Razai (Quilt) and Blanket Season: Airing, Washing, Storing (Video)

Transcript

Sun-air every quilt for a day before winter, why does it matter?

Sun-air every quilt for a day before winter, why does it matter?

Razai & Blanket Season

Sun-air every quilt for a day before winter, why does it matter? Let’s walk through the easy steps to keep your razai fresh, clean, and ready for the cold.

At a glance

In a nutshell: give each quilt a full sunny day before winter, keep a washable cover and wash it every week or two, air a cotton-filled razai monthly and send it for professional fluffing every few years, and store everything bone dry in cotton with neem leaves instead of naphthalene.

Taking the razai out of the trunk: the first-day routine

Most quilts spend months folded in a trunk, smelling of wood and sometimes damp. Pick a dry, sunny day in early November, unfold the razai on a clean charpai or roof railing between ten and three in the afternoon, turn it after a few hours so both sides catch the sun, then give it a gentle beat with a flat stick and brush off dust. Wear a mask if you’re prone to sneezing.

How often should you wash blankets and quilts?

You don’t need to wash the heavy razai as often as sheets. The single biggest change is using a washable cover and swapping it every one to two weeks with the bed sheets, at the hottest temperature the fabric allows. Blankets without a cover should be laundered every two to four weeks, following their care label. Cotton-filled razais get a monthly air-out and a professional dhunai every few years.

How to wash each kind of razai and blanket

Never soak a cotton-filled razai. Soaked cotton clumps, dries slowly and smells musty. Instead, air it out each month, wash the cover, and when the filling feels flat or lumpy, send it to a dhunia for dhunai, they open the stitching, card the cotton back to fluffy and re-sew a fresh cover. Polyester or micro-fibre quilts can be machine-washed once or twice a season as the label advises.

Drying in weak winter sun, and a season-long schedule

Drying is where most winter washing goes wrong. A quilt that feels dry on the surface may stay damp inside, inviting mould. Start washing early in the morning, lay the item out in full sun, and bring it in before the evening damp sets. Finish the day near a fan or open window, never drape it over a heater. If the centre still feels cool, repeat the sun-dry the next day.

Storing razai and blankets in spring, without mothballs

Before storage, wash or air everything until completely dry, then give it one more sunny day. Nothing should go into the trunk while even slightly damp. Fold the items into cotton bags or old bedsheets, never sealed plastic, which traps moisture. Line the trunk with clean newspaper or cloth and tuck a muslin pouch of dried neem leaves inside as a mild, natural moth deterrent.

Traditional dhunai

Every winter a dhunia would arrive with his bow-shaped pinjan, twanging the string through piles of cotton until the old, flattened filling rose up white and fluffy again. He’d then re-stitch the razai into a fresh cover on the spot, a practice still offered in many bazaars today.

Myth: sunning the razai kills every germ and mite

Sun is great for drying and reducing surface dust mites, but the inside of a thick razai never reaches the 60 °C of a hot wash, so deep-lying mites survive. That’s why a washable cover is far more effective than sunning alone. And forget the old naphthalene mothballs, they’re toxic and unnecessary when you keep things clean and dry.

Safety for babies

Babies under one year should sleep flat on their backs in a bare cot, without a razai, quilt, blanket or pillow. A warm sleep suit does the job. Heavy razais, weighted blankets, and electric heaters are unsafe for young children or anyone who can’t feel heat properly.

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Read the full guide

For the full guide, with every detail and answers to common questions, visit thecareonline.com. You'll find more short videos like this one on our YouTube channel. This is general information, not medical advice, so check with your doctor about your own situation.