How to Wash that Fibre Bed

My fibre bed that I place under me for cold northern winters weigh about 20 pounds- when its dry .

This is how I wash mine.Once a year. If I must .

I start at sunrise on what I know will be a long , hot summer day. It takes a few hours to wash it and a few hours to dry.

The fibre bed is like a mini mattress . You cannot put it into the washer...not even my front loader that is supposed to wash 20 pairs of jeans at one go . Yeah, right ! Like I believe that . A wet fibre bed weighs about a hundred pounds. Somehow I have the feeling it would be a load to kill all home washing machines.


I do it in the bath tub .

I fill the tub with tepid water and a cupful of gentle , non-sudsing washing compound . Then I place the bed into the tub . Of course , it floats because it is design to hold air . The fabric is tightly woven and doesn't let water in easily . Simply pushing it into the water won't work . It pops right back up .

This is when I roll up my pant legs , take off my slippers and climb in . For 20 minutes , I step-squash the fibre bed into the bath until my feet are pink and wrinkled , singing made up grape-squashing songs in an Italian accent while I hang onto the wall and curtain rod for dear life . Most home accidents occur in the bathtub .

Then I unplug the tub and let the contents drain for an hour . Rinsing time ! I repeat the process again with clear water . Drain for two hours because there in not a chance in H*** that I'll be able to lift it before then .

Just before noon , I wrestle it into my sturdiest laundry hamper and drag it out to the clothesline . It takes a while but I do manage to get it over the line and arrange it so that it won't slip off . I would hate to have to go through that again - the whole washing process .

Now I have time to mop up the bathroom and clean the tub . As well , I catch the river from the tub to the door . At last, I am able to change my wet clothing and towel off .

By suppertime the bed will have finished dripping and dried completely.

If I am able , I cart the fibre bed to a specialized laundromat with a huge industrial machine designed for such things . It only takes a hour and a half to do the job and well worth the $20.00 dollars .