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My wife's down jacket needs a wash - according to the manufacturer the washing but looks easy, but drying is fraught with warnings of 7 hour sessions of removing from tumble driers every 30 minutes to puff up and prevent clumping, and even then it might not work. Is it really this much of a ballache?
Manufacturer offers a £35 service, which isn't bad as she's had it 2 years, seems like the less risky alternative.
Are there any other places that will do it for a bit less? There's a place in Sheffield I've found reference to after a search, but doesn't seem to do down any more.
Ta.
Chick a couple of tennis balls in the tumble drier with it.
Nik wax down wash* and then as above tennis balls in the dryer on low heat.
Depending on if it's natural or synthetic, I think....
What JV said.
Recently washed a down gillette and thought i'd messed it up when it came out the tumble drier(with tennis balls) all clumpy.
Threw it back in for another hour and it was puffier than it had ever been.
As all say above, Nikwax down wash, tumble o low with balls, be patient! Sleeping bags take even longer, look awful half way though and then appear like new fluff balls of warmth at the end 👍👍
Whatever you do, don't chuck a trainer in if you can't find any tennis balls. Even on the lowest setting - mine got all twisted and shrank.
We bought this set when Mrs B bought a Rab jacket a couple of years ago:
The jacket hasn't been washed yet but the spikey balls go in the tumble drier regularly with non down based loads.
I was just going to do. search for this topic and here it is!
Do you have too tumble dry or can I let it drip dry? I don't have a tumble dryer.
Itll stay clumpy if you drip dry them, the tumble dryer really does work. It there a laundrette locally you could use?
Just washed my Mountain Equipment down jacket, having previously been worried I’d ruin it by not being able to dry it properly.
Washed it by hand, as per instructions, and then tumble dried at low heat for quite a while with a few tennis balls. It came out as good as new, and the down was noticeably more lofted, and the jacket warmer. Wish I’d done it sooner!
I have a 20+ year old TNF Nuptse that has been hand washed numerous times in either liquid soap flakes aka Techwash or proper Nikwax downwash. As above - tennis balls and tumble on low for longer than you expect.
I've washed both mine and my partners down jackets several times using nikwax down wash. We don't have a tumble dryer. You don't need one but I do tend to wash in the summer when drying is easier. I have successfully dried a down jacket in the winter indoors before but it took ages to dry. Last summer/spring they were washed and dry in a day. As with lots of outdoor gear I try to keep away from strong direct sunlight if drying outside.
As a few people have said, down takes longer to dry than you think, so be patient. Also, with both down sleeping bags and jackets, though to a lesser extent, be very careful lifting and moving them when they're wet. It's very easy to rip the stitching under the extra weight of the water and rip one of the baffles between down compartments. Gently does it.
Water-resistant / hydrophobic down is easier to wash btw. It'll retain about 90% of its original loft without specialist drying.
Right, based on the above and number of ruined jackets in this thread (I may have glossed over those if there are any) I've got some drier balls and Nikwax Down stuff on the way. I'll be back soon, either celebrating my money saving success or lamenting my marital demise.
Thanks all!
IF it gives any further reassurance I washed a down sleeping bag a couple of weeks ago. A little bit of a ball ache, taking it out occasionally to gently tease the down apart and then trying to distribute it as some had settled in the "wrong" places, bigger chambers than a jacket. But seems to have washed and dried ok.