There is more to it than meets the eye when choosing a quilt for the winter - especially in the wake of recent reports of unhygienic contaminated filling materials in quilts.
But help is at hand from the Consumer Council which has put 25 samples of double quilts comprising synthetic quilts (10), pure silk quilts (6) and down quilts (9) to a test in the laboratory.
In the test, the extent of differences where they exist, were measured, evaluated and compared for their composition of filling materials, visual cleanliness, thermal resistance, and washing performance to help consumers determine the value for money of the products.
In addition, as part of the test, the Council also included a smouldering cigarette test to assess the risk of fire caused by smoking in bed.
The test involved placing a quilt test specimen flat on a rig with three lit cigarettes positioned in such a way that one was on top of the flat part of the quilt, one on a line of stitching and one beneath the thickest part of the quilt.
The specimen was then observed for any evidence of progressive smouldering ignition or flaming ignition under the influence of the smouldering cigarettes. One silk quilt was subsequently found to be not in compliance with the requirements of smouldering cigarette test (BS EN ISO 12952).
The Consumer Council has notified the Customs and Excise Department of this finding for any follow-up action deemed necessary.
Other highlights in this test included:
Consumers can put their heart at ease as far as the visual cleanliness of the filling materials of all samples is concerned.
Synthetic quilts of various descriptions were all shown to use entirely polyester as the filling material. Silk quilts were, true to their name, all filled with silk.
Down quilts were, however, less than completely accurate in their claim on down content. The samples were labeled with down content of 50% to 90% but according to the European standard on which the test was based, discrepancies were revealed between the labeled and the actual content - with the more serious ranging from 25% to 37% less in the quantity of down.
In general, all three types of quilts could be found with product choices that performed well in the thermal resistance test, although arguably they vary notably in weight and other properties such as breathability and comfort.
On a 5-point scale, the samples were rated for their warmth keeping ability. One out of 10 synthetic quilts scored the top 5-point rating with 3 others at 4 ½ points. In the case of silk quilts, one out of six samples scored the top rating with 3 others at 4 ½ points. For down quilts, two out of nine samples were awarded the top rating with again 3 others at 4 ½ points.
On the whole, synthetic quilts are generally washable and relatively easy care, but they do not offer the benefits of natural fillings such as breathability or air permeability.
Silk quilts are smooth and soft to touch but they should avoid being exposed to too strong a sunlight.
Down quilts (generally between 2 and 2.5 kg) are decidedly lighter than silk or synthetic quilts (average 2.7 kg).
Price variations among the test samples for the three types of quilts were quite noticeably: ranging from $229 to $588 for the synthetic, $790 to $1,299 for silk, and $599 to $2,280 for down quilts.
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