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How to Wash a Down Jacket | 5 Simple Steps
How to wash a down jacket
When the product is prepared, all that’s left to do is.
Choose a detergent
Another point to decide, the purchase of a suitable detergent for washing.
Dry powders are excessively foamy and the foam is difficult to rinse out. There is a risk that unsightly soapy stains will be left on the surface, and it will be necessary to wash all over again. Products with a membrane coating is not recommended to wash with powder, because the granules are clogged in the pores of the material. it can cause the membrane to lose its usefulness.
Liquid products give a minimum of foam, are better dissolved in water, do not get clogged in the pores of the material. And there are also low-foam versions available.
As for products filled with natural down and feather, special detergents are developed for them. They help preserve the beneficial properties of the filler, and avoid streaks. For example BAON gel detergent foams less, rinses out easier and is economical enough for 15 washes. It has a gentle effect: the filler is less likely to be knocked down and the impregnation is not washed out.
There are also special gels for membrane fabrics. They gently remove dirt without washing away the useful impregnation. Will not clog pores and rinse out well.
A standard rinse aid will cause the down to stick together into hard clumps. So do not skimp on it. Choose a specialized rinse aid.
Get some laundry balls
You will also need balls. Rubber or standard tennis balls. They are placed with the jacket in a special wash bag or loaded directly into the drum. The bulkier, longer down jacket, the more balls should be. The average use of 4 to 8 products. For example, for a model just below the knee will be enough for 6 balls, and for the same product oversize need 78 balls.
If you settled on the classic tennis balls, it is better to choose a model of white. So there is less risk that they will stain the product. Soak balls in bleach for 23 hours if you want to avoid risks as much as possible.
For your reference! If you didn’t buy balls, you can do things differently. Select a mode with the lowest temperature and spin speed. After the down jacket has been washed, give the contents a good whisking. Some housewives use a blow dryer. We recommend fluffing your jacket for 2 hours after washing is complete. But even in this case, you can not guarantee that the material will not bunch up. So it is better to buy balls or go to the dry cleaner.
Set the wash cycle correctly
If the machine is designed for a load capacity of 3.54 kg, only a small down would fit in it. For example, a lightweight model with a hood. It’s pretty thin and small. Regarding temperature, the water should not be hotter than 30 degrees Celsius.
Do not know on what program to wash the down jacket? Some devices have a mode for outerwear. Another option of delicate washing, wool and silk.
The spin function is sometimes advised to turn off. But just as it is difficult to wash a product at home, it is also difficult to dry it, because it soaks up several buckets of water. Therefore, we recommend leaving the spin, but limit the number of revolutions to 400600 rpm. At higher speeds, the filler clumps up.
When the wash is complete, repeat the rinse procedure to finally wash out the foam.
By hand
Washing by machine or by hand is always questionable when it comes to things like a white down jacket. Many are afraid that the color will fade, or the color of the powder granules, etc.д. To make the process of cleaning the product easy and enjoyable, you need to follow a certain strategy when washing, and the first thing to do is to clearly determine what the down jacket is made of.
Synthetic filler
The down filler usually causes the most problems. After washing, very often mistresses notice that it has gathered in lumps, or it turned out that now there is more of it in one part of the jacket than in another. It all depends on the nature of the washing.
If the filling of your down jacket is made of synthetics, there’s nothing to worry about. Such material is very easy to wash, just wash the jacket by hand. To do this, follow:
Tip: Do not soak your jacket for too long, as it can absorb too much water and after washing will be very long dry.
- Use a brush with medium hardness to avoid damaging the fabric
- Gently rub the soiled areas
- Strongly squeeze the product so that it has drained as much water as possible
- Hang to dry outdoors, such as on a balcony or loggia
- Since the jacket is white, it is best to use a liquid detergent, not powder, so as not to leave the blue stains from granules
- The product should not contain dyes. Baby powder works great and won’t harm your jacket. Usually costs less than normal powder, since it contains no unnecessary active ingredients, but its effectiveness is no less.
Natural filler
If your jacket is made of natural down, then you need extra care. Do not soak the product completely, because the down could simply curdle. Clean down jacket from dirt should be localized by rubbing the dirty sleeves, collar or stain on the main part of the jacket.
However, there are times when a down jacket requires a full wash, as it turns gray over time, absorbing dust. A different approach to washing is required here:
- Take a strong coat hanger and put the down on it
- Hang the coat rack with the product over the bathtub
- Soap up any grayed areas with soap and rinse immediately with clean running water. This way the dirt is removed and the soap does not have time to leave a yellow residue
Hand wash
forgiving, but more labor-intensive option is to wash down jacket by hand:
- Pour a basin or bathtub with water at 30-35 degrees. It is important not to pour cold or hot water. Cold water will “squeeze” the product, and it can not rinse and rinse well. Hot water can damage the natural filler.
- Add detergent to the water. It is important to remember that products made of natural down or feather in any case should not be washed with normal laundry detergent. Committed such a mistake, you will long get rid of the white stains on a washed jacket. The fact that the powder foams a lot, and wash its residues from the filler layer is very, very difficult. Sometimes even multiple rinses in the washing machine do not help.
Feather or down jacket can only be washed with special liquid detergents. These products are available at all household cleaners. They are labeled that they are designed specifically for washing down products.
- Soak the product in water and leave for 10-15 minutes. If the jacket had some heavy soiling, it is better to wash it before soaking with a brush and laundry soap.
- Drain after soaking. Without wringing the down jacket, rinse it thoroughly until the water is clear after rinsing and there is no foam from the detergent. A machine rinse cycle is available.
Can I wash them in the home??
Before you start washing your own down jacket, study the label, which indicates what the product is made of.
For tops, usually use synthetic materials (nylon, polyester, polyamide, leather and eco leather) that are resistant to external influences.
Recommendations for washing, drying, spinning, ironing (operation allowed or not) are also printed on the label. Deciphering the icons on the label of the garment is given below:
Can it be done if there are no balls?
It is a common belief that down products are washed with tennis balls, without which the jacket will not return its original beauty.
Modern washing machines have many modes of operation and a flexible system of settings. Thanks to new features, they can delicately cope with any (natural or artificial) fillings, and allow you to answer the question about washing down outerwear without balls.
Automatic washing of the down will not damage the filling, if you take the necessary care. Manufacturers recommend washing a jacket no more than twice a season (to maintain the quality of the filling).
Hand washing without consequences
After hand washing, there is less risk of streaks and bunched lumps that spoil the down. You will need a large basin or bathtub with warm water.
Choosing how to wash at home depends on the filler material, which can be natural and bio-foam, sintepon, tinsulite, hollofiber.
- Natural down requires very gentle handling. Such a jacket can not be completely immersed in water. The detergent is applied carefully only on soiled areas. After action, rinse with a soft sponge. The down thing must be in an upright position. In this way, it will soak in less moisture.
- Hollofiber is much easier to care for. Things with such a stuffing can be soaked in warm water with a temperature no higher than 30 °. The liquid detergent must first be beaten into a foam. Duration of exposure 15-20 minutes. After that wash it in the traditional way.
Important! Leaving in water for a long time down coat made of hollofiber is not recommended.
- Washing bio-foam completely excludes soaking. Even a short soak in standing water spoils the properties of the filler. Stubborn dirt should be removed with a soapy solution of laundry soap. Before immersing the down in water, whip it by hand to make the down more airy. Dip in water and continue soaking until completely soaked. Immediately and quickly start treating the dirt with a brush and soap solution. It is forbidden to squeeze the items made of bio-foam with your hands. The product must be constantly shaken to avoid lumps.
To avoid ruining a down jacket, be sure to look at the manufacturer’s label with care recommendations before washing. It may be that all washing is forbidden. Then the dirt will have to be cleaned with a damp sponge. It is important not to wet the thing completely with water.
Why not dry clean?
If you look carefully at the instructions to your down jacket, you will most likely notice that the manufacturer does not advise washing in the machine at all, but recommends going to the dry cleaner. However, this method of dry cleaning contains a number of significant disadvantages:
- High cost. Sometimes the price of down jacket seems ridiculous compared to the cost of its annual cleaning on the advice of the manufacturer.
- Lack of responsibility. Many dry cleaners, before taking the product from the client, require to sign a contract for services, which, among other things, also stated that the company is not responsible for the result. That is, if you get in the end some semblance of his once-cute down jacket, then no one will be to blame, and you will not pay damages.
- Time. Throw a thing in the machine, take it out, hang it up to dry, or drive to the same dry cleaners. actions that require very different time costs.
- Harmfulness. There’s no guarantee that the filler won’t still have the chemical trace elements of the substances your jacket was cleaned with. Contact with them is definitely not good for allergic people and small children.
Drying
Proper drying will prevent the appearance of streaks on the surface of the treated product and in a short time to return your favorite down jacket or coat to use.
- After washing, remove the product from the drum of the machine, shake slightly to knead the down lumps, if any.
- Hang the product on hangers and leave it to dry outdoors, or in a room with good air ventilation.
- Periodically, you should shake the jacket and break up the lumps of filler that have formed with your hands.
- To speed up the drying process and prevent white streaks, you can vacuum the inside of the jacket with a vacuum cleaner on low speed.
