, not thickness. As a rough Sydney guide:
Matching tog to season is the easiest fix for broken sleep as the nights warm up.
Strip the bed completely. Wash sheets, pillowcases and washable blankets on the warmest setting their labels allow. Air pillows and the mattress in the spring sun for a few hours. Then deal with the doona, which is where most people go wrong.
King and queen doonas rarely fit a domestic machine properly. Forcing one in leads to poor cleaning, clumped filling and a doona that never dries through, which is a fast track to mould inside the baffles. Down and feather doonas especially need careful handling and thorough drying. Professional doona cleaning starts from $45 and includes a full dry, so it goes into storage genuinely ready. The final price is confirmed after inspection, because it depends on size, filling and any stains.
Breathable cotton bags, never sealed plastic. Plastic traps residual moisture, and in Sydney’s coastal humidity that is what causes mildew and yellowing. Add a natural moth deterrent such as cedar. Keep bedding off concrete garage floors and out of damp under-house spaces, both of which draw moisture straight into natural fillings. A high, ventilated wardrobe shelf is ideal.
If you are tight on space and tempted by vacuum bags, use them only for fully dry synthetic items. Compressing down or feather bedding for months can crush the loft permanently.
A doona that has lost its loft and gone flat, pillows that no longer spring back when folded, or bedding with set-in stains and a smell that will not lift are all telling you their time is up. There is no sense storing something for six months only to throw it out next winter. We will tell you honestly if a doona is past saving before we clean it.
Yes. Pickup and delivery runs across Sydney metro seven days, from $15 per order, as well as drop-off at our Surry Hills and Leichhardt stores. Doonas, heavy blankets and mattress toppers are exactly the items a home laundry struggles with, so hand them over and all you have to do at home is make the bed with your fresh spring layers. Standard turnaround is 3 to 5 business days.
Some doonas can go another season with an airing. Others cannot. Hand it over if you notice any of the following:
Down and feather doonas hold odour and oils longer than synthetics, so they usually need a professional clean every 12 to 18 months even if they look fine.
A professional doona clean starts from $45. A decent replacement queen doona in Sydney typically runs well into the hundreds, and a good down doona much more. Cleaning is almost always the cheaper option for a doona that still has its loft. The exception is a synthetic doona that has gone completely flat, where the filling has broken down and no cleaning will restore it. We will tell you which category yours falls into before we start.
Whatever the filling, the doona is checked for dryness right through before it is bagged. A doona that feels dry on the outside and damp in the middle is the single most common cause of mould in stored bedding.
Sydney homes have some storage traps. Built-in wardrobes on external walls in older Inner West terraces can run damp in winter. Garages in the Eastern Suburbs near the coast carry salt air. Under-house spaces in the North Shore are cool but often humid. If your only storage option is one of these, a breathable bag with a moisture absorber inside, checked once mid-season, is worth the two minutes.
These are the layers people forget because they sit under the sheet and out of sight. A mattress topper or underlay absorbs a whole winter of sweat, skin cells and dust mites, and because it never gets washed it is often the real source of a musty bed. Wool underlays and memory-foam toppers cannot go in a domestic machine: wool felts and shrinks, foam tears and holds water for days. Both need a low-moisture professional clean and proper drying. Mattress protectors are usually machine washable at home, so wash those on the warmest setting the label allows and let them dry fully before remaking the bed.
Send toppers and underlays with the doona in the same spring pickup. They are priced after inspection, because size, fill and any staining change the work. Email a photo to info@washmate.com.au and we will give you an approximate quote before you book.
Usually the first half of September, once you start waking up warm. There is no fixed date. Go by your sleep, and do it early to beat the rush for professional doona cleaning.
Most domestic machines are too small to clean a large doona properly or dry it through. A doona that stays damp inside can grow mould. Professional cleaning from $45 includes a full dry.
Only if it is synthetic and completely dry. Compressing down or feather bedding for months can permanently flatten the loft. Breathable cotton bags are safer for natural fillings.
Yes. WashMate collects doonas, blankets, pillows and bedding across Sydney metro, seven days, from $15 per order, and delivers them back clean. You can also drop in at Surry Hills or Leichhardt.
WashMate doona cleaning starts from $45. The final price is confirmed after inspection, because it depends on size, filling type and any stains. Email a photo to info@washmate.com.au for an approximate quote.
Get the winter doona cleaned and stored properly and your bed is spring-ready in a weekend. Doona cleaning starts from $45, pickup and delivery runs across Sydney metro from $15, and the final price is always confirmed after inspection. Book online, email info@washmate.com.au or call 0403 861 744 and we will confirm what we can do for your timing.
Follow @washmate.sydney on Instagram for before-and-after garment transformations, care tips and a look behind the scenes at how our Sydney team works.
