How Much Does It Cost to Wash a Comforter in Brooklyn? (Hint: Skip the Dry Cleaner)

Did you get a crazy quote for your comforter? Was it more than the comforter?

We hear this a lot at the counter, usually from someone holding a dry-cleaning estimate that made their eyes water. And here's the part that surprises almost everyone: believe it or not, most down comforters are best washed in a large washing machine.

Check the care label on your comforter right now. Most comforters sold today, including most down and down-alternative ones, are machine washable. What they actually need isn't dry-cleaning solvent (which can strip the natural oils out of down fill over time). It's a washing machine big enough to do the job right — and a down-specific detergent.

Enlist your dry cleaner when heavy staining is present and stain removal is the priority.

What it costs at your Williamsburg laundromat, Laundry on Keap

Wash it yourself in our oversized machines from just $7. Our biggest Dexters give a queen or king comforter room to actually float and tumble, and a full cycle runs about 25 minutes. You'll likely need an hour of dry time and a down-specific detergent — we can sell you a dose of ours if needed, just ask at the counter.

Note: don't use your standard detergent — many products contain enzymes or other additives that are not appropriate for down.

Or hand it to us. Comforter washing starts at $17 for down-alternative and up-to-medium-sized comforters, through $24 for a queen-sized down comforter. We gently treat stains on the cover, cold wash the comforter with a specially formulated down detergent, air dry overnight, and dry on low to fluff.

We also wash up to two down pillows, down garments, or jackets for $24.

Add your laundry and regular bedding to be washed by the pound with your normal load at $1.55/lb with wash & fold.

We keep these prices down on purpose. Everyone wants to stay clean, and a comforter should get washed a few times a year — not once a decade because cleaning it costs as much as dinner for two. Keeping it affordable means you'll come back more often, and that's exactly how we like it.

Why your comforter can't be washed at home (it's not about the dirt)

A queen comforter stuffed into a compact home washer can't tumble — it rotates as one soaked lump. Detergent never circulates through the fill, the rinse can't flush it out, and the spin can't balance it, so the machine strains and hands you a dripping, half-clean blob. Then it goes into a small home dryer where the outside cooks while the fill stays damp — and a damp-inside comforter is how you get that musty smell (and with down, clumped fill that never lofts back up).

Our oversized American-made Dexter machines at 449 Keap St have stainless steel drums with room for a king comforter to actually float and tumble. Precise metered water fills, true hot water when the care label calls for it, and a high-speed extract that pulls most of the water out before drying.

The 3-question comforter test

Does the care label say machine washable? Wash it — no dry cleaner needed.

Does it say dry clean only (silk shell, wool fill, vintage)? Take it to a dry cleaner.

Not sure or no label? Bring it in and ask. We handle comforters every single day and we'll tell you straight.

Three ways to get it done

Send it in with your laundry — add it to a wash & fold order and we'll handle everything. Schedule a Pickup & Delivery

Drop it off — we're at 449 Keap St, between Hope and Ainslie, open 7 days, 8 AM–10 PM. Get Directions

Or DIY in our store — wash it yourself in our biggest machines from $7. Self-Serve Details

Your comforter goes months between washes and touches your face eight hours a night. Now that it doesn't cost a fortune, there's no reason to put it off another season.