Down
& Feather Testing
Introduction (Back to
Top)
There are several industry accepted tests for feather and
down fill used in bedding and other finished products. This
section will help explain three of the most prominent tests
and explain the importance of both internal and independent
outside testing.
Fill
Power (Back
to Top)
Fill power is a measure of how 'fluffy' or 'lofty' down is.
The higher the fill power, the more it traps air, and it's
trapped air that keeps the sleeper warm. The actual test involves
weighing and filling a cylinder tube with 28.4 grams of down.
A specially calibrated weight is then placed on top of the
cylinder and its weight is slowly allowed to fall onto the
down for 60 seconds. The tester will observe the markings
on the side of the cylinder where the weight stops. The higher
the fill power, the loftier the down is and the better an
insulator it is. This test is performed again 24 hours later
and the results are compared and averaged. The typical fill
power is approximately 500 and can reach as high as 800 or
more in premium bedding or special sleeping bags. As fill
power increases, the value of the down goes up significantly.
Fill power
can be infleunced by a variety of factors including: sitting
in transit, humidity, temperature, static electricity and
timing issues.
Click
here for an interactive slide show tour of the fill power
test.
Turbidity (Back to
Top)
Turbidity is a technique that involves measuring 10 grams
of down and placing it into a special beaker with 1 liter
of water. This beaker is then sealed up and vigorously shaken
for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the mixture is strained
using a special filter and placed into another long tube.
The tester will visually look down into the opening of this
cylinder and see if a pair of crosshairs on the bottom are
visible. On the outside of this clear cylinder are markings
with measurements that indicate the amount of liquid in the
container. The cylinder is filled to the top where the marking
is 550 - this is an excellent level and the highest as typically
measured in the United States (150 is considered acceptable
in the United States - where as some Japanese companies prefer
800). If the tester has trouble viewing the crosshairs the
beaker is emptied until they are visible from the top. In
essence, the higher the Turbidity number, the 'cleaner' the
down.
Oxygen (Back to
Top)
The oxygen test is a technique where the presence of organic
materials is measured. Organic materials are found in unwashed
products that come from the meat processing plants - including
blood from the waterfowl. The test is somewhat complicated
but basically involves applying specially measured chemicals
to the same water used for the turbidity test. The lower the
Oxygen count, the less organic materials that are present
in the finished product. A good Oxygen test measures around
4.5 or lower.
Internal
Testing (Back
to Top)
Down testing is best performed after the down is washed and
dried and before it is used in the final products. This allows
tighter control over products all the way through final production.
Some feather and down processors do their own internal testing
to constantly monitor the quality of their merchandise and
be able to make washing adjustments in real-time.
Independent
Outside Testing (Back
to Top)
There are many labs for the testing of down products - two
of which are: The International Down and Feather Laboratories
(IDFL) and the Independent Down Laboratory (IDL). Both of
these facilities regularly test down from both down processors
and retailers of the finished goods. Many larger retail and
catalog chains request officially certified tests from these
companies to audit their inventory of down product. Tests
can usually be performed within a few days and cost up to
a few hundred dollars.
FTC Guideline:
Any product with at least 75% down clusters may be labeled
as "Down". The remaining 25% are usually comprised
of down and feather fibers and small feathers (less then a
few cm - can be up to 6 cm).
Click here
to visit the next section - Types of Down
& Feather Bedding. |
.tmp){kind=small}