How to Wash a Down Coat

A down jacket is a coat lined with bird feathers, usually duck or goose feathers. Feathers are often used to line warm clothes, bed sheets and sleeping bags, because the material is usually warm and light. Washing down a down jacket is not an easy task, as the feathers are not resistant to harsh soaps and need to be completely dry to regain their insulation. However, to get the most out of your down jacket, you’ll need to wash it from time to time, but don’t wash it more than twice a year.

Table of Contents

Preliminary cleaning

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Read the label on the shirt. The label on the jacket will indicate if you need to follow any specific instructions, including how to wash it. ^{[1] X Research Source}

The label may recommend that you hand wash your shirt, machine wash it on a special setting, or take it to a professional service.
If the shirt only needs a light cleaning, the pre-cleaning step may be enough, and you don’t need to wash the entire shirt or hand wash.

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Fasten all the hooks and buckles of the jacket. Feather linings tear easily when wet, ^{[2] X Source of research} so it’s important to be careful with anything on your shirt that could get caught or snagged during the washing process.

Pull up the ferret
Buttons
Fasten all clasps and velcros
Install all bag flaps
Take out all the items in the pocket and fasten the pockets

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Wipe the dirt off the shirt. Use a clean, dry rag to wipe away dirt or mud stains on your shirt. This step will make the cleaning process a little easier, as you won’t have to deal with large patches of dirt. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

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Clean every stubborn stain. When cleaning and treating stains on down coats, you need to use pure soap or special soap for feathers so as not to strip the feathers’ oils and make them brittle. ^{[4] X Research Source} Pour a little soap on dirty areas, such as stains, hard-to-remove stains, and patches of oil or sweat. Soak the soap for about 15 minutes. ^{[5] X Research Sources} Good soap brands for down coats include:

Nikwax Down Wash
Granger’s Down Wash
ReviveX Down Cleaner
Treating stains before washing down coats helps stains come off and make them easier to clean.

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Soak the jacket in warm water. Fill a basin, sink, or tub with warm water. Put the jacket in the water and gently stir it with your hands. Soak the shirt for about 10-15 minutes. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

Soak clothes before washing to remove dirt and soap after treating stains.
After soaking, push the shirt away from the drain hole and drain the water. Gently squeeze the water in the shirt to drain.

Washing with washing machine

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Clean the soap dispenser before adding soap. Even streaks of common laundry soap can damage down coats. Before you machine wash your down jacket, it’s a good idea to clean the soap drawer with a rag to remove any remaining soap from previous washes. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Once the soap drawer is empty, you can fill up the detergent for feather products with the amount recommended by the soap manufacturer or washing machine.
To wash a down jacket, you should use the same amount of soap used to treat the stain on the shirt.
When stripped of its natural oils, feathers can lose their porous, insulating properties. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

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Put the shirt in the drum and select the washing mode. Wash down jackets separately to prevent them from getting caught in other items or being pulled. Choose cold wash, delicate wash, wool wash or hand wash and low load before pressing the start button. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Use only high-performance front-loading or top-loading washers that do not have a center tray. The washing tray can tear the fabric and damage the shirt. ^{[10] X Research Source}

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Let the washing machine drain the water again. When the washing machine has completed the wash cycle, give it a second rinse to completely remove the remaining soap. ^{[11] X Research Source}

Handwash

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Store water and soap in a large basin or sink. For down jackets that are recommended to be hand washed or if you are not sure to put them in the washing machine, you should hand wash them. Pour cold water into the basin and add a special soap for feather material at the rate according to the instructions.

You can use the sink, wash basin, or tub to wash down your down jacket.

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Soak shirt. Submerge the shirt in the water to soak it in the soapy water. Gently swirl the shirt in the water to remove any residue, then soak for 15 minutes.

When the shirt is soaked and heavy, you should not lift it to avoid damaging it. ^{[12] X Research Source}
Take your down jacket to a dry cleaner if yours is high end and you’re afraid of damaging it. There they have a cleaning method that is less harmful to the fibers.

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Rinse the shirt. After 15 minutes, push the shirt away from the drain and drain the soapy water in the tub. Leave the shirt as it is without lifting it and rinse with clean water.

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Soak the shirt again. Fill the sink again with clean water and soak the shirt for 5-10 minutes, then push the shirt away from the drain hole and drain the water.

Run water down the shirt to remove all remaining soap. ^{[13] X Research Source}

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Squeeze the shirt to let the water drain. Squeeze the shirt with your hand to let the water drain before you lift it up to dry.

Drying

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Let the washing machine run the spin cycle several times. Drying a down jacket will take a long time, but you can help it dry faster by removing as much water from the coat as possible.

Let the washer run the spin cycle 2 or 3 more times after the 2nd rinse. If possible, increase the spin speed after each cycle. ^{[14] X Research Source}
Squeeze the shirt with your hands to reduce the water flow if you don’t have a washing machine. Be sure not to wring your shirt, as wringing can damage the feathers. Spread the shirt on the fireplace or hang it to dry.

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Tumble dry on low heat. After the spin cycle is over, put the shirt in the dryer along with 2 or 3 tennis balls. When tennis balls tumble in the dryer with the shirt, they inflate the feathers inside the shirt, helping to prevent the feathers from clumping and restoring insulation. ^{[15] X Research Source}

Note that drying can take up to 3 hours, but you should not increase the drying temperature beyond low heat. Higher heat levels can damage or melt parts of the down jacket. ^{[16] X Research Source}
Drying with a dryer is the recommended method for drying down coats, as natural drying takes a long time, and eventually the coat can start to smell. But if you don’t have a dryer, you can dry it on the fireplace or hang it up to dry.

Advice

Do not iron down coats, as the heat can damage the feathers and melt the outer fabric.

Steps

Preliminary cleaning

Washing with washing machine

Handwash

Drying

Advice

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