# Hope for a down comforter the cat peed on? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 15, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hope-for-a-down-comforter-the-cat-peed-on/331167 "2005-11-15T15:52:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hope-for-a-down-comforter-the-cat-peed-on/331167/1 "2005-11-15T15:52:39Z")
A friend’s cat peed on her expensive genuine down comforter. She fears it cannot be cleaned without ruining the down feathers (liquid cleaner causing them to bunch up). Is there hope to clean it & maintain its quality? ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hope-for-a-down-comforter-the-cat-peed-on/331167/2 "2005-11-15T16:10:46Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > A friend’s cat peed on her expensive genuine down comforter. She fears it cannot be cleaned without ruining the down feathers (liquid cleaner causing them to bunch up). Is there hope to clean it & maintain its quality? I’m pretty sure you can dry clean a down comforter, although you don’t want to do it too often. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hope-for-a-down-comforter-the-cat-peed-on/331167/3 "2005-11-15T16:13:25Z")
> [@PeterWiggen](#): > > I’m pretty sure you can dry clean a down comforter, although you don’t want to do it too often. Ah - this is some manufacturer or something, but there’s some pretty good info on [this site.](http://www.plumeriabay.com/info/Care.html) Here’s some of the good info: > [@](#): > > Featherbeds: Our Featherbeds are very thick (6" to 8" inches, about as practical to wash as a regular mattress!). They should be spot cleaned or dry cleaned only. Use of a featherbed cover is highly recommended. > > We recommend that you wash your down comforter once every few years, and only when necessary. Frequent or improper washing can damage the down clusters, stripping them of their natural oils and causing them to break. Down pillows should be washed once or twice a year, if necessary. > > When it is necessary to launder your down items, we suggest that you use a professional cleaner who is experienced in cleaning down. > > If you do not have a such a cleaner locally, we recommend Blanc Plume. Your down comforter can be dry cleaned, but laundering with water and gentle cleaning solutions specially formulated for down is a preferred method. > > Home style washing machines are not designed to handle large down items. Washing your comforter at home can cause damage to your comforter or to your washer or dryer. We do not recommend it, but should you decide to wash your comforter yourself, follow the method described below for washing down pillows. > > Washing Down Pillows: You can wash your down pillows, but we do not recommend that you do it at home, or in an agitator machine. Use a front loading commercial washer with regular non-bleach detergent. > > Before washing make sure that the fabric is not too old or deteriorated from body oils, or weakened from age. After washing, while the down is wet, you may notice a pungent odor. This is natural with all down products, and will disappear when the down items are completely dry. > > Be certain to dry your items very thoroughly so they don’t mildew. > > It will take about 3 hours to dry 2 pillows, perhaps much longer for a down comforter, using a large commercial dryer on medium heat. Commercial dryers can get very hot and burn your down comforter or pillows, so take them out and fluff regularly when drying and check for overheating. Make sure the comforter or pillows have plenty of room to toss and fluff as they dry. Put a tennis ball or two, in a clean white sock, in with your comforter or pillows to help dry and fluff the down. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hope-for-a-down-comforter-the-cat-peed-on/331167/4 "2005-11-15T16:14:38Z")
It may very well be that there’s _no_ hope for _anything_ a cat has peed on, so your friend shouldn’t get their hopes up too much… Having said that, you can wash down in the washing machine. It’s perfectly fine for down to get wet; ask a goose! 😃 However, it may not be fine to dry clean down. ---
**Author:** ![Tevildo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Tevildo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tevildo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hope-for-a-down-comforter-the-cat-peed-on/331167/5 "2005-11-15T16:23:04Z")
Lesson: Expensive furniture and cats do not go well together. 🙂 I would suggest using _cold_ water (perhaps very dilute ammonia, but, as with any organic stain, DO NOT USE HOT WATER) to get out the worst of the smell/staining - if that fails, professional cleaning is probably indicated. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hope-for-a-down-comforter-the-cat-peed-on/331167/6 "2005-11-15T16:56:56Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > A friend’s cat peed on her expensive genuine down comforter. She fears it cannot be cleaned without ruining the down feathers (liquid cleaner causing them to bunch up). Is there hope to clean it & maintain its quality? I’ve washed down comforters many times and the feathers never bunched up. Well, they do when the comforter is still wet but when it dries, you just fluff it up and it’s back to normal. If she is going to wash it, she might try making a solution of 1/2 water, 1/2 white vinegar. Put in a spray bottle and spray the stain. Let evaporate and the smell is gone. (May take a couple of times.) I have rescued several comforters this way and the smell was completely removed. ---
**Author:** ![charizard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charizard/32/4166_2.png) [@charizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/charizard)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hope-for-a-down-comforter-the-cat-peed-on/331167/7 "2005-11-15T17:21:49Z")
What you need for ANY sort of cat urine stain (or similar sorts of bodily fluids/solids that pet owners and parents are so familiar with) is an enzyme-based cleaner. My favorite is “Outright”, but you’ll find several similar ones at your neighborhood pet store. The enzymes break down the organic material causing the odor/stain, whereas detergents really won’t do the job. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hope-for-a-down-comforter-the-cat-peed-on/331167/8 "2005-11-15T19:53:49Z")
I don’t know about cat-pee, but I did have a friend’s chihuahua pee on my very expensive down comforter one day… on the advice of the [comforter company’s website](http://www.dewoolfsondown.com/faq/faq.php3), I rushed it right down to a laudromat and had them treat the spot with stain remover and wash it (cold water, gentle cycle) and dry it (medium cool) in large commercial machines. Evidently, home washing machines and dryers are too small and will tend to damage the comforter. They said home dryers will scorch the comforter, as there’s not enough room for it to really tumble and fluff it back up, and it develops hot spots. A few weeks later, my own dog got sick and peed on it, too. Straight back to the laundromat. The comforter is good as new. They said the trick to keeping the feathers from clumping was to toss a can or two of tennis balls into the dryer with it, to bounce around and fluff the feathers. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hope-for-a-down-comforter-the-cat-peed-on/331167/9 "2005-11-15T20:30:19Z")
In my experience, cats come and go…but cat piss is forever. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hope-for-a-down-comforter-the-cat-peed-on/331167/10 "2005-11-15T20:44:24Z")
I have had exellent results with Nature’s Miracle. Saturate the affected area (they sell it in a gallon size if need be) and then wash with an appropriate down cleaner, such as Down Wash from Nikwax. Toss a clean tennis ball in the drier with the comforter and it wont clump.