Washing a down jacket is a task completed by some with no doubt, while others prefer to leave it to the professionals. If you want to wash your jacket at home, follow these steps for the best results.
Table of Contents:
You Will Need:
- Washing machine without center agitator
- Down detergent
- Clean tennis balls
Steps to Wash the Down Jacket:
- Begin by emptying all of the pockets and dusting off any loose dirt and debris.
- As you wash the jacket, it’s important to protect the down and keep it from clumping.
- Fill the washing machine with warm water. It is important to use a machine that does not have a center agitator. This center agitator can damage the down pockets. If your machine has a center agitator, take the jacket to a laundromat for washing.
- Add the jacket to the water and allow it to wash in plain water. This removes the dirt and debris that may be present.
- Remove the jacket and gently squeeze out the excess water by hand.
- Refill the machine with clean water.
- Add the appropriate amount of down detergent (do not use regular detergent for down product).
- Add the jacket back into the water for a complete gentle wash cycle.
- Run a second rinse cycle to remove any remaining soap residue that can break down and damage the down.
- When finished washing, remove the jacket and gently squeeze out the excess water.
- Lay it on a towel and press gently on top with a clean towel to absorb excess water.
- Place the damp jacket into the dryer on low heat for 15 minutes. Clean tennis balls can be added as well to fluff the down as it dries.
- Remove the coat every 15 minutes to fluff any clumps of down that may have developed. Return it to the dryer for another 15 minutes of drying.
- Continue to alternate hand fluffing with machine drying until the jacket is nearly dry.
- Lay the jacket flat or hang to finish drying completely.
Additional Tips and Advice
- Avoid applying stain removers to down-filled garments. These can cause damage to the fabric.
- Check the care instructions prior to washing. Some down jackets are designed to be machine washed, while others should be dry cleaned. If the instructions say to dry clean, that should be done over machine washing. However, if the jacket is machine washable, the above method should be safe for an effective cleaning.
- There are home dry cleaning kits that some have found effective for cleaning dry clean only down jackets.
- Proper storage is just as important as proper cleaning. Follow all manufacturer instructions to keep your down jacket in good condition for years to come.
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You’ll ruin it! If you get something on it, wipe it off with a damp cloth. If you can’t get it off, take the jacket to the cleaners and let them clean it right.
You can wash a down jacket at home. Do it on cold water gentle and then dry on fluff or very low heat, the way you’d dry a sweater. You can dry if flat if you need to, but putting it in the dryer will fluff up the down.
You can get a home dry-cleaning kit that works in your dryer. It smells funny, but it works.
I heard that you were only supposed to machine wash down-filled clothing in a front loading washer. Something about the post in the center of a top loader beating the down pockets up too much.
They make special detergent just for things that have down in them. My mom always did it right in the regular washer.
Well, I washed my down jacket and all the feathers are stuffed into the corners, it looks like it is RUINED. Is there any way to fix this total mistake???
My jacket came with instructions to wash. They say tumble dry several times on medium heat with 6 tennis balls and the down will fluff up again. I have not tried it yet.
Drying with tennis balls is what i do. It will fluff it right back up!