Sorry. No ideas. I had to return a pillow I bought b/c of the same thing. The down has to be cleaned beforehand; it's just poor quality control.

There seems to be a lot of internet references to duck down being "gamy" as opposed to goose down. One site disagreed with and said no down should smell if the down was properly cleaned. Another reference stated that the amount of duck fat residue on the down is what causes the smell. Down from young ducks has more fat that down from older ducks.

I would suggest returning it as the best option and getting your money back. But if that isn't possible I'd wash it. Use cold water and a mild soap like Woolite or even a mild shampoo will work. You don't want to use regular detergent or a detergent with enzymes in it. There are also special down washing products. I rinse twice and dry for a long, long time on low with two new, clean tennis balls in the drier. You want to make sure the down is COMPLETELY dry or you will definitely have a wet bird smell. Do not use fabric softener, the feathers will lose loft.

Here is a link that might be useful: Washing your down.

Many years ago I purchased a bed pillow and had the same problem. The clerk suggested putting it in the dryer on low with a scented fabric softener sheet. It worked.

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions. Will try it on the pillows that came with the quilt first to see if it works as the quilt is way more precious to me:) I'll use each suggested method on diff pillows and see which works best:) Thanks guys! Will keep you guys updated! Oh p.s. I did call the retailer and apparently they don't do returns for bedding which is understandable...oh wells...wish me luck...and down with the duck!!

:o)

I once bought a pair of down pillows that stank....but when I complained, I was told it was an odor associated with the cleaning of the down. The smell eventually went away...
Thanks for posting....I just learned soemthing....stick with goose down!
Linda C

hello i have bought 4 duck down pillows, [goodness what a smell] so i did all the airing,washing,drying on low heat, this went on for two weeks,They still smelled! well ladies i think i found the answer the entire room smelled so i was spraying no vac just to help tolerate the order and thought why not so i sprayed all pillows with the foam carpet sanitizer and deodorizer and placed a fan in front of all the pillows made several turns and kept spraying all day next day it was much better bought three more cans have done this for 4 days the smell is all but gone

Return it, it may never smell good and then you won't get your money back.

Wooooo...same problem here. Man..They stink. But they feel so good. Tomorrow I'll try the dry cleaners. Oil and grease staines come out right away in dry cleaning. Maybe I'll be lucky and the smell will dissappear...I'll let you know!!

Hi,my friend gave me a duck down comforter with the duvet cover. I turned to the i-net to clean it because it was very smelly after I washed it. There was very good advice and I love it and it has no odor at all. I added cold water and added wool it and begun to agitate the water. Next, I carefully fed the comforter into the washer, so it never went off balance. Then I put the comforter in two additional rinses. When I removed the comforter, you must straighten by pulling ends before you place it in the dryer, I added two dry towels to help remove any excess water. I also placed three clean tennis balls inside the dryer which helps fluff the down. Then I lay open the dry comforter on my bed. Straighten edges and if feathers are stuck to the bottom. You need to hold one section at a time and shake the down as to fluff each secton. You will be happy that you took the time to look this up on the i-net. Enjoy! You will be happy and don'the need to return it.

Down comforter duck Ike a Betty 7-2015.

I bought a pillow from a good manufacturer, but there was a smell. I remembered zeolite - I know about it for more than 20 years. It is used for water treatment and for the production of deodorants. It is a natural mineral. I bought on Amazon.ca a handful of zeolite that was sold there for aquariums (about 10 CAD), a mesh bag was attached. I poured zeolite into this bag, put it and the pillow in a plastic garbage bag and tied it tightly. Sometimes I shifted zeolite from different sides of the pillow. The smell went completely two weeks later. For a blanket, try to buy more zeolite - 2-3 bags.

Successes

Diana

When my duvets need washing, I take them to the laundromat. The commercial sized dryers do a much better job of fluffing than any home dryer could do.

www.greenhouse36.wordpress.com

I was gifted a king size 50/50 goose down and feather. The smell is horrendous. much like a wet smelly dog. Have washed it and it has been hanging in the sun for 5 days. The smell has only minimumly gone. I don't know what to do.

I have also tried washing my duck down pillow several times, dried it and fluffed it outside for days, but that didn't do anything. Then I took it to the dry cleaner's, the first time the smell didn't completely disappear and the lady was kind enough and tried a second time. That didn't do it either and she had no clue why the smell would persist. She was ready to send it to an external party but I thought it's not worth any more of my money. Eventually I threw it away, as returning it was not possible. That being said, I would prefer a down pillow any time to a polyester filling one. I would just smell it before buying.

Amazon sells a soap that's made a specifically for goose down I don't know if it's going to help with a duck now because I purchased a coat and it turns out it was 80% White 🦆 Down .I'm thinking about sending it back to Amazon but I may take a chance and use the soak myself to see if it gets rid of the Smell and then throw in a fabric softener in the dryer