How to wash a down jacket so that the down does not get lost and streaks do not appear

When it is necessary to wash a jacket, a large number of questions usually arise about how to wash a down jacket without ruining an expensive item.

It is important to understand that cleaning can also be done in a washing machine, taking precautions and following the advice of professionals.

Manufacturers of winter jackets with natural or synthetic filling give recommendations regarding washing, but only in dry cleaners.

If you cannot use such services, you can try to wash the item yourself, but following the instructions given in the article. This way the down jacket will retain its original appearance.

How to prepare a down jacket for washing

You can wash a down jacket in a machine only after preliminary preparation. Here's what to do:

Checking your pockets

People often have unnecessary items in their pockets, which, when washed, can damage the fabric of the jacket. There may also be money or documents that cannot be recovered after reacting with the detergent.

Unfasten the fur parts

Fur parts must be unfastened before loading into the drum of the machine. Faux and natural fur can become deformed from reaction with water and chemicals, losing its attractiveness and shape.

We wash out the stains

If there is heavy soiling, streaks, or stains on the jacket, they need to be washed. As a rule, the most worn places are the sleeves, areas on the elbows, hem and collar.

Washing in a machine will not get rid of old stains in problem areas. For washing, you can use stain-removing soap.

Powdered stain remover should not be used for down products - they foam well, and washing does not require a lot of foam, as it will be difficult to wash and there is a risk of strong stains.

Turn the jacket inside out and fasten all the fasteners

Now, after completing all the steps, the jacket is zipped up and turned inside out, since snags or damage may form on the outside. It is also important to fasten all buttons, Velcro and fasteners. This will keep them intact and not damage the jacket.

Why do white streaks occur?

In order to understand how to wash a down jacket so that there are no streaks, you need to understand in detail the reasons for the occurrence of such troubles. So, white stains on clothes appear for the following reasons:

The use of low quality internal filler is the fault of the manufacturer.
Incorrect or insufficient rinsing of the down jacket after finishing washing it.
Uneven or improperly organized drying of clothes.

The question of how to wash a jacket without streaks arises often, which indicates the prevalence of this problem. If you do not want to be among the victims, take note of these tips!

Washing rules

It is very simple to understand whether a down jacket can be washed in a washing machine. It is important to decipher the symbols on the tag - these are the basic rules for cleaning and drying, which help maintain the durability of the jacket.

For items that cannot be washed in a certain way, this information is almost always encrypted on the tag.

Click on the picture to enlarge it

Usually, to wash a down jacket, it is enough to follow these rules:

Wash the jacket separately from clothes and other outerwear;
use a liquid cleanser;
rinsing is required at least 2 - 3 times;
place 3 – 4 tennis balls in the drum to prevent the formation of lumps from the filler;
It is advisable to dry it in the open air, so that the jacket is not exposed to direct sunlight; it is also possible in a room away from heating appliances;

These rules will help keep both children's and adult items looking great.

At what temperature should you wash a down jacket?

To properly wash a down jacket in a machine, it is important to select a special program with a low water temperature. The optimal temperature is 30 degrees. Hand washing is also carried out in cool water.

How to wash a down jacket in a washing machine

Basic rules for choosing a detergent for washing a down jacket:

It is forbidden to use ordinary powders - they almost always leave stains.
The best option would be to use special products, but any other liquid product will work well; gel capsules are also used.

Be sure to pay attention to studying the composition of the product - it should not contain phosphates, chlorine and bleach.

You can wash your down jacket in the washing machine using Uni Down. It has proven itself on the positive side due to its affordable cost and excellent cleaning characteristics.

Using it, you can even give up tennis balls, according to the manufacturer of this product. The filler will not roll off and will maintain breathability. Weasel for wool is also suitable.

Correcting errors

If you wash your down jacket correctly, there should be no problems. But if during the process the fluff still clumps together, or stains appear on the fabric, sometimes the item can still be saved.

How to beat fluff

To restore the original “fluffiness” of a thing, several methods are used:

The down filling is usually “beaten up” during drying, by shaking the down jacket or hitting it with a stick.
If this does not help, the fluff balls inside the cells can be gently tousled with your hands.
After this, it is useful to “vacuum” the down jacket from the inside, using a narrow “sofa” attachment for a vacuum cleaner. By carefully moving the tube through the cells of the jacket, you can distribute the fluff more evenly with the flow of air.
You can additionally “scroll” the item in the washing machine in spin mode. In this case, you need to select the minimum speed, and add several tennis balls (or special balls) to the drum.

If the down has stuck together due to the use of a simple washing powder, the filler can be saved by washing it again, but with a special product for down jackets.

Getting rid of divorces

Whitish or dark stains on the surface of the fabric usually occur for several reasons:

using the wrong product;
too high concentration of detergent composition;
prolonged drying;
Insufficient rinsing.

If the stains are caused by washing with a simple detergent, they may remain forever. The reason is that bleaches and active substances have damaged the paint on the top layer of fabric.

If the problem is that the product simply did not rinse completely, the situation can be corrected. Different methods are used for this:

Local treatment of the resulting stains. For this purpose, it is recommended to use a solution of regular dishwashing detergent. A sponge or piece of cloth is moistened with such a solution (a small concentration is sufficient), and the stripes and stains on the “top” material are carefully wiped. Sometimes this is enough to get rid of traces of an unsuccessful wash.
Repeated washing in compliance with all rules.
Additional rinses.
Dry cleaning.

To put your winter clothes in order, you don’t have to resort to dry cleaning or use a washing machine. It is quite possible to wash a down jacket by hand, while maintaining its insulating properties and original appearance. To do this, you need to carefully study the product labels, find a suitable detergent and strictly adhere to all the rules.

How to wash a down jacket by hand

If you don’t trust dry cleaners and automatic washing machines, you can wash your down jacket at home manually. Preparation and selection of the product are no different. The only thing is that the jacket does not need to be turned inside out.

Main features of how to wash a down jacket at home by hand:

Hang it on a hanger and place it in the bathroom.
To properly wet the product, direct the shower from top to bottom in a tangent direction.
Treat the product with the product, paying special attention to worn and dirty areas - cuffs, collar, pockets.
Rub the jacket with a brush or stiff sponge.
Rinse off the detergent by directing the stream from top to bottom. Do this procedure several times to completely get rid of the foam.
Start drying.

If there is only one stain on the jacket, and it still does not look dirty, then you can wash it, rub it with a brush and the chosen detergent. This way, you don’t have to wash the entire down jacket.

If the jacket is too dirty, you should soak it - run warm water into the bathtub and add detergent. Place the jacket there for 30 - 40 minutes, then lightly rub and dry thoroughly.

What to do if spots do appear?

If, despite following all the rules of washing, rinsing and drying, stains still appear on the jacket, you should not be upset, since you can get rid of them using the following available means:

Moisten a clean cloth with 3% hydrogen peroxide and treat problem areas on the product, but do not use it on light or white down jackets.
Dilute 70% vinegar with water in the same ratio, moisten a clean cloth with the resulting solution and treat any stains that appear after washing. You need to rub until the stains disappear completely.
Ammonia mixed with a cleaning agent in a small amount will help to effectively get rid of stains. Apply the resulting mixture to the stain, rub a little and rinse thoroughly with clean water.
Ferry or other dishwashing detergent will easily remove greasy stains.
A strong soap solution will help remove yellow stains , which must be applied to problem areas in a targeted manner.

How to wash a down jacket in a washing machine

Nowadays, almost everyone has a washing machine, so the question is how to properly wash a down jacket in it.

If you follow certain rules, you can easily clean your jacket in a washing machine using the delicate setting.

For safety and preservation purposes, tennis balls are placed in the drum. They prevent the formation of lumps from the filler.

It is not recommended to use regular powder - you should purchase a liquid detergent for washing down jackets in an automatic machine.

The process of washing a down jacket in a washing machine step by step:

Remove stains before loading items.
Turn the jacket inside out, fasten the zippers, snaps and buttons.
Place a twist with tennis balls.
Set the desired mode, the temperature should not exceed 30 degrees; some machine models are equipped with a “delicate wash” mode in cool water.
The spin is set to a maximum of 600 rpm, preferably 400, otherwise intense impacts will cause fluff to come out.
To thoroughly rinse the detergent, the rinse mode after the main wash is set an additional 2 or 3 times. When using a rinse aid, you need to use a special product, otherwise there will be streaks on the down jacket.
After the jacket is removed from the machine, it is straightened and thoroughly dried.

Modes for washing a down jacket in different washing machines:

LG – “delicate wash”;
Samsung – “delicate wash”;
Indesit – “delicate fabrics”, mode 10 or 11;
Bosch – wash for 30 minutes, first use the regulator to reduce the spin speed or set the “wool” mode.

Reasons for divorce

You can’t immediately blame the detergent for the fact that today you definitely won’t wear a down jacket because of the stains that have appeared. This may not be the only reason:

The item was damp for quite a long time after washing. For example, you did not immediately remove the down jacket from the drum of the machine immediately after the signal about the end of the cycle.
The item was not dried correctly.
The filling of the down jacket is a low quality material (it is precisely this that could fade like that).
The rinse mode was selected incorrectly - the detergent did not have time to be washed out of the dense product.
The washing instructions (on the label of the down jacket) have been violated: the washing mode has been selected incorrectly or the wrong temperature has been selected.

Always look at the label!

Is it possible to spin a down jacket in a washing machine?

If possible, do not turn on the spin mode, it is better to wring out the item manually - do this with extreme caution, do not wring out the down jacket by twisting it, it is better to do this with light squeezing movements, removing excess water.

Do not try to squeeze out all the water; the remaining water will drain off during the drying process. It will be right!

If, nevertheless, you decide to wring out the jacket in the machine, then only at minimum speed, usually this value is 400. This way the jacket will not bunch up.

Selection of detergents

A soft gel for delicate fabrics is best; you can even use shampoo or liquid soap. A white or light down jacket cannot be washed with a product with a bleaching effect, even if the composition of the fabric allows it. You don’t know how the whitening components will affect the filler itself. What if he starts to shed, then you definitely won’t be able to avoid divorces! In any case, the product should not be in powder form, but only gel-like. Why? It dissolves perfectly in water, without leaving any grains on the material and does not clog into the filler. Accordingly, it is easier to rinse, because it is poor-quality rinsing that in most cases becomes the culprit of unexpected abstract designs on the product.

How to wash a down jacket without the down getting lost

Sometimes, even if you carefully follow all the settings for washing a down jacket in an automatic washing machine, the filler deteriorates and clumps together.

To prevent the fluff from bunching up, you will need to wash with several tennis balls or use the Uni fluff product mentioned earlier.

But if this happens, then to return to its original appearance, you need to carry out the following manipulations:

Use your hands to straighten the lumps, shaking the jacket periodically;
place the dry down jacket on the bed or sofa and lightly beat it with a carpet beater;
put the jacket back in the machine with tennis balls, turn on the spin cycle at the lowest speed;
treat the down jacket with a vacuum cleaner with a nozzle for blowing air - under the influence of dry hot air, the filler straightens out, the clothes return to their former fluffiness.

What they advise on the forums

1. Use Vanish to whiten a white down jacket . Pre-pour it onto heavy stains and let it sit for an hour. When washing, add a little Vanish to the product.

The easiest way to bleach a down jacket.

Zmite r [72.7K]:
If the down jacket can be washed in an automatic washing machine, then in this case there should be no difficulties with bleaching; in places where it is heavily soiled, just pour Vanish on the down jacket and let it sit for a while. You can also add Vanish to the washing powder later.
And if you can’t wash the down jacket yourself, then you should definitely go to a dry cleaner.

Source www.bolshoyvopros.ru

2. Use Unipukh. It is inexpensive and gives excellent results.

Unipukh is inexpensive, but it washes perfectly.

Alieva Alya:
And I have a Moncler down jacket. I didn’t dare to wash it in the machine at home, I had it dry cleaned, it’s a bit expensive... And recently a friend recommended Unipukh, I’ll tell you, it’s a good thing. The most important thing is that it doesn’t leave streaks and the fluff doesn’t clump up AT ALL. And the price is ridiculous, I think everyone can afford it.

Source www.baby.ru

3. Wash only soiled areas . Contaminated areas are wetted. Scrub the stains with a brush dipped in a solution of washing powder. Wash off all remaining product.

If you do not wash the item completely, it will dry much faster.

Natusia:
I hang the down jacket over the bathtub on a hanger, wet it with a shower, wash the necessary areas with a brush and washing powder, then shower and wash it off. By morning everything is usually dry.

Source forumnov.com

4. Use a folk remedy to whiten a white down jacket . Pour 12 liters of water, add 8 tablespoons of salt, 3 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide, 3 tablespoons of ammonia and a little washing powder. Soak the down jacket for 4 hours. Then wash as described above.

Folk remedy for whitening down jacket.

Ronanjk [2.4K]:
If you don't have bleach, you can use another method. To twelve liters of water, add eight tablespoons of salt, a little powder and three tablespoons of 3% hydrogen peroxide, also add three tablespoons of ammonia. Soak the laundry in this solution for 4 hours at a temperature of 40 degrees. Then simply wash it in the washing machine.

Source www.bolshoyvopros.ru

How to wash down jacket fur

The edge of a winter jacket requires delicate care, so when the need arises for washing, it is better to unfasten it and clean it separately. To prevent it from becoming a shapeless ball of fur, you must follow these rules:

Do not wash, let alone wring out, fur in a washing machine;
dry it only in a place protected from light;
Do not use chlorine cleaning products or boiling methods;
cleaning is carried out in the direction of fur growth - if the pile is long, and against it - if the pile is short;
before wet cleaning, you need to check how the fur reacts to the product - apply foam to a small side area of the edge and dry to see the result;
do not rub, do not wrinkle, do not deform the product, do not try to squeeze it dry, the water will drain and evaporate on its own, without any mechanical influence;
The water temperature should not be more than 40 degrees, otherwise the substrate and the fur itself will be damaged.

These precautions are easy to follow and will preserve the appearance of the product for a long time.

Storage conditions

After washing, a clean down jacket must be stored. To do this, you need to make sure that it is completely dry. And then ventilate for 3 more days on the balcony or in the open air. The item should be in the shade so that the fabric does not fade from sunlight.

It is recommended to store in a dark and dry place, because moisture is the main enemy of fluff. The down jacket can be placed on a hanger or in a case. Cellophane bags must have perforations so that the product can “breathe” and prevent mold from developing. To prevent the jacket from losing its shape during this time, the pockets must be emptied. The hangers should be selected according to size, so that creases do not form.

Vacuum storage cannot be used for down jackets, because the pressure on the filler causes deformation, which is then difficult to correct.

How to dry a down jacket correctly

Drying is an integral stage of the purification process. Even with properly organized washing, drying can ruin the filler and the fur will become tangled.

Drying is also carried out in stages:

Wring out the down jacket by hand or trust it to the machine.
When drying in a machine, the setting should be gentle, with tennis balls in the drum.
After washing, the down jacket needs to be shaken several times - this will help straighten out the filling. This should be done easily, otherwise the fluff will get lost.
The temperature in the room where drying is carried out should not be higher than 28 degrees.
It is forbidden to dry the item on the radiator; it must be placed horizontally on a special dryer. The water should drain within a few hours.
After hanging the jacket, you need to sort it out with your hands, breaking up small lumps.
Leave the product to dry, but periodically you need to approach it to knead the filler, paying more attention to the chest area and sleeves. In winter, the jacket can be placed outside for several hours: this way the water between the down freezes and prevents it from sticking together.
A down jacket can take a long time to dry, but you should not use prohibited methods to speed up the process. These include any heating devices, batteries, radiators. In this case, you can use a hair dryer, set the temperature to medium and blow on the product at a distance of 15 cm.
After complete drying, you can treat the jacket with a special water-repellent impregnation.

How to remove yellow spots and stains

As a result of improper washing, yellow streaks and stains may appear on a white down jacket. Typically, a few repeated rinses without powder will resolve the problem.

If the yellowness remains, the down jacket can be bleached at home:

Using a cloth moistened with an aqueous solution of vinegar (1:1), thoroughly rub the damaged areas, rinse well under running water.
Lather the stain thickly with regular laundry soap, leave for 15 minutes, and rinse with clean water.
Rub the yellowed area with a solution of ammonia and baby liquid soap (without dyes or fragrances). After the streaks disappear, rinse with water.
Apply a thick paste of ordinary table salt to the stains, and after an hour, remove with a sponge moistened with water.

To remove yellow stains, do not use bleach containing chlorine. It will ruin the down, and the fabric will darken over time.

Prohibited actions when washing and drying

Some actions during the washing process and subsequent drying can ruin the down jacket so that it will no longer be possible to save and return it to its previous appearance:

Carrying out washing in a semi-automatic machine;
wash the jacket with other things;
intensive washing and high water temperature;
using plastic balls rather than tennis balls;
too frequent washing, it is enough to clean the down jacket only 2 times a year;
use of non-specialized rinses and conditioners;
placing a drying jacket near radiators or heaters;
ironing;
placing the jacket vertically while drying.

All of the above actions damage the jacket irreversibly; it will no longer be possible to restore the fabric with filler.

A down jacket is a very practical type of clothing. But it requires proper care to maintain its appearance, breathability, and ability to retain heat.

You can clean the product using any chosen method, provided you follow the rules for washing and drying, as well as the choice of detergent.

Additional measures

After drying, the white down jacket was still covered with streaks - don’t rush to get upset! True, you will have to act exclusively manually. So, moisten a soft sponge in clean water and carefully rub the stains. Rinse the sponge often so that the collected soap solution remains in the water and does not migrate back onto the fabric. Some housewives hang coats over the bathtub and water the corresponding areas with warm water. You need to wait until all the water drains on its own, then take the coat out into the fresh air.

If the cause of unsightly patterns is poorly washed filling, use a soft rag and a soap solution (it is better to dissolve dishwashing liquid). Dampen a cloth and gently wipe away the yellow stains, being careful not to wet the fluff. Finally, dry the fabric with a hairdryer.

When this method does not help, try washing the down jacket again and rinsing very thoroughly. Or trust the professionals and still take it to the dry cleaner.