Wash a down duvet at the laundromat Karlsruhe-Oststadt

Look at the care label: it tells you whether the duvet is machine washable and at which temperature. Check the seams as well. If a feather or a bit of down is poking through anywhere, have the duvet sewn up first, otherwise the filling spreads around the drum. Down is best washed with a special down detergent, and you are welcome to bring your own. Fabric softener makes down clump together, so leave it out.

A big duvet needs room so that water and detergent can pass through the filling, which is why Wash&Go Karlsruhe-Oststadt has a large washing machine of 18 kg. Fold the duvet loosely, do not cram it in, and choose the programme printed on the label. Afterwards an extra rinse or a short spin is a good idea so that no detergent stays in the down. There is only one XXL machine here. If it is busy, wash small items such as pillows in an 8 kg machine in the meantime.

Down wants to be dried gently. Pick the mildest setting the dryer offers. Two clean tennis balls or dryer balls that you bring along knock the feathers back into shape. Take the duvet out every now and then, shake it hard and carry on drying until you can no longer feel any lumps. In the 20 kg dryer a down duvet is usually done after 20 to 30 minutes. Every load needs a dryer of its own, so do not squeeze a second item in with the duvet.

XXL washing machine €13.50 plus 20 to 30 minutes of dryer (€3.00 to €4.50): together €16.50 to €18.00. With the Discount card you pay from €12.40 to €13.50 (€10.20 for the XXL machine plus €1.10 per 10 minutes in the dryer). That beats waiting days for a laundry service, especially when you need the duvet back quickly after winter.

From the Gottesauer Platz/BGV stop it is about five minutes on foot. Coming from Durlach you take the S4, S5 or tram line 1 and are here in roughly eleven minutes. A big duvet fits comfortably in a large bag or a rucksack.