The Problem With Removable Covers for Weighted Blankets
One of the advantages of choosing a company that has been in business for 20 years is that you benefit from their experience and knowledge. We are the first business to make and sell weighted blankets, starting in 1998. We’ve learned a lot about making weighted blankets during that time. From the best sizes for different body types to appropriate weights for different ages, it has been a long and sometimes expensive journey to come up with a design that most effectively meets our customer’s needs.
The removable duvet cover is one example of how we have learned the hard way to determine what works and what doesn’t work for our customers. The main advantage of a removable cover is that you can remove the cover and wash it separately from the weighted inner liner. Some weighted blanket companies also assert that if their blanket is too warm, you can remove the outer cover and sleep under the cotton inner liner. The Magic Blanket began exploring the pros and cons extensively many years ago and concluded the cons far outweighed the pros.
Here’s why we determined the removable cover is an inferior design concept, presenting more problems than solutions:
- Most removable duvet covers have a two step system for securing the heavy inner liner to the removable outer liner. The first step is a zipper along the outside of the removable duvet cover. The second step are “ties” that secure the heavy inner liner to the outer duvet.
- The first major drawback to this two step system is the zipper. Removing the outer cover and placing it in a washing machine and dryer exposes the zipper to violent twists, turns and tumbles. This can easily lead to the zipper teeth becoming misaligned and jammed, preventing the outer duvet from ever going back onto the inner liner.
- The second drawback are the “ties”. Yes, they “tie” the heavy outer liner to the removable cover. These ties, over a short amount of time, can loosen, or completely break, allowing the heavy inner liner to become separated from the removable cover.
- We make the Magic Blanket in America. Most of the newer weighted blanket companies that have popped up over the last year get their blankets from one of two manufacturers in China. You can tell because they all look the same. They come with a thick removable duvet and an equally thick inner liner, which when combined, can make the blanket very bulky and warm. To solve this problem, these blanket resellers suggest their customers remove the thick outer cover and sleep only under the cotton inner liner. Our Magic Blankets don’t have that problem. Our outer cover, whether it be the ultra soft chenille, minky, or cooling cotton are comparatively thinner than the competition’s removable cover. This helps to keep our blankets cooler without the hassle and expense of removable covers.
- No Assembly Required – Unzipping and untying the removable outer liner from the weighted inner liner each time you want to wash your weighted blanket is the relatively easy part. Reattaching it isn’t so easy.
- First, you have turn the removable cover inside out.
- Then you have to maneuver the heavy inner liner inside the outer liner, and tie the strands of fabric to the middle and four corners. Don’t pull the ties too tight, or they will tear away from the blanket. Don’t tie them tight enough, and the inner liner will separate from the removable cover.
- Then you have to line up the zipper and zip the outer liner around the heavy inner liner, if not misaligned or jammed.
- The entire reattaching process can take up to five minutes or longer.
Removable duvet covers can make a lot of sense for a lightweight blanket. Traditional lightweight duvets only require ties, with no zippers needed. But when applying this system to a heavy blanket that can weigh 20 pounds or more, removable covers can be quite stressful. And a weighted blanket is supposed to cut down on stress, not add to it.
With the Magic Blanket, toss it in. Take it out. And get your hug on!