Down Jacket Care

[Jackson]

Just got my second down jacket today and it got me thinking about taking good care of it. Probably because I've never spent so much on a jacket before. I've looked online for suggestions on cleaning down jackets, and many sources say that machine washing your down-insulated stuff on a delicate cycle with mild detergent is ok. And then others say to get it cleaned somewhere that does down cleaning. The BCP community is the source I trust the most, so what are your methods?

Personally, I've tried the washing machine before and it's been fine, but I worry it will break down the down if I do it too much.

 

[pstm13]

I buy a lot of used down jackets that require cleaning. I think I'm up to 20 or so at this point. I try to avoid washing them if possible. But if needed my standard drill is to wash them on delicate with a little woolite. I've never had a problem. They always come back to life. I think Nixwax makes a wash but would probably cost $15 but would be worth it if you got a $300 jacket dirty. Another low risk option is to use water and leave out the detergent. After washing fluff them up with a few tennis balls In the drier on air for a whole. My 9 year old has a down North Face Summit Series jacket that had chocolate milk stains really bad. I spot treated that thing with all kinds of stuff and it still came out fine (not recommended though). I only paid $10 for it at a thrift store so I figured it would be a good test case with not much to loose and it turned out fine. However, if I washed a more expensive jacket and it still had problems with a stain I would take it to a business that specializes in down rather than risk fading the Pertex shell or otherwise screwing it up.

 

[Nick]

I buy a lot of used down jackets that require cleaning. I think I'm up to 20 or so at this point.

Do you we need to start a gear hoarders support group???

 

[pstm13]

Do you we need to start a gear hoarders support group???

Yes and no. I sell them on eBay but keep far too many.

 

[Jackson]

Sounds like quite the collection, @pstm13! Thanks for your input. It seems like, after washing my Mountain Hardwear jacket last week, some of the down shifted around and bunched together in a few places. Sounds like I need to get some tennis balls..

 

[pstm13]

Sounds like quite the collection, @pstm13! Thanks for your input. It seems like, after washing my Mountain Hardwear jacket last week, some of the down shifted around and bunched together in a few places. Sounds like I need to get some tennis balls..

3-5 tennis balls on air dry. It takes a while. Some times you need to pull it out of drier and break up a clump with your fingers every few minutes and fluff it up by hand then put it back in.

 

[Wyatt Carson]

It seems like, after washing my Mountain Hardwear jacket last week, some of the down shifted around and bunched together in a few places. Sounds like I need to get some tennis balls..

No you don't really need tennis balls. They will beat the down up and damage it somewhat. What you do need to do is rinse any down jacket or bag multiple times to get ALL the Nik Downwash or Woolite out. I do it all in a big cooler outside, wash and rinse and I rinse 5 times. All I do after that is put it in my washer on spin only. I do that twice. That gets a lot of the moisture out then I just lay out the jacket or bag outside. I do it when it is hot and dry out. Jackets dry in 2 to four hours and bags take about 6. Every hour I shake it out and turn it. If there are wet clumps just lightly bat them apart with your fingertips. When your down is fully dry there will be no more clumps. They naturally just fluff up.

Every time I wash and dry my down it always fluffs up more than it was just prior to the wash. It revives a well used jacket or bag wonderfully.

And the hardest thing about washing down it getting a jacket or bag to fully wet out. If you read the internet you would think this happens instantly with any light rain storm but just try getting one to wet out in real life.

 

[Dustin Gent]

I have several down jackets and such, and my favorite one is my Marmot Zuess vest. That thing has been everywhere with me. And thus it has been washed "several" times.

Nik Down Wash is what I use. It is like $9 a bottle. I have hand washed my stuff in a 5 gal bucket to be more efficient, especially if I am only washing that ONE piece.

When drying, I use tennis balls. It even states this on the "care" tag. Here is info from Arcteryx website http://arcteryx.com/Product-Care.aspx?EN on care.

Please not I don't wash it that often. I am embarking on a 7 day trip next weekend, and most likely won't need to wash it when i get back - but it depends on where i go and conditions