Resalvaging down from old clothes and bedding

[Marshmallow]

I found an old comforter at the thrift shop whose fabric had definitely seen better days. It was filled with good, quality down. Having priced down clothing and pillows lately, I thought I would buy the comforter for under $5 and make down pillows. It wasn't easy, and I did have down everywhere, but I got enough inside the pillows and am happy with my results. Does anyone else reclaim old down?

[RingTwist]

No, I have never done that, but it's a really smart idea. I would probably cover the entire house in down if I tried though!

[hummingbird]

I've never tried that with down, but I have with chipped foam. It's messy but it's a good way to reclaim a product that would otherwise be thrown away. Good for the environment and good for us to avoid some of the price of new stuff!

[Grandpa]

Thats a great idea. I'm going to tell my garage sale girls to keep an eye out for down.

I'm wondering if you could suck the down out of the old with a shop vac, then blow it into the new by reversing the hose? hmmmm Great idea Marshmallow. Grandma and the daughters are excellent seamstress' and it would save the budget if they could make us some new gear.

I spent the last two trips using my sleeping bag as a blanket rather than a sack and a down blanket just for camping would be an excellent piece of gear and relatively easy to make.

[dinosaur]

Originally Posted by Grandpa

I'm wondering if you could suck the down out of the old with a shop vac, then blow it into the new by reversing the hose?

That might actually work but I'd reverse the flow outdoors. One little slip and Grandma will hit you with a rolling pin.

[Theosus]

Originally Posted by Grandpa

Thats a great idea. I'm going to tell my garage sale girls to keep an eye out for down.

I'm wondering if you could suck the down out of the old with a shop vac, then blow it into the new by reversing the hose? hmmmm Great idea Marshmallow. Grandma and the daughters are excellent seamstress' and it would save the budget if they could make us some new gear.

I spent the last two trips using my sleeping bag as a blanket rather than a sack and a down blanket just for camping would be an excellent piece of gear and relatively easy to make.

I've seen a variant of this idea used for down underquilt construction. Take the shop vac with an extension tube. Put a piece of netting in the tube and suck up the down. The netting stops it from going all the way into the vac. You wind up with and extension tube full of down. Then pull the tube off and blow the down out with your mouth, into your new item.

[Grandpa]

Originally Posted by Theosus

I've seen a variant of this idea used for down underquilt construction. Take the shop vac with an extension tube. Put a piece of netting in the tube and suck up the down. The netting stops it from going all the way into the vac. You wind up with and extension tube full of down. Then pull the tube off and blow the down out with your mouth, into your new item.

I know I'm a big blow hard but why not reverse the hose to the exhaust port and let the motor do the blowing? However, I do like the idea of keeping the down in the hose. Good point Theo, thanks.

[Newanderthal]

my girlfriend made a purse from a blown-out pair of cargo pants. I was going to toss them out... now people are asking her to make one for them. It's amazing what you can do with garbage.

[Theosus]

Originally Posted by Grandpa

I know I'm a big blow hard but why not reverse the hose to the exhaust port and let the motor do the blowing? However, I do like the idea of keeping the down in the hose. Good point Theo, thanks.

Because once all the down is out of the tube (which will take about a half second), the huge rush of air will endeavor to blow down all over the room before you can shut the motor off. Your breath is less powerful, and you can stop it really suddenly and quickly, without waiting on a motor to spin down.

[ChadTower]

I agree that a whole lot of this is solved if you do it outdoors. Who cares if you get down in the grass?