Down for Allergy Sufferers
Many people are under the impression that because of their allergies they cannot use down products. Did you know that certain down products are actually hypoallergenic? All down products are made with down that has been washed and sterilized in a high pressure, high temperature washing and drying system. Hypoallergenic down products are washed further "super-cleaned" to achieve excellent levels of purity. Down's purity is measured by two tests: turbidity and oxygen number. Turbidity is a test to see how transparent the rinse water is when you are finished washing the down. To perform this test, a sample of down is put in a container of distilled water and vigorously agitated for 30 minutes. The sample water is then poured into a tube that is 1,000 mm high. This tube has a crosshair site at the bottom of it. The water is poured into the tube - - the highest level of water with still being able to see the crosshair at the bottom is the turbidity test result. The higher, the cleaner the down is. The normal industry standard is 300 mm. Hypoallergenic down must test at 500 mm or greater. The oxygen number test is a rather complicated scientific test, but the result is similar to the turbidity test, in that it measures the cleanliness of the down material. The oxygen number tests for the amount of foreign organic material on the surface of the down. With this result you are looking for a low number to have a good result. The maximum industry standard is 10 mg/100 g sample. Hypoallergenic down must test at 4.8 mg or less. Four of our down duvets contain super-cleaned hypoallergenic down that meets these stringent requirements: Mirage, Mirage Summer Weight, Heirloom and Heirloom Summer Weight. And in pillows: Mirage, Heirloom and the Lyocell Blend Pillow. This is great news for allergy sufferers who love down!
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