How to wash a down jacket?

In the cold season, when it becomes necessary to dress warmly, many prefer feather or down jackets. This is a very comfortable, stylish and, most importantly, very warm outerwear. There is only one problem that everyone who wears a down jacket will have to face. This problem consists in preserving the appearance and quality of the down product after the inevitable washing in the process of wearing.

Down or feather products can be made from various types of this material. Sometimes down jackets are stuffed with artificial filler. Down jackets can contain the following types of padding:

• Jackets with swan down. The lightest, but very warm. They require particularly delicate handling and care.
• Duck down jackets. Usually more voluminous. They also have high heat retention rates.
• Down jackets. Sometimes the manufacturer adds a bird's feather to the product. This is a denser material that helps insulate the product. Down jackets on a mixed basis are not as whimsical in care as feathers.

• Down jackets on artificial holofiber. Holofiber is a substitute for natural fluff or feathers. It is often used to fill warm outerwear or insulated sports jackets. This material is very lightweight and provides excellent warmth in cold weather. Washing a down jacket made of holofiber does not require adherence to specific rules.

Before deciding whether or not to wash your jacket, take a close look at the dirt.If only small areas of the product are stained, for example, the sleeve at the fold or the cuff, then it is better to simply rub off these stains. To do this, you need to take a sponge or soft brush, apply laundry soap or stain remover on it and rub the dirty area of ​​the down jacket, and after cleaning, rinse the washed areas with water.

Washing the entire garment should only be done when really needed.

If, however, you cannot do without washing, then before starting washing in the washing machine or by hand, it is necessary to prepare the product:

• Unbutton the outer decorative down and fur trims. The features of their cleaning will be described below. It is also better to unfasten the hood of the product.
• Empty the pockets of your down jacket, close all zippers, buttons and buttons, including the pockets.
• Turn the jacket inside out, lining facing out.

A more gentle, but also more time-consuming option is to wash your down jacket by hand:

• Pour water in a basin or bathtub at a temperature of 30-35 degrees. It is important not to pour cold or hot water. Cold water will "squeeze" the product and it will not be able to stretch and rinse well. Hot water can damage the natural filler.
• Add detergent to the water. It is important to remember that products made from natural down or feathers should never be washed with ordinary washing powder. Having made such a mistake, you will get rid of white streaks on the washed jacket for a long time. The fact is that the powder foams a lot, and it is very, very difficult to wash out its remnants from the filler layer. Sometimes even multiple rinses in the washing machine do not help.

• Soak the product in water and leave for 10-15 minutes. If there were some loose dirt on the jacket, it is better to wash them before soaking with a brush and laundry soap.
• After soaking, drain the water. Without wringing out the down jacket, rinse it thoroughly until the water after rinsing becomes clear and there is no foam from the detergent. You can use the rinse cycle in the washing machine.

The preparatory stage for washing in an automatic machine is no different from preparing for a hand wash. Machine wash should only be done with liquid detergent, not powder detergent. Do not wash other things with the down jacket. This can overload the drum or overfill the fluff during spinning.

They can be replaced with tennis balls, after making sure that they do not stain the product.

The down jacket should be washed in a delicate, gentle program. This mode can be called "Gentle", "Gentle", "Silk", "Hand wash" and the like.

The water temperature should be no higher than 30 degrees. You will also need to put an additional rinse cycle in order to rinse the product well from foam. For the spin mode, you must set a small number of revolutions. Typically, in washing machines, the minimum drum speed is 400 rpm, it is this speed that should be chosen for spinning the down jacket.

Perhaps the most difficult and important process in washing a down jacket is proper drying.It will depend on her whether the product will return to its original beautiful appearance or will remain crumpled due to the unevenly distributed and matted down. Drying down or feather products should be done in accordance with the following rules:

• Drying is done only horizontally. In no case should the product be hung vertically on a hanger, otherwise, together with the flowing water, the down and feather will move to the bottom of the down jacket, and it will be almost impossible to distribute the filler evenly over the entire product.
• After washing (if done by hand), place the down jacket horizontally over the bathtub and wait for a while until the excess water drains. If the washing was carried out in a machine, and the spin mode was used at low speeds, there will be no excess water in the product.

• After the product is rid of excess water, it is necessary, again, to horizontally lay the down jacket on a dry blanket or towel. Periodically, it will be necessary to change a wet towel to a dry one and turn the down jacket over.
• When the product becomes just wet, and not wet, you can shake it slightly or pat it all over the surface with your hand. A carpet beater works well for this procedure. Shaking or patting the down jacket is done to better and evenly distribute the down inside the product.
• Never lay a wet or damp down jacket on a battery, do not hang it near a radiator or heater. With intensive heat drying, bio-fluff loses its volume and practically sticks together inside. Instead of an airy down jacket, you end up with a scanty windbreaker.
• You can hang the down jacket vertically only after it is completely dry.

• If your washing machine has a drying mode, then the drying process for a down jacket is greatly simplified. The gentle drying program must be set at a low temperature. Usually a small down jacket is dried in this mode for 3-4 hours. But the likelihood that the natural filler in your jacket will fall off is excluded.

If the holofiber has fallen inside the product, it is not difficult to put it in order. You should also lay the damp product horizontally and periodically beat it with your hand or a carpet beater.

It is worth paying special attention to the process of cleaning decorative external linings made of fur or down. They are usually placed on the sleeves, collar or hood of the product. Often such linings are detachable, this is a more convenient option, since washing fur and feather decorative elements in water is unacceptable. So, if your model of a down jacket has detachable pads, you need to disconnect them from the product.

Starch is used to clean these items of clothing.... The starch will absorb dirt and grease from the fur and down of the decorative element, will not damage the color and airiness of the product:

• The fur or down pad must be straightened and spread out on a horizontal surface.
• Densely cover the fur with starch along the entire length.
• Gently rub in the starch along the entire length of the pile from base to ends.
• Using a dry brush, gently brush from the base to the ends the dry starch from the product. Shake the pad well for better starch removal.

A rag jacket with decorative down that cannot be unfastened is somewhat more difficult to clean.

If the down is located on the hood or collar of the product, you can gently soak the jacket itself, leaving the areas where the fluff is located dry... Rinsing will require special care. A jacket without filling does not require horizontal drying and can be dried in the usual way in an upright position. If the jacket is a down jacket filled with down and feathers, it must be dried in the same way as described above, in a horizontal position.

For information on how to properly wash a down jacket, see the next video.