Gear

My sons new puffa jacket needed a wash.  My wife followed all of the instructions and has just phoned me in a panick saying it looks like a rain jacket now.

Is there any special instructions for these things when washing or drying them?  I would hate to think his coat is ruined when she paid attention to the instructions.

Any help appreciated.

Just spoke to her.  It is starting to dry and is regaining its shape a little.  I have told her to 'give is a shake' every so often to try to break up any clumps in the down.  #

Any other tips?

Should this jacket be treated with nikwax type products when washed seeing as it is essentially an outdoorsy type thing.  I have loads of garments that havent been treated.  It would be good to have an excuse to buy some nikwax and put it in her precious washing machine

Being a down product it should really be washed somewhat rarely and very carefully when you do so. Some generic instructions here, judging by which its mostly very important to be very careful to get it fully dry before storing it.

This is one of the reasons that the current trend for casual wear down jackets really doesn't make a huge amount of sense.

This is one of the reasons that the current trend for casual wear down jackets really doesn't make a huge amount of sense.

It's a cyclical thing and many are the years when I've looked at the local yoof hanging out in Rab's finest thinking that when the fashion changes there'll be lotsa bargains at Oxfam... but the bargains never happen.  I suspect they get destroyed in the wash.

It's not entirely unrelated to why I've been using my Primaloft jacket the last couple of weeks for wandering about near home rather than the downie, which is reserved primarily for when I need that sort of performance.

Pete.

as you haven't a tumble drier then only patience works. it will take ages (days!) to dry properly. during this process try and break up any clumps of down that form and give it a good shake.

you can treat the jacket with downproof but it's better to not get it wet in the first place.

edit: washing and drying a down jacket is no problem or bother at all if you have a tumble dryer. it just takes longer and of course costs more. mine have been downproofed and have a wash at least once a year. but then i don't have "specific" kit. a jacket is a jacket and if it's cold and dry then the down gets worn wherever i need it.

sleeping bags - another story!

Parky Again wrote (see)

as you haven't a tumble drier then only patience works. it will take ages (days!) to dry properly. during this process try and break up any clumps of down that form and give it a good shake.

I'm not knocking Parky's advice but even if you have the time and the patience, I doubt the end result will be as good as you'd get with a tumble drier.

Don't you have a friend or neighbour with a tumble drier or (as suggested above) a local launderette?  It'll be much less hassle and you'll probably end up with a jacket as good as new.

Don't pay silly money for them though.  I got mine in a £ shop.

I like the trainers idea, Parky, but mine are so smelly they only go in with the dog towels.

lol. you don't machine wash your trainers?

The Littlest Hobo wrote (see)

 It would be good to have an excuse to buy some nikwax and put it in her precious washing machine

 Washing down jackets without a tumble dryer will cause probs, especially as it's not summer and it can't get a good shake on a washing line in the wind. I have 4 of the spiky balls (from Poundland) and the jacket gets an hour at a time on a *low* setting, taken out and given a good shake and repeat until dry.

Warning: commercial dryers in laundrettes rarely have a low temperature; just 'hot' and 'slightly less hot'..

If you don't have a tumble drier you can still use the washing machine with care.

The damage is caused to jackets and sleeping bags by the internal baffles being ripped apart during the spin process by the weight of water trapped in the down.

When a down item has been inadvertently trashed I've used the washing machine on and interuptted the cylce before the spin. With the item still in the machine I have compressed it to squeeze as much water out as possible. I have then spun the item on the lowest spin setting. Once that has completed I then go to the next highest spin setting. Repeat until you run out of settings. The item is then dried flat on an airer and periodically poked, prodded and bashed to remove clumps. Finally it goes in the airing cupboard for a couple of days.

So far that technique has worked fine for a couple of Rab and ME bags as well as MHW & TNF jacket.

Be careful, take your time and apply common sense and you'll be fine.

You guys are scaring me. 

Ninja, that washing machine is the center of the universe and if it breaks down the world stops turning.  This is the case when you have an active boy who plays football every minute of the day and a husband who is either playing football or riding his bike.  Oh and then there is a 2yr old little girl who is learning how to get her clothes dirty.

She was only hanging it on the radiators this morning to speed up the drying process.  I put it bluntly that the jacket was to be dried for the next two days and that it isnt some crappy next jacket that she is ruining.  I might even have a drive over to the mother in laws to see if she will let me use the drier

"a washing machine is simply a tool and it certainly ain't precious "

nooooooo! i didn't say it!! it's a quote....!!!! (runs away, tries to hide and holds breath)