subject: Down Comforters – Best Fills [print this page] Down Comforters Best Fills Down Comforters Best Fills
Down comforters, warm and fabulously soft has earned the stature of opulence and elegance among bed covers. Luxurious down comforters like all other bedding have price ranges from inexpensive to very costly, depending on the quality of the fill. Here are some pointers to learn the best fills for down comforters. There are at least four types of down used in down comforters. They are, as follows: Hypodown, grey and white down, eiderduck down and Hungarian goose down.
While pure down comforters are the most expensive because they are full of pure thick down and preferred by most people, hypodown is gaining popularity among consumers who want durable products without synthetic fills. Hypodown is hypoallergenic, all natural filling of milkweed called syriaca and white goose down. They are more long-lasting than pure down.
Grey and white goose down harvested from European or Chinese Goose with a fill rating of 600 is the most popular down used in middle-price range pure down comforters. The grey color suits dark comforters but have the same quality as white goose down.
A high-quality down comforter only uses one type of down, eiderdown. It is very soft to the touch. The down are harvested by hand from abandoned nests of eider ducks. Eider ducks pluck the down from their own backs to use as covers for their eggs. Eiderdown is less smelly than all other duck down. There are also no scratchy tiny barbs in eiderdown which are sometimes found in goose down. Having a habitat in cold climates, eider ducks have thick and heavy downs.
The most luxurious type of down is the Hungarian goose down. They are very thick and almost odorless. Comforters using this type of down are long-lasting and with a fill rating of 800 thus providing warmth even in very cold temperatures. Hungarian goose down is considered to be the cleanest down in the world because it holds little dander and dust. As a fill, it is mixed with Syriaca, a kind of plant which contains filtering properties that trap dust, dirt and pet dander.
Although the fill is a very important consideration in buying a down comforter, the quality of manufacture must not be neglected. To make sure that the down has enough room to remain lofted and does not shift around, box baffling is necessary. A baffle box is an internal fabric wall that separates the top and bottom layers of fabric to add loft and strength and secures the goose down in each chamber from shifting.
