How to Clean a Down Jacket Recommendations

ciao_bella · ‎03-13-2010

Both my daughter and I buy quite a few pieces of clothing from Costco. Two years ago, she bought a Kenneth Cole thin, puffer style 3/4 jacket from there. The lining is down feathers. I was cleaning out the front hall closet yesterday, and noticed the very bottom of the sleeves, where you get the most wear and tear, were showing they needed to be cleaned. Inside the coat, it says Dry Clean, but on most websites it says not to dry clean natural down as it strips away the natural oils from the feathers.. It says you should machine wash gentle with a mild soap and then dry on low in the dryer with tennis balls.

Has anyone ever done this and if so, was the result good?

Cinderella is proof that a new pair of shoes can change your life!

tessam · ‎04-30-2010

Works like a charm! no worries

SilleeMee · ‎05-22-2016

Yes I have washed down coats and sleeping bags also.

What you need to do is first is compress the down jacket inside a sack or bag (something that can go in water) to remove the air from the jacket so it won't float on top of the water. The more compressed it is the better.

Fill your washer, add a clean and pure liquid detergent and don't add too much.

Submerge the sack containing the down jacket and slowly remove it while still under water. That way the water will enter the insides of the jacket where the air would normally be.

Dry it in the dryer with low heat and check it intermittently to separate clumps by hand. continue doing that until it's dry.

It's a lot of work.

Front-load machines will not work with this method. Top-loaders only.

You can wash it in the bathtub and do a 'grape smashing dance' but be careful not to fall.

mspatmac · ‎06-10-2015

I throw my down products in the washing machine med temp and perm press setting and a Tide disc. The dryer gets med heat and tennis or dryer balls. Do not use any type of aditive in the washer or dryer.

I have a lot of down and have washed and dried it all. I have down comforters and pillows, short and long coats, vests and 5 throws.

My down comforter is 10 yrs old and feels like new. It's been washed a lot and lives in a duvet cover.

Spacrazy · ‎12-14-2018

@ciao_bella,: I wash mine in the bathtub exactly as@SilleeMee suggested. Learned this with my down pillows and duvets. They go outside on a clean/lined patio table (or whatever space you have) to drip and dry on a sunny day. If you encounter some undesired wrinkles you can "knock" them out in the dryer with tennis balls on low. I just love how fresh this makes my articles and in some cases better than new.

RoughDraft · ‎03-09-2010

I've had two down jackets I bought at Sam's Club at least five years ago.

I wash on gentle cycle, throw in dryer. Easy, peasy! They look like new.

~The only difference between this place and the Titanic is that the Titanic had a band.~

Trailrun23 · ‎05-31-2022

Wow this is so good to know! I have passed up some beautiful down jackets because of the toxic dry cleaning chemicals. I never thought I could wash them myself without ruining them.

qvcaddition · ‎03-10-2010

@ciao_bella

@ciao_bella wrote:
Both my daughter and I buy quite a few pieces of clothing from Costco. Two years ago, she bought a Kenneth Cole thin, puffer style 3/4 jacket from there. The lining is down feathers. I was cleaning out the front hall closet yesterday, and noticed the very bottom of the sleeves, where you get the most wear and tear, were showing they needed to be cleaned. Inside the coat, it says Dry Clean, but on most websites it says not to dry clean natural down as it strips away the natural oils from the feathers.. It says you should machine wash gentle with a mild soap and then dry on low in the dryer with tennis balls.

Has anyone ever done this and if so, was the result good?

I order a cleaner from Professer Amos on HSN yesterday, that cleans everything. No chemicals, and the reviews were all 5stars.

people telling what they cleaned and said wouldn't be without.

From rugs, jackets, to jewerly. Called Shock.. I think you can find it under recent Sunday orders. It was a TSV.

I have stuff from him that works great.

ciao_bella · ‎03-13-2010

@qvcaddition Thank you. I'll definitely look it up on HSN.

Cinderella is proof that a new pair of shoes can change your life!

qvcaddition · ‎03-10-2010

@ciao_bella

@ciao_bella wrote:
@qvcaddition Thank you. I'll definitely look it up on HSN.

Good. I wasn't going to order until I read reviews and saw what could be done without rinsing, and use for mirrors, windows, in laundry, and stuff that was old and came out like new and it was safe. I want to do my couch and he spoke about that and rugs. If you can also watch the demo.

He has great stuff. I use his drain cleana er and works wonders.

Happycleaning. I have a very clean house, but going to go over blinds, couch, kitchen chairs, etc.