Duvet & Bedding Cleaning in Singapore

Why the fill changes the method

Down, wool, silk and microfibre are four different materials that happen to end up inside similar-looking covers. Treated identically, three of them suffer.

Down

Down works by trapping air in its clusters, so warmth is a function of loft. Wet clusters clump if they are dried fast, and pressing flattens the baffles so the fill no longer sits evenly across the panels. Drying is done low and in stages, and the loft is worked back rather than crushed. A down puffer cleaned and re-lofted by hand shows the same handling on a garment.

Wool

Wool fibres carry surface scales that lift when the fibre is wet and warm; under mechanical action they lock onto neighbouring fibres in a ratchet-like mechanism that is irreversible, and the piece densifies and shrinks. That is why wet wool is not agitated freely. Wool given a shrink-resist treatment, sold as machine-washable or Superwash, has had those scales smoothed or removed, and which of the two you own is rarely obvious from the piece itself.

Silk

Silk is a protein filament, and it is damaged by strong alkalis and by chlorine, so an ordinary high-pH detergent is the wrong tool. Deterioration is also accelerated by heat and moisture, which is why silk fills are cleaned gently and dried under control rather than forced.

Microfibre and standard wadding

The most forgiving of the four, and the reason standard comforters sit at a lower price. They still need full drying: a synthetic fill that comes back damp in Singapore humidity will smell within days.

1. The Woolmark Company: Caring for Wool (scales lift with heat and moisture and lock in a ratchet-like mechanism under mechanical agitation; irreversible entanglement and shrinkage)
2. Canadian Conservation Institute, Note 13/11: Natural Fibres (silk is damaged by strong alkalis and is particularly vulnerable to chlorine; deterioration accelerated by heat and moisture)

Silk bedding: what you own, and why it is difficult to clean

Silk bedding is sold under a dozen names that are not describing the same thing. Two of them matter before anything is cleaned: what the fibre is, and how it was woven.

Mulberry silk and tussah silk

Mulberry silk is the cultivated filament, spun by Bombyx mori raised on mulberry leaves under controlled conditions, which is what makes it fine and even. Tussah, or wild silk, comes from Antheraea moths raised outdoors; it is darker, coarser and more irregular. Most silk bedding sold in Singapore is mulberry, but the two do not behave the same way in cleaning, and the difference is not always declared.

Charmeuse, habotai and the word "satin"

Satin is a weave, not a fibre. Charmeuse is a satin weave with a lustrous face and a matte back, which is what gives silk sheets their drape and their shine. Habotai is a plain weave, lighter and the same on both sides. A set sold as "satin" can be polyester, and polyester satin is cleaned quite differently from silk charmeuse, so we check the fabric rather than the marketing.

Momme, and why weight matters

Momme is the weight measure sellers quote for silk cloth; bedding is commonly sold in the high teens to low twenties. A heavier cloth has more silk per unit of area and takes wear better than a light one. It also holds more water, which is part of why silk bedding is handled piece by piece rather than by the load.

Why silk is difficult to clean

Silk is a protein filament held together, in its raw state, by a gum called sericin, and the things cotton shrugs off are the things that damage it. Strong alkalis and chlorine attack it, which rules out ordinary detergent and any bleach. Sunlight yellows and degrades it, and it is particularly sensitive to ultraviolet. Heat and moisture accelerate the deterioration. Rubbing silk while it is wet can leave chafing or light spots that cannot be corrected, and washing it at home risks dye bleeding, shrinkage, loss of shape and a limp or roughened surface. Weighted silk, finished with metallic salts to add body, is more fragile again.

Why clean sheets matter most on silk

Because with silk, leaving it is not neutral. Perspiration and antiperspirants contain chloride salts that can weaken silk fibres and change the colour, and a perspiration mark that is invisible on the day can oxidise and turn yellow later, with untreated staining doing lasting damage. Sweat and sebum are also the precursors of textile odour: sebum is difficult to remove once it is in the fibres and it feeds the bacteria that produce the smell, and in Singapore, where relative humidity averages over 80 per cent, that process is quick. A silk set is the one piece of bedding where a regular wash is protecting the fabric, not just freshening it.

How we clean silk bedding

It depends on the piece. We look at the fibre, the weave, the dye and the care label, and then either wet clean the set in a controlled, pH-neutral process or dry clean it. There is no single method that suits all silk, and we will tell you which route your set is taking before we start. Silk is quoted after inspection: the bedsheet and pillowcase prices on our list are the starting point, and silk costs more because of the handling it needs.

If a set has already yellowed, bring it in and we will look at it. What caused the yellowing, how long it has been there and what the fabric is all decide how much is achievable. Not always. We do our best, and we tell you what we find.

1. Canadian Conservation Institute, Note 13/11: Natural Fibres (cultivated Bombyx mori and wild tussah silk; fibroin and sericin; damaged by strong alkalis and chlorine; sunlight yellows and degrades silk; particularly sensitive to ultraviolet; weighted silk deteriorates faster)
2. Dry Cleaning and Laundry Institute: Silk Care (perspiration and antiperspirants contain chloride salts that can weaken silk fibres and cause colour changes; rubbing silk while wet can cause chafing or light spots that cannot be corrected; home washing can cause shrinkage, fading, dye bleeding, loss of shape and a limp or rough texture)
3. Brightwell, "Don't Sweat Perspiration Stain Problems", Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service (a perspiration stain may be invisible at first but can oxidise and turn yellow with time; untreated staining may severely damage silk)
4. Van Herreweghen, Amberg, Marques and Callewaert, "Biological and Chemical Processes that Lead to Textile Malodour Development", Microorganisms 8(11) (2020) (sweat and sebum adsorbed on textiles as malodour precursors; sebum components hard to remove and a substrate for microbial growth)