Caring for Your Alpaca Duvet and Mattress Pad

Quick answers

Can I wash it? No. Not in a machine, not by hand submerged in water.

Can I dry clean it? Yes, sparingly. Not as routine maintenance.

Can I tumble dry it? No, never.

How do I keep it clean? A duvet cover, washed often, does almost all of the work. Air the duvet itself outside a few times a year.

Does it need washing as often as a down duvet? No. Alpaca doesn't hold odours and resists dust mites, so it stays fresh far longer than most fills.

Your first week

It arrived compressed. Your duvet was vacuum packed to keep shipping bulk and cost down. Shake it out well and let it sit for a day before you use it. It will regain its shape on its own.

It may smell faintly of packaging. That clears within a day or two. Airing it outside speeds this up.

The cotton feels stiff. That's the unbleached cotton. It hasn't been chemically softened or treated, so it starts firm and relaxes with use. This is the trade you make for a cover with nothing added to it.

It looks flatter than you expected. Alpaca has less loft than down. If you're coming from a down duvet, this one will look thin by comparison and you may assume something is wrong. Nothing is. Alpaca warms by drape and by trapping heat close to the body rather than by holding a large volume of air. Give it three or four nights before you judge the warmth.

The colour isn't bright white. Unbleached cotton is naturally soft ecru and varies slightly between batches.

Everyday care

Use a duvet cover

This is the single most useful thing you can do. The cover takes the wear, the body oils and the spills, and it goes in the washing machine. The duvet underneath stays clean for years.

Choose a cotton or linen cover, not polyester. A synthetic cover traps moisture against the fill and blocks the breathability you bought the duvet for. If your alpaca duvet feels clammy or too warm, the cover is the first thing to check.

Air it out

Two or three times a year, on a dry day, hang your duvet outside for two or three hours and flip it halfway through. Fresh moving air does more than anything else to refresh the fill. Avoid leaving it in strong direct sun for long stretches. Extended UV can yellow cotton over time. Shade or dappled light on a breezy day is ideal.

No outdoor space? Drape it over a railing, a drying rack or two chair backs in a room with the window open, so air can reach both sides.

Steam it

A handheld garment steamer passed lightly over the surface freshens the cotton between airings. Keep it moving and don't saturate any one spot.

Give it a shake

A quick shake when you make the bed redistributes the fill and keeps it even.

Rotate it

Every few months, turn the duvet end to end. Most people sleep in the same position in the same spot, and rotating spreads that wear across the whole duvet.

What not to do

Don't machine wash it. Water combined with agitation causes alpaca fibres to lock together and felt. The fill turns into dense clumps, the loft disappears, and the damage cannot be undone.

Don't tumble dry it. Same outcome, plus heat damage.

Don't wring or twist it if any part of it gets wet. Wringing felts the fibre just as effectively as a washing machine.

Don't bleach it, and skip stain removers containing bleach or enzymes. Enzyme cleaners are formulated to break down protein, and alpaca (like all hair & wool) is a protein fibre.

Don't dry clean it routinely. Once in a great while is fine. Repeated exposure to dry cleaning solvents may degrade the fibre over time. Think of it as a last resort, not a maintenance schedule.

Don't store it in plastic long term. More on this below.

Spills and spot cleaning

For anything small and surface-level:

Blot up as much as you can with a dry cloth. Press, don't rub.
Mix a little gentle detergent into warm water.
Dampen a cloth with the solution, wring the cloth out well, and work on the spot from the outside inward.
Rinse by blotting with a second cloth dampened with plain water.
Press dry with a towel, then let the area air dry completely before you put the duvet back on the bed.

Keep the water on the cotton and try not to soak through to the fill.

If it gets soaked

A pet accident, a knocked-over glass, a child in the night. The instinct is to put it in the washing machine, and that instinct will destroy the duvet. Here is what to do instead.

Act quickly. Wet alpaca that sits will mildew.
Blot, don't wring. Press towels into the wet area and stand on them if you need to. Replace the towels as they saturate. Never twist or squeeze.
If it needs cleaning as well as drying, work gentle detergent into the area with a damp cloth as described above, then blot with clean water. Use as little liquid as you can.
Dry it flat with airflow on both sides. Outside on a dry breezy day is best. Indoors, lay it over a drying rack with a fan running, or run a dehumidifier in the room. No heaters, no hairdryers, no dryer.
Reshape as it dries. Every few hours, gently pat and separate the fill in the damp area with your hands so it doesn't dry in a lump.
Make sure it is bone dry before storing or covering it. This can take a full day or two. Any residual damp will turn into a musty smell or mildew.

If a large area is affected, or the spill involves something oily, get in touch before you start. info@pacaharmony.ca

Mattress pads

Everything above applies, with three differences.

It can't have a cover, so give it a barrier. Use a fitted sheet or a washable mattress protector over the pad. That layer is what you launder.

Air it more often. A mattress pad absorbs more body moisture than a duvet because you lie directly on it. Strip the bed and let it breathe whenever you get the chance, and give it a proper outdoor airing seasonally.

Rotate and flip it. Same principle as the duvet, more important here because body weight compresses it in the same places every night.

Storing it for the season

Make sure it is completely dry and clean. Moths are drawn to fibre carrying body oils, sweat and skin. A duvet that has been used all winter and put away unaired is the most attractive thing in your linen closet.

Use a breathable cotton bag, an old pillowcase or a cotton storage bag. Not plastic, not a vacuum bag. Sealed plastic traps whatever moisture is in the fill, and sustained compression flattens the loft in a way that takes much longer to recover.

Store it somewhere cool, dry and dark. A linen closet is ideal. Damp basements and hot attics are not.

Add cedar or lavender. Both deter clothes moths. Cedar blocks and rings lose potency as the oil dries out — sand them lightly once a year to bring the scent back.

About moths

Alpaca is a natural protein fibre (like all hair and wool), which means clothes moths will eat it if given the chance. This is worth understanding properly, because it's the one pest issue alpaca doesn't solve on its own.
It's the larvae that do the damage, not the adult moths you see flying. They prefer dark, undisturbed places and soiled fibre.
Signs to watch for: small irregular holes, fine silky webbing, or a gritty sandy residue in the folds.
Prevention is straightforward: store it clean, store it breathable, use cedar or lavender, and take it out to look at it once mid-season. Disturbance alone is a deterrent.
If you do find moths, seal the duvet in a bag and put it in a deep freezer for at least 72 hours. Let it return to room temperature for a day, then repeat the freeze. Two cycles are far more reliable than one, since eggs can survive a single freeze. Air it thoroughly afterward. For a serious infestation, a specialist textile cleaner is the safer route.

Warmth, and adjusting it

Alpaca regulates temperature well, which means most people find one duvet works across more of the year than they expected.

If you're too warm: check your duvet cover first, since a synthetic or high-thread-count sateen cover traps heat that the alpaca would otherwise let go. Then look at what's underneath you. A synthetic mattress or topper does the same thing from below.

If you're too cool: make sure the cover isn't so tight that it compresses the fill, and consider adding an alpaca mattress pad. Warmth from below makes more difference than most people expect.

Weights: There is both an All-Season and Heavy Weight version of our duvets and all Mattress Pads have the same volume of alpaca. The All-Season is sufficient for many people, but those who like to keep their bedrooms cold, who live in a drafty old house or who simply like to be extra cozy usually go for the Heavy. One creative solution for those situations with one bed partner wanting an All-Season and the other wanting a Heavy is to go with 2 Twin Duvets!

How long should it last?

With a cover, regular airing and sensible storage, an alpaca duvet is a long-term purchase rather than a consumable. The fill will settle in the first year and then stay largely as it is.

Over many years the fill can drift toward the areas that get least use. Shaking, rotating and the occasional outdoor airing largely prevent this.

Still have a question?

We'd rather answer it than have you guess. info@pacaharmony.ca | 519-827-0939

Your duvet was handmade in Arequipa, Peru, filled with alpaca from small family farms in the Andes, and covered in unbleached German cotton.