Down Gear Odor Help

Miya

Miya

Because I am able.
Joined
Dec 31, 2017
Messages
1,404
Hello comrades!
I washed my down gear shortly after returning from the PCT. They actually didn't seem too dirty and didn't have much of an odor.
I washed all items together (mistake) and used the down wash. The odor that eminates from them now is horrendous and I am ashamed to admit that odor exists because of MY hiker funk. Who knew I could smell so bad?!
Any-who, any suggestions about what I do now?
They were in the sun for several weeks and have just been in an open space in hopes of airing out. The stink is so gross I can't use them again, and I don't want to toss $1500 worth of down gear. I know overwashing isn't recommended.
Has anyone ever used vinegar as a pre soak on down gear?
 
Drying with dryer sheets might help.
I use "free and clear" ones along with the tennis balls whenever I detect any odors in my quilts after a trip.
A scented one might work even better, but might just add its scent to whatever's already in there, so I don't know about that one.
Yours sounds pretty bad, though. If it was me, I'd be afraid of mold, mildew, or whatever, wash my stuff again, and machine dry on low heat with plenty of tennis balls after squeezing out as much water as possible by hand.
I've read it can take several hours in a commercial-sized dryer to completely dry one, but am not speaking from experience, as the home dryer + tennis balls is all my stuff ever gets.
 
Vinegar was going to be my suggestion. That or dissolving some baking soda and soaking in that. I have no idea whether either will adversely affect the down though. Should be totally fine on the nylon though.

Agreed with OwenM on the low heat in the dryer too. Always good to get them dried quicker as long as your low heat setting isn't very hot.

Edit: Looked online for info on vinegar plus down, and I at least found this, which recommends using it for smelly down jackets. So I'm assuming that means they've done it before without ruining their gear. A vinegar soak will probably be more effective than just dumping it in the wash cycle. That's what I do for my exercise clothes now and then.
 
@Miya !!!! I was just thinking of you. Im beyond thrilled to see you back online, woohoo, that just made my day. :cool:

Sure hope you are sharing some PCT photos and stories, no pressure!

Edited: think it’s the “down feathers getting wet smell”, not the athletic smell….
Isn’t the clothing stench the same as in all the synthetic athletic wear? Common issue. Supposedly Hydrogen Peroxide helps to remove the smell. Like pre-soak. I would do a search.
Friends of ours use a special detergent for their running clothes, I can ask what it is. It’s supposed to work really good.
 
Last edited:
I don't know how this would affect down, but my husband regularly adds 20 Mule Team Borax to his laundry to reduce odor. He sweats like crazy when exercising and I couldn't stand his smelly clothes. Someone we met on a hiking trip recommended he use Borax, and it does help. Again, I don't know what effect it would have on your down gear, but you might want to check out this article about it. GOOD LUCK!!!
 
We have used McNett (think that is the correct spelling) wetsuit shampoo to clean neoprene wetsuits. Things can get pretty rank (especially the booties!) after a week of daily use when sea kayaking on the west coast of Vancouver Island, where the summer weather is mostly warm and sunny, but the ocean still cold. I have no idea if it would be compatible with down outdoor wear, but I used it once on stinky bike shoes and gloves with good results.
 
regehr said:
yowza, y'all are validating my controversial position on down gear which is "just don't wash it ever"
Click to expand...
Haha I've honestly had great luck using either only a small amount of detergent or something mild like Woolite. Really brings the loft back and gets the oily gross layer off of stuff. I get really grossed out by my stuff after a few seasons of no washing. Haha. I haven't run into stink problems before though.
 
Here’s how they clean down bedding with duck feathers (can’t see it would be different with down gear). I would go to a Laundromat, choose a FRONT loader, small amount of degreaser, delicate cycle COOL, then do MANY rounds of drying on LOW heat
“To remedy this odor, you can simply wash the 'smelly' down bedding with a teaspoon of liquid Dawn® or similar degreaser soap. Be sure you dry the items thoroughly, ensuring you have removed all moisture, typically 2 to 3 drying cycles.”
www.downlitebedding.com

Removing Natural Down or Feather Odor

Over the years we have gotten requests from several customers along the lines of "How long will my down pillows have an odor?"Anyone who has bought a down or feather blend pillow knows that natural down products can also come with a natural odor. Most often, the odor is due to the effects of...
www.downlitebedding.com www.downlitebedding.com

I have washed our puffy coats many times in a front loader (top loader doesn’t work well with puffy coats, they float…), the tumble dryer is essential, low heat. Generally I stay away from the down feathers (coats & bedding) to due allergies.
 
Reef&Ruins said:
Does @scatman ever have anything to add to the conversation? Asking for a friend..... j/k you are one of the most helpful people on the site!
Click to expand...

Tell your friend that he, perhaps she, has excellent observation skills. My total amount of knowledge added to this site wouldn't buy you a nickels worth of bubblegum. But now that I have discovered "Hiker Funk," my contributions might just be more noteworthy from this point on. :)

I enrolled in @Rockskipper 's class Getting More Out of What You Say or Write, but I couldn't pass the class. I thought that bringing her an apple everyday would persuade her to give me a passing grade, but she is one tough cookie when it comes to teaching and divvying out grades. Don't let her "I grade on a curve" spiel fool you. That curve kicked my _ss! I suppose that summer school is in order. :)
 
As a university prof, I always cringe when students ask me to grade on the curve. NO! Never ask that... it means I fit the class data to a bell curve so the A you might have gotten could become a C! Oh wait.... they say, that's not what we meant. We want you to give us higher grades. Oh I say, so you want me to reduce the points possible... then ask for that. (I'd still say no in most cases).
I just got done with grading 5565 points worth of final exams.... so my brain just took a holiday.
 
Reef&Ruins said:
As a university prof, I always cringe when students ask me to grade on the curve. NO! Never ask that... it means I fit the class data to a bell curve so the A you might have gotten could become a C! Oh wait.... they say, that's not what we meant. We want you to give us higher grades. Oh I say, so you want me to reduce the points possible... then ask for that. (I'd still say no in most cases).
I just got done with grading 5565 points worth of final exams.... so my brain just took a holiday.
Click to expand...
Many of my chemistry professors said the same thing when someone asked for a "curve." I was very fortunate that almost every chemistry exam had the total points reduced to whatever the high score was.
 
scatman said:
Tell your friend that he, perhaps she, has excellent observation skills. My total amount of knowledge added to this site wouldn't buy you a nickels worth of bubblegum. But now that I have discovered "Hiker Funk," my contributions might just be more noteworthy from this point on. :)

I enrolled in @Rockskipper 's class Getting More Out of What You Say or Write, but I couldn't pass the class. I thought that bringing her an apple everyday would persuade her to give me a passing grade, but she is one tough cookie when it comes to teaching and divvying out grades. Don't let her "I grade on a curve" spiel fool you. That curve kicked my _ss! I suppose that summer school is in order. :)
Click to expand...
@scatman You're supposed to bring REAL apples, not road apples from mules. And bribes, REAL bribes.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for everyone's tips!
I think the plan is to definitely wash EVERY item again, all separately. I am going to message some down quilt companies too and see if any of the suggestions would be A OK!
When I washed everything in the Sierras, there were no problems, but I still had another ~1600 miles to go. Apparently the funk occurred sometime after that haha
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top