Restoring a Down Jacket After Washing: Secrets and Tips

With care, a quality down jacket will last at least 10 seasons. Compared to artificial fillings (such as Tinsulait, Hollofiber, etc.), natural down is very capricious and requires special care. When wet, it stops performing its main function - to keep warm. In addition, it takes a long time to dry (up to 3 days), and prolonged stay in a humid state leads to the appearance of mold and odor. For this reason, instead of washing for down jacket is better dry cleaning. But you can't go completely without washing either. During its existence, down absorbs sweat, dust, moisture. This affects its structure and worsens the insulating properties. Therefore, it is necessary to wash a down jacket, but as rarely as possible, because each such process reduces its functionality.

Today's publication is about restoring a down jacket after washing: secrets and tips. We will consider the following topics:

• Proper care of a down jacket and washing.
• Problems after washing a down jacket: loss of volume, fluff clumping, and others.
• Methods for restoring a down jacket after washing.
• Preventing problems with down jackets when washing.
• Tips for care and restoration of a down jacket.

Proper care of a down jacket and washing.

The proper care of a down jacket is to treat the product with care: use it as intended, dry it after use (if there was precipitation outside), shake it out (if the weather was windy and dusty), properly store the down jacket out of season, repair it in time, and wash it correctly. Because of a couple of stains, it makes no sense to send the jacket to the wash - it is enough to carry out local cleaning with a special cleaner for the appropriate type of fabric. Wash your down jacket only when it is absolutely necessary - the product is very dirty.

How to wash a down jacket in four steps?

Step 1: Prepare your jacket.
Before you put your down jacket in the washing machine, empty the pockets of their contents, close them and close the central zipper of the jacket all the way. Firstly, this will allow the jacket to keep its shape, and secondly, it will eliminate the possibility of damaging the jacket with the zipper. Read the information on the product label. It indicates the type of filler, temperature and washing mode, as well as the drying method.

Step 2. Washing.
Place the down jacket in the washing machine. Add the appropriate amount of mild detergent to the container. Use something that is designed for washing down products, such as Nikwax's Down Wash Direct, Rivevex's Down Cleaner, or another. Do not use regular washing powder or soap - down is sensitive to chemicals, its thermal insulation properties may be damaged or destroyed.

Step 3. Down jacket washing mode.
After adding detergent, select the delicate wash mode. If you do not have one (e.g. an old washing machine), select the wool mode, with a temperature of 30 degrees and a minimum spin speed of 600 rpm. We do not recommend high spin speeds, they can ruin the down. If your machine has the option to add an extra number of rinses at the end of the wash cycle, add 3 more. This will ensure that no detergent remains on the jacket or inside the garment.

Step 4: Air dry.
After rinsing and spinning on low speed, take out the down jacket, it will still be quite wet. Place the jacket on a flat surface of the dryer and let it air dry. This may take a while. Check it every half hour and smooth out any lumps in the “pockets” of the down jacket that will appear as the jacket dries. Continue this until the jacket is completely dry. An incompletely dried down jacket does not perform its primary function well and is susceptible to mold and odors.

Problems after washing a down jacket: loss of volume, fluff clumping, and others.

Puffy jackets are more finicky to care for and wash than other types of outerwear. However, by following the manufacturer's recommendations, you won't need much skill to wash your jacket properly, preserving the volume, shape and appearance of the product. Otherwise, washing a down jacket can lead to a variety of problems including: loss of volume, bunching of down, damage to the shell, white spots, tearing of down pockets, loss of shape and appearance.

1. Loss of volume and thermal insulation. Down jackets contain duck or goose down/feather, which provides good thermal insulation. Improper washing can damage the filler, resulting in a loss of volume and deterioration of the thermal insulation properties of the down jacket.
2. Down clumps. An incorrectly selected washing mode or too high spin speeds lead to down clumps, which makes the down jacket less voluminous and warm.
3. Damage to the shell. The outer shell of many down jackets is made of popular polyester with a water-repellent coating or a waterproof membrane. Incorrect washing (high temperature, incorrectly selected detergent) can damage the shell, which will lead to a deterioration in the water-repellent properties of the jacket.
4. White spots on the outer and inner surfaces. These appear for several reasons: the wrong detergent was chosen, the dosage was exceeded, and the number of rinse modes was insufficient.
5. Loss of shape and appearance, seam breakage, broken fasteners, as well as damage to the integrity of the down jacket - this is another problem that often occurs when the manufacturer's recommendations for caring for the jacket are violated.

If after washing, the down jacket looks strange: it has lost volume, the fluff has bunched up, the jacket seems flat and empty - don't worry, this can be fixed. Much worse, after washing, to find the jacket filler in the washing machine - this is, indeed, a big problem. And it can be solved in two ways: try to repair it in a studio or buy a new down jacket.

Methods for restoring a down jacket after washing.

Restoring a down jacket after washing is an important and responsible step to return the volume and thermal insulation properties to the product. We offer different methods, following which you can restore the functionality of the down jacket after washing.

• Shake the down jacket. After washing, shake the damp down jacket for the first time to restore the product's shape and distribute the down in the pockets.
• Tumble dry. If the down jacket can be tumble dried at low temperatures, load the jacket and add a few tennis balls. During the drying process, they will help separate and evenly distribute the down in the pockets. The drying process may take several cycles. Periodically remove the product from the drying chamber, shake it, and check its appearance. And so on until completely dry.
• Dry naturally in a warm but ventilated room, on a clothes dryer. Shake the product, lay it out on a surface. Shake the jacket every half hour to help the clumps of down fill the area of the down pocket. When the jacket is dry, manually distribute (knead) the clumps of down over the entire area of the down pocket, eliminating each compaction.

Preventing problems with down jackets when washing.

Even with the right temperature, washing and drying mode, the filler of the jacket can still get lumpy. Tennis balls are a good preventative measure. Add 2 to 4 balls to the down jacket in the machine drum before starting the drying mode. They will hit the down jacket during the drying process, break up the lumps, distribute them among the down chambers and restore the volume of the clothes.

Make sure the dryer is set to a low temperature and a long cycle. Start the dryer. Periodically check the down jacket to make sure it is drying evenly and not overheating. Every 15-30 minutes, stop the dryer, remove the down jacket and shake it thoroughly to ensure the tennis balls are evenly distributing the down. Continue the process until the down is completely dry and has regained its volume. Don't speed up the process by increasing the temperature - you risk ruining the fabric of the jacket. Do not speed up the process by increasing the temperature - you risk ruining the fabric of the jacket.

Tips for the care and restoration of a down jacket.

For all owners of down jackets with natural filling, we recommend dry cleaning only. Take the item to a trusted dry cleaner, and choose the "cleaning" service, not "washing". This way, you will extend the life of the filler for more than one season. However, if you really want to, and you are confident in your skills in washing and drying down products, you can wash it at home in a machine.

• No pre-soaking.
• Use the "down", "gentle" or "delicate" cycle with a temperature not exceeding 30ºC.
• Add a couple of extra rinse cycles to the program.
• Use a detergent for down jackets.
• Spin at low speed. We do not recommend spinning the down jacket at high speed or by twisting - this will damage the fluff.
• It is better to blot excess moisture after wringing with dry towels, laying the jacket on them.
• After this, lay the down jacket on a clothes dryer and dry it in a straightened state.
• In the cold season, do this in a well-heated but ventilated room. Out of season - outside, but not under the scorching rays of the sun.

You can dry your down jacket in the machine if this is indicated on the product label. In this case, you should add 3-4 tennis balls to the machine drum, which will help "spread out" the fluff during drying. If necessary, you can dry the product in the fresh air, on a hanger or on a clothes dryer.

After complete drying, the jacket may look somewhat "thinner". This is because the fluff has bunched up. Don't be alarmed, this can be restored. Be patient and knead each compaction. Then shake the down jacket several times - it will regain its original volume.