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As old-timers here know, I have no idea what a comforter is.
I donāt understand this at all. In my two apartments and in my home, Iāve always used duvets. I co-host for a neighbour and he uses sheets and blankets. It takes ages to make the bed in his apartment with all the various bits - sheets blankets, bedspread and so on.
In my apartments and at home, itās so much quicker - fitted sheet, duvets, done.
My average stay is just a few days and some days I have a turnover in both apartments. Iām not sure that I could do that if I had to use sheets, blankets, comforter (whatever that is. )
I donāt find putting covers on duvets to be especially time consuming or difficult, either. But I donāt deal with them very often, as I live where it is usually warm year round. My guest room uses a top sheet and a blanket. The duvet is only put out in the winter if there are unusually cold nights.
My own duvet cover I only wash once a season. I use a top sheet with the duvet, so the duvet cover itself doesnāt come in contact with my body.
Jaquo, a comforter is just a quilt- itās nothing mysterious. Two pieces of fabric with a layer of batting between them, all sewn together.
Hey Jaquoā
So, a lot of these words get used interchangeably, so it can get confusing. For all intents and purposes, a duvet is basically the same thing as a comforter. Since you wouldnāt really want to stick a duvet (or a comforter) in the wash in between each guest, many people end up getting duvet covers, which are nice and thin, and easy to launder. The time-consuming part for me is taking off those covers and washing them after every guest, then putting them back on. Instead, with the coverlets (quiltlets), you just throw them in the wash, because theyāre much thinner. I typically just have a sheet and the coverlet. If guests get cold, they just throw an extra blanket on top (I donāt wash these terribly often, since they rarely actually touch guests).
I know with duvet covers on top of duvets, some people donāt bother putting on a top sheet, but I think that doesnāt happen much in the US. Hope all this makes sense!
How do you know? I used to think as you do but then was assailed by graphic descriptions of dirty, sweaty body parts tossing and turning though multiple layers of bedding through the night.
Also I canāt wait for Jaquoās response to your explanation. She knows perfectly well what a comforter isā¦just like I know what āteaā is. LOL.
A duvet is not the same thing as a comforter. (Weāve been having this conversation here for years. )
Duvets arenāt washed after every guest - unless there has been a spill. Duvet covers, on the other hand, do get laundered after every guest. Think of the duvet as the pillow and the duvet cover as the pillowcase.
The duvet, on the other hand, should be washed every couple of weeks - I might leave it for four weeks if Iāve got double turnover daysā¦
Because the duvet cover is washed after every guest, then there is no need for a top sheet. Also, as I said above, changing the duvet cover is so much quicker and easier than the sheets and blankets thing.
I think that most good hotels in the US now use duvets as they are more hygienic and look so much better. I use white duvet covers in the rentals and at home and they look great - and very clean and crisp.
Hereās how I categorize those different types of covers:
Quilt: 2 layers of fabric with a layer of batting in between, all sewn together, through all 3 layers. Batting is usually fairly thin, and may be cotton or synthetic.
Comforter: Same as a quilt, but thicker.
Duvet- usually stuffed with down, feathers, or a combo of those. Sewn in large squares or channels, through the 2 layers of fabric, with the stuffing free floating within those.
Personally, I hate duvets used without a top sheet. Lots of people get warmer when they are sleeping and throw off a layer. If you only have the duvet to cover with, itās too hot, and then you have no cover at all.
And as I mentioned before, when just dealing with my own bed, which has a top sheet and duvet, I only wash the duvet cover once a season, as I know it isnāt in contact with my body. Why would I want to wash a duvet cover every time I changed my bedding, which is like washing 2 top sheets, when I could only wash one?
But what Iāve seen in hotels is not a fully enclosed cover, but a heavy white sheet over and under the duvet. I imagine it speeds up the housekeeping. I think about this ongoing discussion whenever I see it.
Mica, I was in a resort in the Caribbean and they also had duvets just like you mentioned, top and botton flat sheets and duvet in the middle.
PS I love your name. I had a beautiful kitten named Mica. Named her Mica because I was told it meant blossoming flower in Japanese.
I think that when weāre talking about our own bed, itās a different thing. Often my own apartment is pretty scruffy but by the time Iāve cleaned three apartments, I donāt have the heart to do my own.
But for guests, who knows what the previous guests did on that duvet?
Like you, I live in a place that has a nice climate year round and I often stick my limbs out of the bed when Iām asleep. From a guestās point of view, Iād hate to be sleeping with a duvet that had someone elseās sweaty feet or armpits on it.
I probably have too much imagination but sex, slobbering, noses running and all that malarkey make me definitely want to have a freshly cleaned duvet!
Iām not really sure how it would speed things up? Iād love to know though because when Iāve got a double turnover day I need all the help I can get.
I wasnāt suggesting that one not wash the duvet cover for guests when also using a top sheet. I would wash them all. The addition of a top sheet just makes the cover situation more adaptable to a wide range of sleeping habits. I recall a guest post where the guest said she and her husband had miserable sleeps in the place they stayed in Europe, because the duvet would get too hot, and when they tossed it off, they were completely uncovered.
I would really urge hosts who like the āonly duvetā style to rethink that and also have a top sheet available to guests, even if you donāt make up the bed with it.
The hotel-style sheet folded over and under the duvet is commonly called ātriple sheetingā. I donāt like it myself- it would all end up in a messy bunch for me.
Ha! Ahhh, I havenāt been on here long enough to sense the sarcasm from Jacquo, perhaps? You are correct; I donāt always know if the blanket touches guests, but I do take the gamble, use the sniff test, and wash them every couple weeks. They are so rarely used, thankfully.
I still feel like the comforter is basically the same as the duvet. Itās puffy and warm, and too big to wash between guests. And, yes, as I said, the duvet (insert, comforter,etc.) would not be washed between guests. To me, the hassle is taking it out of the duvet cover to wash the coverāway more time-consuming than just having something like a coverlet. Thatās all I was trying to say. I totally understand the top sheet thing, and Iām not sure of your location, but I think many guests in my Utah, USA rental would be weirded out without a top sheet. Iāve found that many hotels here also do the 3-sheet thingamabob. But yes, to each his ownā¦
Throwing a thick blanket or quilt in the dryer on high heat for awhile seems to me like it would kill any germs, if you didnāt want to have to wash it every time. A hot dryer definitely kills any parasites like bedbugs, scabies, and lice.
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