Expert: Mark H. Miller - 1/15/2009

Question
I have a couch which is about 5 years old and it seems to me that the cushions which are down filled, have lost some firmness and resiliency. Do down-filled products have a short life time like this and need to be replaced or ?.


Answer
Hi,

Seat cushions which contain a combination of down and feathers, such as 25/75 which is the most common,  25% down and 75% feather  10/90  10% down and 90% feather which is low-end  or 50/50 which is the best should have an indefinite life.  Or at least 50+ years.  

The white law label which is attached to your couch or inside the cushion accessible with a zipper should state what the cushion is filled with the combination of down and feather and the type of bird such as grey goose - grey duck.  

However most seat cushions are not just down and feathers, if they were you would be fluffing them up every time you get off the couch.  So instead most cushion are made using a down blanket which is wrapped around a foam (poly urethane) core,  this is called a poly/down cushion.

It is the foam core which most likely has lost it's firmness and not the down/feathers.  Five years is not very long and I would not be happy were I you,  even if you used the couch daily.  If there is no warrantee and the manufacturer will not replace the foam then your best recourse would be to take the cushion to an upholstery shop and ask them to replace the foam core with a better quality foam such as HR foam which will not loose it's firmness for 10+ years.  

I hope this is the information you were looking for,  please do not hesitate to contact me if you have further questions.

Mark Miller.