Table of Contents:
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.
You Will Need:
- Washing machine without center agitator
- Down detergent, such as Miele or Nikwax
- 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. Use the delicate or gentle wash cycle. This removes the dirt and debris that may be present.
- Remove the jacket and gently squeeze out the excess water by hand.
- Inspect the jacket to determine if further washing is necessary. If not, skip to step 12.
- Refill the machine with clean water.
- Add the appropriate amount of down detergent. (Do not use regular detergent on down products. There are specific detergents made for down, such as Miele or Nikwax. These detergents can be found online or in some specialty fabric shops, such as a quilting supply store.)
- 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 as well as to the down.
- If your down jacket is white and needs to be brightened, add a little chloirne bleach to the wash. Do not do this regularly, as it may damage the fabric or down, however it should be safe as a one time remedy.
- 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.
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!
I can only find colored tennis balls. Won’t this stain the fabric of my down jacket? It’s a light gray. I can’t find any white ones unless I bleach out the colored ones.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Ann,
I often put three yellow tennis balls in the dryer with my beige down jacket or white down comforter and have never had a problem. I had never considered that they could transfer dye (good call); maybe I got lucky and bought tennis balls that don’t bleed easily. Try tossing the tennis balls in with a couple of old towels first to see if any dye transfers. My three tennis balls are for laundry use only, and after about a dozen dryer cycles, they are still bright yellow.
Another idea is to treat the tennis balls with a dye fixative, such as RIT (available at Walmart).
White tennis balls are available online from MyGrannary, as well as from Home of Poi. I found both via Google Shopping.
I think you just take it to the dry cleaners; my instructions are in Korean.
Mine washed beautifully. I used a delicate detergent, on a small load, dried in dryer with two yellow tennis balls (no color rubbed off). My machines happen to be front loaders, though.
My jacket from Zara went totally flat. I put it in the dryer but it’s still flat. Its like there’s no feathers left at all. Dont know what to do?
What did you use to wash it with? And was it a top load machine?
The tag on my white down coat say that I can’t use bleach on it. I washed it once, following the instruction. Now, my coat has yellow lines by the seams. Any ideas how to get rid off those yellow lines? Thanks.
Helen,
Look at the tag to find out what fabric the coat is made with and then research the best way to whiten that material.
For example, my down coat is 100% Polyester. So, I would first try to whiten the yellow with diluted lemon juice. In your case, I would probably use a Q-tip to apply the diluted lemon juice just along the seams, then let the coat dry in the sun and repeat the process until the seams are restored. The same process is recommended for Nylon.
I would also recommend that you read the ingredient list for your current laundry detergent – it may be that your detergent contains chlorine and that is the cause of the yellowing. Try switching to a different laundry detergent, and you could try using a stain-removing laundry detergent to whiten the yellowed seams as well.
Source: Mama’s Laundry Talk – Have Your White Clothes Turned Yellow
Source: HowToCleanStuff.net – How to Whiten Yellowed Nylon
Modern washers have a “hand wash” cycle. I found that this works great on my best down equipment. I used regular detergent and it worked well. After the wash, I take them out of the front load washer and just hang them near my air-tight wood stove. After they have dried, I put them back in my dryer with zero heat and let them tumble. This spreads out any down that was clumped. I did this procedure about five times now for my best down-filled clothing and I had zero problems every time!
How long does it take for a jacket to air dry by the stove?
My one says wash at thirty, but do not tumble dry and do not dry clean? So, how am I meant to dry it?
Emma,
You can hang the jacket to air dry, or lay it flat to dry.
I’ve washed my North Face jacket several times, with no problems. Just use mild detergent on a wool cycle. I havn’t got a tumble dryer so I just put a bit of effort into refluffing it by pulling apart the clumped down while it dries, giving it a good shake, etc.; it’s fine! The jacket is five years old now and hasn’t lost any of its volume or warmth, and big bonus, it doesn’t smell!
HELP. I have a lovely Macpac feather jacket. I have been in Rarotonga for 4 months and took it with me to have when going back to NZ in the winter!
It has been hanging up with plenty of air, but is covered in mold!!!!!! : (
I don’t have a front loader washing machine or a dryer…… can I hand wash it in mild eco wash? Would appreciate any help. : )
I’ve washed my down jacket as instructed on the care label and dried with tennis balls on the lowest setting. I followed everything exactly and even researched a bit before doing so as I was a bit apprehensive. So why has the color run onto the inside lining of my jacket? I can’t get it out and now it’s ruined!!
I washed my boyfriend’s puffy North Face jacket in the washing machine, took it out and all the features inside were all stuck together and flattened. How do I get it back to normal??
I accidently got Windex (window cleaner) on my brand new navy down jacket. The jacket now has brown stains on it. Is there anything I can do to get these stains out?
Tks.
Try washing it. That’s what we do nowadays. I know it sounds odd but hey…sometimes ya just gotta break out of that mold!
If you aren’t sure about the tennis balls transferring their colour in the dryer, then put them inside some white cotton socks.
Tie that sock into a knot so the ball doesn’t work its way out.
Sometimes you have to pick the wads of feathers apart every so often in the drying cycle to keep them from globbing. What I want to know is – does anyone know how to keep down clothes from floating to the top in a top-load machine??
I would like an answer to the floating jacket in a top loader as well!! I washed twice and rinsed/spin cycled twice and it still floated every time.
Amanda,
The only thing I can think to do for a front loader would be to put something in the jacket to weigh it down. A small pillow might work, or even just some towels, both of which would get heavy once soaked with water. A thick car wash sponge also might work; those get very heavy when wet. If not, you could try something like the rubber dryer balls or anything else that is heavy, unbreakable, and can be washed in hot water – maybe a couple pairs of Crocks shoes?
Washed my Obermeyer expensive ski jacket because it said to wash cold and use gentle detergent. It went flat and has never been the same and it’s not as warm. I am so sad; I loved this jacket.
I have a white Patagonia down parka, which after one winter was dingy gray and had lots of dark stains (I live in Chicago). I washed it twice with detergent and hot water, dried with yellow tennis balls, and while I never had problems with the down, it never got clean. I found advice online that suggested dish soap, so I scrubbed the parka with diluted Dawn and a scrub brush, all over (took about a half hour) then put it in a commercial, top load machine with laundry detergent on hot cycle, then again to the dryer, normal cycle, with three yellow tennis balls…and it came out looking almost new, fluffy, and smelling great. If you have the time I HIGHLY recommend this method.
That is so great to hear. Down soaps cost a fortune and it’s something you may only use once a year!
How does one get the collar of a down jacket to fluff up after using the tennis ball method? The jacket fluffed up nicely, but not the collar.
Bill,
You can try fluffing the down up by hand. Put the collar between your thumb and fingers, then rub your fingers around to move and fluff the down.
Source: Overstock – How to Fluff Comforters
Wash on cold. I did mine on warm.
My apartment dryer has high, medium, low and delicate settings.
I put the jacket in the dryer on delicate for one hour. Might have been too long, but it looks fine.
The idea is to do it on low and for a while ’til it dries. You can tell it’s dry when it fluffs up. Before that you can actually feel the dampness if you press on it.
An air dry setting would be too cool.
Delicate or the lowest heat setting is what you need.
Make sure your low setting is actually low and not pretty hot.
I’m. So. Sad. I got my daughter a high end puffy vest secondhand. I washed it, not even thinking it would need to be dry cleaned. I got it out and it’s all flat. THEN I read the label and it said dry clean only. She’s three. I just assumed kid’s clothing is machine washable. Lol. I read online to put it in the dryer with tennis balls. I did that on the no heat air fluff setting. Is there anything else I can do?
Tammy,
Three things you can try:
1) Try fluffing it by hand. If it has larger quilted pockets, you can grab the down inside them from either side and pull it apart or work it apart with your fingers.
2) Try washing it again, but use a residue-free detergent.
3) Instead of using a residue-free detergent, you can wash the coat again without detergent and add 1 cup of white vinegar instead. The white vinegar will help to remove the detergent residue that is causing the down to flatten.
Good luck!
Source: HowToCleanStuff.net – How to Clean a Down Ski Jacket Run Over by a Car
Source: The Spruce – What Causes White Residue on Washed Clothes