How to wash a down jacket
How to clean a down jacket
Washing a down product is often a task that people are afraid to do for fear of destroying a £200+ jacket. This has not been helped by the fact that for many years you were actually advised not to do so by professionals. It’s seen as something that should only be done as a last resort, with many people going years without de-fumigating their garments, our trusty down filled jackets are often known as our stinky best friends.
For those of you who give in to the bad odour and take the plunge in attempting to clean your product this is usually a scary process, especially for the first time.
Even if you follow the correct steps through the washing process plenty of people are left devastated and sometimes brought to tears by the sight of a flat looking jacket, once so lofty and large now reduced to a shrivelled mess of compressed feather. It is at this point that most people accept their loss and jackets upon jackets around the world from brand to brand are returned to retailers as faulty goods…
The truth is it’s really quite easy!
With modern day fabrics looking after your down products is actually a fairly simple thing to do and you shouldn’t be scared to do so. Not only is it easy but it’s also worth while to get the most out of your product.
So to help you out we’ve put together a nice simple step by step at the bottom of this page showing you how to clean a down jacket. First up though let’s get a few of those scary questions out of the way…..
Let’s clear a few things up
Yes of course so long as it is dirty, in fact we recommend it, see below for step by step instructions.
No not at all, so long as you don’t over wash/treat the product. If you stick to the procedures and wash and dry the item correctly, within reason this will actually improve a dirty jacket's performance not hamper it.
Yes you can, although unfortunately nothing lasts for ever. The more you wash a garment the more it will affect the performance so wash it when you need to, don’t wash it every time you wear it.
As above, the more you wash a garment the more it will affect the performance so wash it when you need to, don’t wash it every time you wear it. Our water resistant hydrodown should last for the lifetime of the garment so long as it has been cared for in the correct way.
Don’t worry just yet, if you have washed the product correctly then this is totally normal. See the step by step below.
Washing a garment in a biological detergent can damage the performance, affecting the fabric’s breathability and water resistance. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have ruined the item but it does mean you’ll have to work quite hard to revive it. You may need to wash and re-treat the item a few times to regain its performance. Damage can be more severe if washed several times in the wrong detergent.
This is not something that we would ever recommend; the heat from an iron could damage the outer fabric, therefore destroying it.
If possible yes, at the most you could possibility wash two items together depending on the size. However for best results try to wash and re-treat the item on its own.
We actually recommend drying our down products on a low heat in a tumble dryer. This is for two reasons:
1.) to agitate the down fill and feathers allowing the loft to return for maximum warmth.
2.) the heat from the tumble dryer will activate the jacket's dwr after re-treatment, this will allow for better water resistance.
Yes they are. Tennis balls are often cut in half and added to the tumble dryer stage as an extra aid for agitating the down fill. Helping the jacket return to its full loft. You can now actually buy specific drying balls for this purpose (pictured above)
This is not a problem in terms of returning the loft in your jacket, it’s just a little bit harder work. You’ll have to make sure to fully dry out the down on a radiator. Once dry, simply agitate the product by shaking it until the loft has returned.
Care Procedure
It is best to wash your down jacket with a cleaner specifically designed for down or technical outerwear, we would recommend something like Nixwax’s ‘Nixwax Down Wash‘ or Tech Wash for the cleaning process and Nikwax Down Proof™ or TX Direct for re-proofing.
Step 1 Cleaning
Place item in washing machine (ideally 1 item per wash)
You can use a standard non biological soap as pictured or for extra benefits we recommend using ‘Nixwax Down Wash‘ 150ml in medium/hard water* areas and 100ml in soft water areas. (Depending on location)
Wash according to care label, preferably on a gentle cycle and slow spin.
After the washing cycle has finished run multiple spin cycles, each time incrementally increasing the spin speed, to remove excess water
If possible use a tumble dryer on a low heat with the added aid of drying balls, or half cut tennis balls as a budget option. This method will help to beat the down fill into shape allowing for maximum loft and warmth. Once dry remove from the machine and lightly shake the garment. See the next step if you don’t have a dryer.
A) Please note: the drying process will be slow, but it’s very important, so be patient. It can take up 2-3 hours to dry a lightweight down coat, Hydrodown will dry a lot faster though..
B) Pull the item out every so often and give it a shake to break up any clumps that might be forming. The more your coat dries, the easier it will be to remove clumps.
If dying outside of a tumble dryer allow to dry naturally on a washing line or on a radiator, once fully dry you will need to agitate the down fill to allow its loft to return. Do this by shaking the garment rather vigorously to separate the down (this is completely normal for all down products and does take a while)
Step 2 Re-Proofing
Just about every outdoor jacket comes with a coating of DWR and over time mainly due to contamination the coating will lose its effectiveness. The job of the DWR is to allow water to bead up on a fabric and roll off as opposed to soaking in. Bear in mind that most down jackets are not water proof anyway so don’t expect miracles but a good DWR should allow you to keep the water from soaking in for short periods or rainfall.
Wash item first following step 1
Remove all detergent build up from the detergent dispenser
Place clean item in washing machine (maximum 1 item)
Use 150ml for 1 item Nikwax Down Proofâ„¢
Run 30°C synthetic cycle and slow spin (be sure to read the garment care label)
After the washing cycle has finished run multiple spin cycles, each time incrementally increasing the spin speed, to remove excess water
Fully dry the garment on a low temperature in a tumble dryer. For this step it is important to use a tumble dryer to activate the DWR (in short, the heat from the tumble dryer will allow the DWR coating micro fibres to stand up on end, allowing water to repel better). again follow the next two steps:
A) Please note: the drying process will be slow, but it’s very important, so be patient. It can take up 2-3 hours to dry a lightweight down coat, Hydrodown will dry a lot faster though.
B) Pull the item out every so often and give it a shake to break up any clumps that might be forming . The more your coat dries, the easier it will be to remove clumps.
Hopefully this article will have cleared up a few thing for you and gave you the confidence and knowledge to look after your down products. For most people this is a complicated process so if you have any further questions or would like any further advice then please contact us.