I put the M&S Supremely Washable Duvet to the test – as a mum of three, I've washed my fair share of bedding, and I'm impressed

This budget-friendly M&S duvet is designed to be easy to care for. I put it to the test over a week, sleeping under it on my own bed, and testing how well it washed and dried, to see how it compares to the best duvets on the market.

In a nutshell

Overall, the M&S Supremely Washable Duvet impressed me. As a sleep product reviewer, I've slept under dozens of duvets, some of a *far* higher price point than this, and I was genuinely impressed by this duvet's quality and value for money. The king-sized 10.5 tog version I tested will set you back just £39.50, and I think it's really well made for its price.

Plus, if you want an easy-to-care-for duvet, this duvet does what it says in its name. It's easy to wash and tumble dry, meaning I managed to get my king-size Supremely Washable duvet washed, dried, and back on my bed in the same day.

However, the reason it's so easy to wash and dry is because it's made from synthetic fibres – both the filling and outer casing are polyester – and that does impact its breathability. During testing, I found sleeping under it a lot hotter than most natural-fibre duvets I’ve tried. If you're a cold sleeper, that could be a bonus; if you're a hot sleeper or someone whose temperature fluctuates, that could lead to overheating.

Would I be happy sleeping under this duvet every night? Overall, I still prefer the luxe feel of my feather and down duvet on my own bed, and I find it more breathable. However, as a mum of three, I definitely appreciate the M&S Supremely Washable Duvet's easy-care merits – I think this is a great, affordable and very practical duvet.

M&S Supremely Washable Duvet review

Specifications

• RRP: £29.50-£49.50
• Sizes: single / double / king / super king
• Tog rating: 1 / 4.5 / 7.5 / 10.5 / 13.5 / 15 / all-seasons
• Materials: casing: polyester, filling: polyester
• Care: machine washable at 40ºC, tumble dry on low
• Manufacturer sleep trial: none

Feel

When I first unpacked it, I was surprised by how lightweight the M&S Supremely Washable duvet is. It feels as light as a feather in its carry case – ironically much lighter than the super marshmallowy actual down duvet I sleep under at home (scoom’s Hungarian goose down duvet, in case you’re interested).

I unzipped it from its reusable case and was immediately impressed with how cloud-like it feels. The casing is also attractively striped, which makes it look and feel a lot more premium than most budget-friendly duvets of this kind of price point.

As a seasoned duvet tester (I’ve spent almost five years testing sleep products), I firmly believe I could guess between a wool, down, silk and synthetic-filled duvet in a blind test, and when I rubbed the duvet’s filling between my fingers, there was no mistaking that it’s synthetic inside. However, those fibres felt pretty fine, this isn't a lumpy and clumpy hollowfibre duvet.

I was also impressed when I gave it the 'scrunch' test. I'm not opposed to the satisfying crunch of crisp hotel-style bedding, but it’s not for everyone. Thankfully, I found the M&S Supremely Washable duvet to be rustle-free, meaning it’s very unobtrusive if you’re a light sleeper sensitive to noise.

Next up, the sleep test. I like to be cocooned by a duvet, so I prefer a slightly heavier feel, but this is a personal preference. I found the Supremely Washable duvet didn’t cling to my body when I climbed under it, as it’s pretty lightweight. However, if you prefer not to have to heave your duvet around, the M&S Supremely Washable duvet is a great lightweight option.

It's a little thing, but I was also pleased to note that the duvet corners are nice and square, meaning that they fit inside my duvet cover well (nothing worse than a duvet slipping around inside the cover).

Temperature regulation

I’m a bit of a Goldilocks when it comes to temperature preferences while sleeping. I like to be cosy, but I often overheat thanks to sleeping next to my husband, a very hot sleeper, or – if I’m really lucky – a child squished up right next to me radiating their body heat.

More often than not, synthetic duvets don’t suit my preferences because of this. Synthetic fibres don’t tend to perform well on breathability in comparison to natural duvet fillings such as wool or feather and down. Polyester is also hydrophobic, meaning it doesn’t wick moisture away effectively, which can lead to overheating.

This won’t aid your body’s natural process that helps keep you down. Sweat will just stay with you rather than evaporate off and cool your skin. That means polyester isn't the best filling for a duvet if you're a hot sleeper.

True to form, I found the 10.5 tog Supremely Washable duvet took me from chilly to very warm within five minutes. In fact, I timed how long it took for me to go from “brrr” cold to “mmm” toasty and warm in our 18ºC bedroom, and it was 4 minutes and 40 seconds.

This kept me cosy on the coldest nights, but on warmer nights I found I quickly got far too warm and struggled to cool down under this duvet. This is especially disruptive in the winter when it’s too cold to just kick off the duvet.

If you're not a hot sleeper, then I'd say this 10.5 tog duvet could be a great option for autumn and winter, but on milder nights, it may lack the breathability needed for good temperature regulation. In that regard, a wool-filled duvet, such as the Woolroom Deluxe Wool Washable Duvet is definitely your best bet.

And personally, I definitely wouldn’t want a tog rating any higher than the 10.5 tog (M&S also offer it in a 13.5 and 15 tog) unless you are a very cold sleeper.

Ease of care

The main selling point of the Supremely Washable duvet is, of course, that it’s very easy to wash. You can stick it in a washing machine at 40ºC and then tumble dry it on low.

I tested a king-size duvet, and although I have a larger-capacity drum washing machine too (did I mention I have three kids?!), I still found it a bit of a challenge cramming the king-size version into my machine – and especially my dryer.

M&S says the whole job – washing and drying the duvet – can be done in a day. I tested it and found it is possible to do this in a day, but it did take a while, so my advice would be to make sure you get it in the washing machine first thing in the morning. After all, no one wants to sleep with a damp duvet.

However, it would have been a much easier process with a smaller size, so this is definitely a good option for a kids' duvet, especially if you're in the bedwetting stages.

It's also a great, easy-care option for a guest bedroom, and if you’re allergy-prone, the fact that you can blitz this duvet in the washing machine regularly is a definite plus point. Although it's worth noting that the care label says 40ºC, and to eradicate dust mites, you do generally need to wash at 50ºC or over.

Value for money

I found the price of this duvet eyebrow-raising, but in a good way. I can't believe a king-size duvet is available for under £40 – I've tested a lot of duvets, and that's a real bargain.

Yes, there are elements of the duvet that give away you haven’t dropped a ton of cash on it: the heat-sealed rather than stitched edges and its synthetic filling, plus it doesn't come with any cooling tech to combat the problems with polyester's lack of breathability. But still – I think it’s fantastically priced, and it looks and feels a lot more premium than I expected.

For comparison, multiple big brand names offer synthetic duvets (admittedly with cooling tech added) that range from £249 for a king-size in the Simba Hybrid Duvet to a whopping £399 for a king-size TEMPUR Luxe Fibre Cooling Duvet.

Generally speaking, I’ve always found M&S’s bedding to be well-made and durable, which gives me peace of mind that I can recommend this duvet even though it’s 'cheap', and if you're simply after an affordable, easy-care duvet, I think the M&S Supremely Washable Duvet definitely delivers.

How I tested

Zoë Phillimore

I’m Zoë, a mum of three and a sleep product tester who helps the Ideal Home team put all manner of bedding through its paces to find the top recommendations for our readers.

I tested the Marks and Spencer Supremely Washable duvet at home, on my own bed. I snoozed under it for a week – seven nights of slumber, including the odd daytime nap.

Then I slept on the job – seeing how my sleep quality varied over a week. I have an Oura Ring 4 to help me monitor the quality of sleep, and those metrics fed into my overall review. I also looked at how it felt when scrunched in my hand, and how it rebounded. Plus, how the drape was around my body as I lay in bed.

This particular duvet is all about how easy it is to care for, so I drilled down into this during testing. It’s all very well saying a duvet is washable, but I wanted to find out how easy that really was, and how long it took to dry.

And of course, value for money is always part of the duvet testing process at Ideal Home. I compared this duvet to similar options on the market, and considered how its performance compares to its price point.