Choosing a new duvet is not something that you need to do very often – it will never be a part of the weekly shop. Here are a few answers to those questions that arise when you start looking such as what is a tog rating? What is the best filling? Which type of Duvet is the most comfortable? And so on.

Duvets generally fall into one of two categories, natural or synthetic. If you suffer from any kind of allergy or have sensitive skin, then a duvet with a synthetic filling such as “Allerban” will be better for you and will ensure long term trouble free comfort while you sleep. Otherwise, natural fillings are still the best for lightness and warmth. Down is particularly good at keeping you warm but allowing air to circulate around you at night.

Natural fillings will often make a duvet more expensive but very often they will last longer if they are properly cared for. This, however will cost more as feather and down duvets need to be dry cleaned unlike synthetic fillings which are machine washable.

All duvets are sold with a Tog rating. A Tog rating determines the warmth of a duvet, the greater the number the greater the warmth. So most people would choose a low Tog value for the summer e.g. 2.5 and something much higher like 13.5 or 15 Tog for the winter.

For those couples that like to sleep at different temperatures, you can get duvets that have two halves, each with a different Tog value. This allows one partner to have a cooler covering and the other to have a warmer cover over them at night. These are called partner duvets.

Another great thing about duvets is how much time they save in making a bed compared to sheets and a blanket. By using different duvet covers not only do you protect the duvet, you can also change the look of the room by changing duvet cover. The only maintenance (apart from cleaning) that a duvet needs is a shake once every three months. This fills it with air and improves the duvets’ insulation properties.