Great Satin Sheets

What does a person think of when they hear the words “feather pillow”? “Feather pillow” is practically synonymous with luxury, warmth, and comfort. The very finest hotels usually feature feather pillows on their beds.

Feather pillows are not all the same. There can be a remarkable difference in quality and comfort. Perhaps a person who recalls the sharp ends, or quills, of the feathers poking through the cases on their grandparents’ feather pillow ought to revisit the idea of feather down pillows because they will discover that a quality feather pillow is the ultimate in comfort, warmth, and luxury. A feather pillow is stuffed mostly or sometimes entirely with the feathers that are found on the wings and the backs of waterfowl, typically ducks and geese. Unless otherwise marked, only about 5-10% of a feather down pillow will actually contain the down.

Though called down feather pillows, down is technically not a feather. Down is the fluffy layer of ultra-soft plumage that insulates the bird and is found beneath the feathers on the waterfowl. Therefore, the higher the percentage of down that the pillow contains means that the pillow will be that much softer and warmer. Down feather, pillows are the softest and the warmest pillows in the family of feather pillows because they are stuffed with the finest, softest down. Down quality is measured in fill power with higher fill powers offering the lightest, fluffiest, and warmest down so a 500 fill power down pillow will exceed the comfort of a 300 fill power down pillow.

Duck feather pillows are the elite among the elite when it comes to feather pillow quality. Duck feathers are smaller and softer and they do not have the big quills that are sometimes an issue with goose feathers, so the pillows that are made from duck feathers offer superior comfort. The top of the line duck feather pillows are those that have been stuffed with down from a migrating waterfowl, the eider duck.

When it comes to cleaning, care must be taken to not damage the integrity of the feathers in the feather pillow. Acceptable means of lightly cleaning them are carefully shaking them out, or using a vacuum cleaner to go over the outer pillow. Sponging them lightly off is also permissible, but one should never throw a feather pillow into the washing machine as the agitator will put too much stress on it, the chemicals in cleaners could cause the feathers to break down, and wetting the feathers puts them at risk of getting moldy before they dry out, as well as clumping up into bunches that will probably never fluff up nicely again. However, if kept in a good quality case, all that really needs done is to pull the case off and wash it and this will protect the feathers inside the actual pillow. For feather pillows that do need to be cleaned, there are professionals who specialize in cleaning feather pillows and a call to the dry cleaner may be all that a person needs to find a qualified professional to make their pillows like new again.

Feather pillows are soft and moldable which is a benefit often touted by those people who use them. Feather pillow lovers insist that a feather pillow will always be more comfortable than one made from new materials and they love the fact that a feather pillow can be fluffed and bunched into a shape that will fit them better than any memory foam pillow on the market. They are cuddly, but lightweight and durable and provide a great deal of comfort for their cost. To experience the greatest night’s sleep in the true lap of luxury, a person needs to sleep on a feather pillow.