|
|
Questions
How do I clean and care for my Down Comforter?
How do I select a comforter that is right for me?
How do I select a pillow that is right for me?
What are C-Quill Feathers?
What does "Hypoallergenic" mean?
What is "Fill Power" and how is it measured?
What is a Down Alternative Comforter?
What is a Down-Proof Cover?
What is a Pillow Protector?
What is Baffle Box Construction?
What is Crown Construction?
What is Down?
What is Duck Down?
What is Goose Down?
What is Rustic Ridge Blended Down?
What is Rustic Ridge Pure?
What is Siberian Down?
What is Synthetic Down or "Down Alternative"?
What is the Rustic Ridge European Process?
What is Thread Count?
Why are our pillows "hand blown"?
Answers
How do I clean and care for my Down Comforter?
For best results we recommend that you take your comforter to a reputable dry cleaner once a year. Down comforters are also washable if proper care is taken. If you choose to wash your down comforter, we recommend using a large commercial washer and a large commercial dryer at a laundromat. You should be prepared for the comforter to be very heavy after washing and it's often difficult to transfer to the dryer without help. (This is one of the reasons that we recommend commercial dry-cleaning.) We recommend using a very small amount of mild detergent on a luke-warm setting. It is important that the detergent be completely removed before you begin the drying process so an extra rinse cycle is recommended. Set the dryer on low heat or air and put a clean tennis ball in the dryer with the comforter while drying - this will help the down re-loft. From time to time we recommend exposing your comforter to fresh air which also helps the down to re-loft to it’s natural state.
How do I select a comforter that is right for me?
There are really two considerations in selecting a comforter: Warmth and quality. A higher fill power comforter will keep you warmer, and to assist you in selecting your comforter, we list the fill power and the appropriate seasons for each comforter, as well as the quality of the fill and cover materials. Beyond seasonality, you might consider your geographic location and the average temperatures your body will be accustomed to while you are sleeping. If you keep a low temperature in your bedroom, you may want a warmer comforter regardless of season. Other quality considerations include the thread count and weave of the cover material, as well as the amount of fill required to achieve the desired warmth.
How do I select a pillow that is right for me?
To assist you in your selection, we have listed recommended sleeping positions for each pillow, as well as the pillow's relative firmness. Research has shown that 85% of people get the best night's sleep on a medium firm pillow, however this varies with each individual.
What are C-Quill Feathers?
C-Quill feathers are very small, less than 5 centimeters in length, and have a distinct curve or "C" shape to them. The reason we use these feathers in the construction of feather pillows is because a C-Quill feather is much less likely to protrude through the ticking, making it nearly impossible for the feather's quill to poke your skin.
What does "Hypoallergenic" mean?
According to Webster, Hypoallergenic means "to have little likelihood of causing an allergic response." We use this term to describe down that has been cleaned to remove impurities and dust, thus creating an allergen free down. The synthetic products we use in our down-alternative comforters and pillows are also hypoallergenic.
What is "Fill Power" and how is it measured?
Down is measured by it's fill power. This means if you take one ounce of down and compress it, when it's released it will expand and fill so many cubic inches, hence the term fill power, or loft. The higher the fill power, the more warmth is trapped inside the comforter, so the warmer the comforter. Siberian down is considered the best down in the world because it has the highest loft and gives the comforter a soft, lofty look. Comforters with lesser quality down will not have the loft or fill power and will not be as warm given the same amount of fill. For example, if you have two comforters, one with 50 ounces of 550 fill power down, and the other with 30 ounces of 700 fill power down, they will keep you equally warm but the lesser quality 550 fill power comforter will be much heavier.
What is a Down Alternative Comforter?
This term is used to describe a comforter or blanket that is not filled with natural down, but rather a man made fiber, usually polyester. Down Alternative comforters are considered hypo-allergenic and are usually washable. All of our Rustic Ridge Down Alternative Comforters are filled with Trillium, which is very fine polyester fiber possessing the same lofting properties of natural down. Fill power in Down Alternative Comforters and Blankets usually range from 500 to 600.
What is a Down-Proof Cover?
The fabric used in the ticks, or covers, are finished in the mill with a process that prevents the down from leaking through the fabric while still allowing air movement. This is very important because down is a very fine fiber and can leak through most untreated fabrics. Even with this down-proofing process you will always have a little down come through the stitching in the seams, but this should not be more than a few pieces here and there.
What is a Pillow Protector?
A pillow protector is a zippered closure cover that is placed over the pillow before the pillow is inserted into the pillow case. Using a quality pillow protector will keep your pillow clean and fresh considerably longer, and will prevent dust mites from infesting your pillow. Dust mites are a leading producer of allergens in many homes. All of our pillow protectors are anti-allergy and dust-mite proof and are shipped FREE with every pillow purchase!
What is Baffle Box Construction?
A baffle is a rigid accordion-like fabric that is inserted in the box in a comforter. As the down fiber begins to loft, the baffle expands and permits the down to loft and expand to it’s maximum potential in the box. Unlike scroll and diamond boxes, both baffle box and sewn box construction prevent the down from shifting, thus eliminating cold spots in the comforter. We have been in the down comforter business for many years and we believe that to achieve maximum loft and warmth, that the best construction is either baffle box or sewn box throughout the entire comforter. Some manufacturers will have a separate elongated box sewn between the boxes and outer edge of the comforter. In our experience, this construction permits the down to shift and thus create cold pockets along the outer edges of the comforter.
What is Crown Construction?
Crown construction refers to the rounded corners on our bed pillows. A crown construction raises the head thus permitting better blood flow to the brain while sleeping. Many other pillows have a flat edge construction which does not raise the headas well. Once you have experienced sleeping on a crown construction pillow it is almost impossible to return to a flat edge pillow and get a restful night’s sleep.
What is Down?
Down is a highly insulating fiber found under the feathers of geese and ducks. It looks like little cotton balls and has a round center called plumage, with thousands of tiny fibers radiating from it's core. These fibers link to other down plumules trapping heat and air, which provides the insulation that keeps the ducks and geese warm. Down is what makes it possible for geese and ducks to swim in freezing water without turning into Popsicles! Down is only found on the belly and chest of geese and ducks, and makes up only 12-15% of the bird's total feather weight.
What is Duck Down?
Small clusters of down from the chest and bellies of ducks. At Rustic Ridge we use only European Ducks that are raised specifically for down production, and are not used for cooking. The down is hand harvested from these ducks; it takes approximately 4 months for a duck to produce quality down.
What is Goose Down?
Larger clusters of down from the chest and bellies of European Geese. Like the ducks, these geese are only used for down production and are not used in the food industry. The down is hand harvested from these birds and it takes approximately 6 months for a goose to grown quality down. The geese live about 14 months and when they die parts of their body are used in the medical field. These birds also produce small 4.5 centimeter C-Quill Feathers that we use in our feather pillows.
What is Rustic Ridge Blended Down?
This is an exclusive blend of down produced in one of our manufacturing plants. We take European Goose and Duck Down and blend it with Grey Goose Down from the Pyranees Mountain region in France. This is a very fine down, light weight with superior lofting power (Fill Power). We consider this blend of down one of the finest in the world.
What is Rustic Ridge Pure?
Our down has gone through a cleaning process that has an anit-mcrocbial treatement that makes it highly resistant to the growth of bacteria, molds, mildew and fungus. In addition, our process assures you that the down in our comforters are free from chemical substances that may negatively effect human health. After the cleaning and degreasing process to remove all impurties, our down is left in it’s natural state. We believe that our Rustic Ridge Pure process makes our down one of the finest in the industry.
What is Siberian Down?
Our factories have been in the down manufacturing business since 1987. Contrary to statements made on another web site, there is a product called Siberian Down. This is down that is hand-harvested from Geese and Ducks that are bred only for down production and not for the food industry. It usually takes about 4 months for a duck to mature and 6 months for a geese to fully mature. After maturity, the down is harvested for used in the down industry and it is considered the finest down in the world because of it’s small fine fiber and high lofting power, thus creating incredible warmth and comfort. A duck usually lives for one year and a goose lives approximately 14 months. They are not used in the food processing industry, however oftentimes their livers are used in the medical field. After harvesting, this down is shipped to France for the washing and degreasing process. In this process the down and feathers are separted and washed many times to remove the impurities and make the resulting product hypoallergenic. It is left in it’s natural state and is not treated with harsh chemicals. Once it is pure it is imported to the United States from France. Other countries of origin of down are China, Canada, Poland, Hungary, Iceland and the US. The majority of the down that is produced in the world today comes from China. These birds are killed after 90 days for their food, the down and feathers are a by product of the food industry. It is not considered as fine a down as from the other countries, but because of the price difference it is widely used by down product manufacturers.
What is Synthetic Down or "Down Alternative"?
Synthetic down is a man-made fiber with many of the properties of down. Like down, synthetic down is made up of small ball-like clusters that cling together like down to trap body heat when used inside a comforter cover. Because of this property of trapping body heat, it should only be used inside of a 100% cotton cover so that body moisture can pass through the fabric and not become trapped, which could cause you to have that sweaty feeling, and could allow the growth of mold within the comforter. While synthetic products do not boast the long useful life of natural down products, some of our customers choose synthetic down because of allergies to natural fibers, or because synthetic fiber products are washable.
What is the Rustic Ridge European Process?
This is an exclusive process that is only found in products manufactured in our plant. In this process we seal the inside of the cover to prevent soil, moisture and body oils from penetrating inside to the fiber.
What is Thread Count?
Thread Count (often abreviated as "TC") is the number of threads per square inch in a piece of cloth. The higher the thread count, usually the softer the fabric. In pillows and comforters, thread count usually refers to the cover, which is called the “ticking.” Unfortunately, there are two ways to state thread count, single pik and double pik. Single pik is more accurate because this is the actual threads per square inch. Often times when a thread count is listed at 600 or higher, it is actually a double pik thread count, and when converted to single pik is really only 300TC. At Rustic Ridge, all thread counts advertised are single pik, showing the actual number of threads per square inch.
Why are our pillows "hand blown"?
All of our pillows are hand blown to meet specific fill requirements. In this process the open end of the pillow is inserted into the blowing machine and the fiber is hand blown into the pillow. We then weigh each pillow before it is sewn shut. This permits us to manufacture the pillow with a crown construction for a wonderful sleeping experience. The majority of pillows sold today are manufactured with the garnetted process. In this process the polyester fiber strands are wrapped around a board to form a cluster of polyester. The board is then removed and the polyester is insertered into a cover and sewn closed. A garnetted pillow will never loft because of the strand construction, thus it will always be flat. After a few months of use, the fiber usually begins to separate and the pillow becomes flatter with no support to the head. Also, a garnetted pillow cannot be made with a crown construction.
|