Bedding and Its Care

Extension Bulletin 262 January, 1941 BEDDING AND ITS CARE EXTENSION SERVICE State College of Washington Pullman Washington TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Care of the Mattress --------------------------- ----- ---- -- ---------------------------------- ___ __ 3 Protecting the Mattress ----------------------------- -- ----- --- ----------------------------------- 3 A Cover for the Springs ---------------------------------- --- --- -- -- --------------- ------------- 3 A Mattress Cover ------------------- ---------- -- --- -- -- --------- ---------------- ---------- -- -- ----- -- 5 A Mattress Pad -------------------------- ------ --------------------- ---- ------------------- ---- -------- 6 Pillows and Their Care ----------------------------------------------- ------------- ------ -- ------ 7 Washing Blankets and Pillows ------------------------ -------------------------- ---------- 8 Making a Pillow Protector ------ ---- --------------------------- -- ---------------------- ---- - 9 How to Prepare Raw Wool for Bedding -- -- -- --- ------ ---------- ----- --- --------- 9 Points to Consider in Making Q uilts ------------------------------------------------ 12 Selecting Bed Linen and Blankets ------------------------------- ---- ---------------- - 13 Care of the Bed ------------------ ---------------------------------------- ---- -------------------------- 14 Daily Care of Bed --- -- ------------- -- ----- ------------- ------- ------------------------ --- ------ ------ 15 References -- -------- -- ---------------------------- ---- --- --- ------------------------ --- --- ---- ------------ 16 2 Bedding And Its Care By Alice Sundquist Extension Specialist in Clothing and Textiles Bedding will give long service if it is carefully chosen and given good care. Mattresses, pillows, blankets and comforters re ceive hard wear and are not easily cleaned. Simple protectors which can be laundered frequently can be purchased or made for these articles. Care of the Mattress Mattresses should be aired, beaten, and sunned every few months. This keeps the cotton fluffy and insures a soft and com fortable bed. The mattress must be turned from end to end and from side to side frequently. It is advisable to give the mattress a thorough beating on both sides each time it is turned. Protecting the Mattress A spring cover, mattress slip cover, and a mattress pad will keep a mattress clean. A new mattress should not be used on top of or underneath another mattress. The cotton will lose its fluffiness. A Cover for the Springs A cover for coil bed springs is excellent insurance for the long life of a mattress. It will protect the mattress from rust stains caused by the springs; it will protect the mattress from tears on rough edges of the springs; it will largely eliminate the collection of dust from the floor, making the springs easier to clean; it will make the bed warmer in the winter, since the cold air from the flo or will be cut off; and it will give the bed a more atailored" appearance. Material fo r a spring cover is not expensive. Six-ounce cotton ticking makes a good cover, as does other material which is woven closely enough to be practically dustproof. Closely woven feed or seed sacks or used canvas may be used satisfactorily when avail able. I n addition to t he material for the cover, tape w ill also be needed, to be used in tying the center portion of the cover to the springs. Two yards of tape will be needed. This amount will be suf ficient fo r eight ties spaced six inches apart at the opening. 3 Dimensions of most coil springs are 52" x 730" x 5)1;2". It is best to fit the springs cover, over the springs as it is made to make certain it is the right size. The portion of the cover shown in Figure 1 laps over the top of the springs about 16 inches. Corn ers are then mitered, and an open ing left so that the cover may be slipped off. Either a zipper about 42" long or eight tape ties may be used in closing this opening. Thp e tie& or z.ipper Fig. 1-Top view of springs cover. Figure 2 shows the center piece to be inserted in the square opening shown in Fig. 1. This piece should be about two inches wider and two inches longer than the vacant square, so that the en tire springs will be covered. The ties are to be attached to the springs to prevent the insert from sliding. Since the two portions of the cover are not attached to each other, the cover will "give" with the springs when they are bear-· ing weight. Fig. 2-Piece to be inserted in center of cover. 4 " r----- -, I I I I I I I Figure 3 shows how the I I springs cover will look after the I I piece has been inserted in the cen I I ter. Dotted lines show how the I I excess width and length will be I I I I overlapped by the larger covering. I - .. J ---- t-- .t- ~ Fig. 3-Center piece mserted m top of springs" cover. It extends about two inches under edge of cover and ties loosely to springs. Top view. I'\ Figure 4 shows how the un derside of the springs cover will look, with the zipper fastening or tie extending about 16" under the mattress. If cotton tapes are used, eight will be required, spaced about six inches apart. A Mattress Cover A mattress cover is simply a slip cover or case made to fit over a mattress. Light weight cotton is recommended as the best mat '----------'~--------~~ erial for a mattress cover. This Fig. 4-Bottom view of springs cover. can be washed easily and often. Unless material already on hand, such as old sheets or flour sacks, can be used there is little difference in the cost of buying a mattress cover ready made and buying material for making a cover. If material is purchased for making a cover, buy sheeting 5 (unbleached) which is just the width of the mattress. Shrink new rp.aterial before cutting. Buy enough material to provide for the top and bottom of the mattress and for the boxing and an eight-inch flap at one end. Five yards of 54-inch material will make a mattress cover for a double bed size mattress 54" x 74". Allow generous seams in mak ing the mattress cover. Extra strength and a well-tailored appear ance can be gained by binding the seams with bias binding or they may be french seamed making the seam on the outside. The latter method is not as costly. Make the boxing the depth of the mattress on both sides and on one end. On the other end leave an extra eight inches of mat erial to serve as a flap which can be buttoned over the end of the mattress. Rubber buttons are preferable for this purpose, and from i' six to eight are needed. (Rubber buttons from discarded undergar ments may be used.) With this construction, the mattress cover can be unbuttoned and pulled off the mattress just as a pillow case is removed. The mattress cover should fit more snugly than the spring cover, be cause there is not as much "give" to a mattress as to coil springs; it should fit tightly enough so 0 ~t 0 0 0 .. 0 that there will be no bagginess, , yet loosely enough so that it can be slipped off and on with ease. Fig. 5-A mattress cover. A Mattress Pad A mattress pad is placed over the covered mattress and under the bottom sheet." It protects the mattress from stains and body perspiration. The pad can be bought at a reasonable price or can be made at home from an old quilt or comforter cut down to fit · the mattress and with the edges neatly bound. A pad can be made using a material such as unbleached muslin or flour sacks and a layer of cotton. Mattress pads should come just to the edges of 6 the mattress. They should be _l I rounded on the corners and about I I I the thickness of a cotton quilt. From a pound to a pound and I I I l 1 I - one-half of dry, clean, long staple 11 2 x 2."qui~ted I squares cotton is needed for a mattress · I I I I I I - pad. The pad should be quilted I I f- - r- -- sufficiently to hold the cotton in place when laundered; when prac tical the pad may be quilted on a ,_.~ sewing machine. See Figure 6. I I It may be quilted in straight or It ,_ diagonal lines which make ap proximately two inch squares . •~ 1-r-- liT I The mattress pad should be bound I w ith a bias binding. Whip the Fig. 6-A mattress pad. binding down by hand on t he wrong side of t he pad Pillows and Their Care Feathers of different types, down, and kapok are used fo r fill ing pillows. T he type and quality of feathers used make a g reat difference in the quality of pillows made from t hem. All down (goose or duck) makes the lightest, softest, fluffiest, and most lux urious pillows. Down in combination w ith waterfowl feathers (goose preferable to duck) makes an excellent pillow (75 per cent down and 25 per cent small white goose feathers) . A good pillow is one filled with 30 per cent down and 70 per cent quali ty goose fe athers. One hundred per cent goose feathers rate next. D uck feathers are not quite so strong, elastic, or fluffy as goose feathers. Chicken and turkey feathers are lower in quality. Kapok is a vegetable fib er. It is light and flu ffy, but it deter iorates rather quickly and forms into wads. It is a satisfactory pillow fi lling only fo r persons who are allergic to feathers. A down pillow, size 21 inches x 27 inches, should w eigh about 1 ~ pounds; filled w ith goose feathers, about 2 ~ pounds; and with chicken feathers, about 3 ~ pounds. A good pillow remains full and plump when supported on the palm of the hand. If it collapses and hangs limp and life less, the 7 feathers are either worn; in need of washing; or the pillow is not sufficiently fi lled.

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