Can old duvets be used as insulation?

bagels

Apologies if this has been asked and answered before.
My dear Wife and I are involved in animal welfare/rescue and we're frequently offered used duvets for animal bedding.
Duvets are too cumbersome for bedding for small animals and it'd be great if they could be put to use rather than end up in landfill.
If duvets could be utilised as insulation for attics or some similar purpose it's be a great repurposing that'd continue to save money in heating bills far into the future.
Knowledgeable comments/suggestions welcome please.

jimf

i would say no because they would not have any fire rating

even if anything maybe dangerous toxic fumes etc

Sleeper12

Good quality attic insulation is pretty cheap too. I can't see a massive saving tbh

dathi

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/recycled-duvets-could-be-used-to-insulate-buildings-37888738.html

seamus

Your issue is fireproofing. It's not that you want it to be impenetrable to fire, it's that you don't want it to burst into flames when exposed to a small heat source like an exposed wire.
Here's an idea on how to fireproof any duvets before using them. But it might work out more expensive than regular insulation;
https://www.hunker.com/13418876/how-to-make-fabrics-flame-retardant

dathi

seamus wrote: »

Your issue is fireproofing. It's not that you want it to be impenetrable to fire, it's that you don't want it to burst into flames when exposed to a small heat source like an exposed wire.
Here's an idea on how to fireproof any duvets before using them. But it might work out more expensive than regular insulation;
https://www.hunker.com/13418876/how-to-make-fabrics-flame-retardant

taken from Wikipedia
Substances and mixtures imported into the EU which contain borax are now required to be labelled with the warnings "May damage fertility" and "May damage the unborn child"

John.G

In my infant days a duvet consisted of a old overcoat, usually from Amerika, don't recall much fertility damage around then.

dathi

John.G wrote: »

In my infant days a duvet consisted of a old overcoat, usually from Amerika, don't recall much fertility damage around then.

talking about the borax john it was suggested as a way to fire proof the duvets