Sterilizing feathers

[Janet M Brown]

Hi There,
Anyone know how to take goose feathers and clean them sufficiently to put in a pillow?
Thanks

[COWS]

Not goose feathers, but my mother saved chicken feathers to make pillows. The plucking the chicken process involved dousing the chicken(dead) in boiling water to loosen the feathers, so the first part of the process was started. At some point my mother boiled the feathers and air dried them. Consumption of chickens varied, but probably one a week was eaten, so there was a steady supply if she wanted to use them. You could try a small lot of feathers to see how it worked out. I'm still sleeping on one of her feather pillows.

COWS

[rags57078]

check with your local dry cleaner

[calliemoonbeam]

Back in the 50s and 60s, my grandmother would set aside the feathers plucked from a chicken (after dunking in boiling water) and spread them on a paper sack to dry.

Then when she had time and a few batches, she would wash them in a tub of soapy water hot but still cool enough to put your hands into, swishing them around and rubbing them between her fingers.

Then she'd do the same in a rinse of clear hot water with a little bit of blueing mixed in. She then drained them as much as possible and laid them out on an oilcloth tablecloth to dry. I don't know if it's true, but she said the blueing helped with the smell and made them softer.

When completely dry, she'd put them into a pillowcase and hang it on the line, with about 5-6 clothespins holding the flapped over top on and beat it with a rug beater to soften them up.

Then she'd sew up a ticking, leaving a hole just big enough to stuff with her hand, sewing the last hole up by whipstitch after stuffing it full. That was how they did whole mattresses and pillows both. Lots of work, but I sure did like sinking down into those feather mattresses in the winter!

[Kmac15]

I stuffed mine in a pillow case for a body pillow and knotted it. I then put it in the washer on delicate and then the dryer. Then wiped them both down with my hand for the ones that escaped
Note.. I have a front loader machine

[Marcia in MT]

Aren't feathers to be used in pillows stripped off their spines (or whatever they're called) first?

[o&itw]

Commercial down producers get many of their feathers from geese, because that is what is most available. They process the feathers so the can use almost all of them. when one is makeing a pillow from scratch, one usually uses only the "down" feathers which, for all practical purposes is the "belly" feathers. These have the least amount of quill (rachis/vane) per the amount of "äfterfeather" It is the "äfterfeather" that makes the best pillows or clothing. One can wash the feathers with a soap, but it will take most of the natural oils out and the down won't be as good. I don't remember what my mom used... I think she washed them in water and vinegar. I suspect that you could google "down pillowing making "or something similar and get some information.

Duck down is the best.

[fishhead]

Yes I would be careful to avoid removing the oils. I think it's important for maintaining the fluff.

[Tabitha]

You do not need to do a thing if you raised your geese where they had access to water. If they are raised on dry land the feathers will get filthy. We raised loads of geese when I was young. Mother never sterilized them. after a comforter or pillow had been used for years, she would wash them, I think she used something designed for washing wool, and cold water of course. Rinse several times. Airdry, then fluff on cool in the dryer. It worked for my mother. Geese were plucked every six weeks, when the feathers were ripe. You take the belly feathers and under the wings on the back. We did not have ducks, so can't say a thing about their feathers. We did not use chicken feathers. Mother said they bunch easy, are heavy and are cold. She did not even consider them. So I took her word for it.