when fiancée ruins down jacket

New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
thomwilson88 24 Mar 2015
In my household, the general rule is, things in the wash basket are to be washed. The items on the floor next to the wash basket means 'special attention needed, ill wash myself'.
Now my fiancée and mother to my kids, in all her infinte wisdom has put my 180 quid down jacket (on the floor in aforementioned spot) in the wash with everything else and washed it. Shes gone off to work and left me to discover the horror myself.
Initial diagnosis is terminal, i dont have a tumble dryer so im periodically drying on a radiator. The clumps of down are proving dificult to seperate and spread back down the baffles. Anyone got any tips for revival or should i just accept my loss and break up with my fiancee (this isnt her first offence, similar thing with a 350 quid hardshell)
 richprideaux 24 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:

If it was hydrophobic down then you have probably lost that magical property, but otherwise it will be more or less OK assuming you can dry it properly. I have recovered down jackets that have been run through the washing machine by hanging them above a fan heater for a day or two and regularly de-clumping it by shaking it and rubbing the panels gently.

Washing it through with Nikwax Down Wash probably wouldn't hurt...

 elliot.baker 24 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:

Absolutely hilarious that I tried to create a similar laundry system in our bedroom for items which could be worn again but that I didn't want mixing with work clothes - it did not end well!

Regarding your down jacket though I would say you should try and find a tumble dryer you can put it in for 10-20 minutes on a low heat and it will buff up and regain its loft straight away! I got a Rab Neutrino Endurance soaked once and it looked like a wet black bin bag and I was distraught, then when it came out of the tumbler it looked brand new and all buffed up!

Just make sure you keep checking it and LOW heat! Must be a tumbler at friends/families/launderette near by?
 3 Names 24 Mar 2015
In reply to elliot.baker:

Yeah plus apparently if you put a tennis ball in with it, it helps to break up the down.
 1202alarm 24 Mar 2015
In reply to elliot.baker:

Down iteslf is pretty resilient - the original owner would have worn it to go swimming remember!

wash it again in liquid soap flakes or down wash then dry it in a tumble dryer with some tennis balls
 LastBoyScout 24 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:

My wife has been washing her selection of North Face down jackets in the machine with Persil for years without any problem - drip dry somewhere, then airing cupboard until properly dry and a good shake to fluff them up again.

That said, she doesn't exactly wear them in the hills, so doesn't care about the loss of any special properties - I'd be horrified if she did that to any of mine.
 girlymonkey 24 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:

Your local launderette will have a tmble drier which won't cost too much. I'd probably be tempted to wash it again then take it there straight away to dry it. I guess you know to put something with weight in with it? (Balled up socks work fine)
 jethro kiernan 24 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:

The special pile next to the laundry basket, for merino, cycling gear and technical waterproofs my wife doesnt understand the fuss either. :-/
 goose299 24 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:

Heart breaking. Empty her stuff onto the lawn and let her find out what's going on when she gets home

Though, I recommend the tennis ball and a tumble drier followed by a good shake
1
In reply to goose299:

> Though, I recommend the tennis ball and a tumble drier followed by a good shake

Shake the jacket or missus?
1
 goose299 24 Mar 2015
In reply to markh554:

The missus. That'll teach her
1
Rigid Raider 24 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:
When I washed my old down sleeping bag it refused to drip dry and just sat there for two days like wet bog paper. Eventually in desperation - it was beginning to grow bacteria and smell - I chucked it in the spin and it came out almost dry. Half an hour hanging in the hot sun and it was miraculously retored to almost new condition.
Post edited at 13:34
thomwilson88 24 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:

Thanks for the response people. Comforting to know im not alone in my experience but worrying that its such a prevailing issue. We need to take it to parliament. I'll try and source a tumble dryer but for now its laid across a chair infront of a warmish radiator. However i just cant see how it can recover looking at it. The sleeves look okay but its the back baffles that look bleak. Thankfully i wont need it again until back end of the year so i can take my time with it. Utterly devastated. Its shared some good times with me.
 L.A. 24 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:
Dont take your time with it ! Take pictures of it as evidence then get it to a tumble drier today and sort it. Then you can get your life back whilst reminding her regularly for the next few years (or until you leave her if she carries on like this) of the travesty thats occurred which is entirely her fault
Marriage is a game of points won and points lost-Learn to capitalise on any points given away carelessly
Post edited at 14:00
thomwilson88 24 Mar 2015
In reply to L.A.:

Hahaha i have it all saved in my memory bank dont worry. Shes going to remember this for a very long time. And she has to explain why santa didnt bring the kids any presents but brought daddy a whole new climbing wardrobe as punishment for this
1
Rigid Raider 24 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:

IT WON'T DRIP DRY! I tried to explain this in my post. The outer shell protects the wet down, which is far too retentive for anything to drip out. Within 24 hours bacteria will be growing and it will begin to whiff. Take it to a laundry and place it carefuly into the spinner then hang it in a warm dry place to air off.
 girlymonkey 24 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:

> However i just cant see how it can recover looking at it. The sleeves look okay but its the back baffles that look bleak.

Down clothing is not really that delicate, regular washing of it is fine. Rewash it, and tumble dry it and it may even be better than it was! A wash is good at rejuvenating it, it just needs properly dried!
 JR 24 Mar 2015
In reply to girlymonkey:

A few years ago I helped rescue someone that had fallen almost the entire length of Cascade (V 5) on Craig y Rhaeadr, stripping a load of ice screws and falling about 20m past the belay.

He was generally ok apart from a compound fracture to his arm which was bleeding a fair bit. He started to go into shock so we wrapped him in my down jacket which ended up covered in blood. Once MRT turned up, the jacket disappeared off in the chopper to hospital, but a few weeks later it was returned in the post. When the postman handed me the package I noticed that it felt incredibly heavy.

The jacket had been posted with a bottle of whiskey inside. The blood on the jacket hadn't been cleaned and the bottle had smashed in transit, so I now had a blood stained and whiskey soaked down jacket caked in broken glass.

In the washing machine with down wash and then tumble dried with tennis ball it came out serviceable (apart from the blood stains.)

Your jacket will be fine, just find a friend with a tumble drier and a tennis ball, and maybe buy them a bottle of something to cover the hassle and electricity. Just keep the bottle away from the jacket.
Post edited at 15:29
Rigid Raider 24 Mar 2015
In reply to John Roberts (JR):

Phew! Quite a story!
 Howardw1968 24 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:

you could offer to do all the family's washing in future so that you can guarantee that it doesn't happen again.

 nutme 24 Mar 2015
I wash my down jackets often and never had problems. I like to wear down as mid layer in cold weather and it stinks after few days like a dead cat. Sometimes it gets wet from rain and snow.

The key is to dry it well. Either in a tumble dryer or drying room with dehumidifier and it's just like new.
 Siward 24 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:

Mr Rab, of sleeping bag fame (so I remember reading, maybe it was that Hutchinson fella), made a down quilt for his son/daughter to generally have and mistreat as only a young child can for their first few years of life. It was washed together with everything else, left out in the garden, no doubt vomited on regularly, but after a few years he checked the down inside and is was still in very good condition. Down is more resilient than we give it credit for.
In reply to thomwilson88:

If the clumps have dried, you don't want to use mechanical action to break them up; you're likely to fracture the down clusters, and end up with dust. Wash it again (with a down wash), and then take it to a launderette and use their industrial drier, with the tennis balls.

Wetting it again should allow the clumps to break up again.
m0unt41n 24 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:

The down will be OK, its the baffles separating it that are fragile and why you need to use the biggest tumble drier you can.

It the States I chucked in our down pillows in the laundrette washing machine, and that's a top loader which is not so good, then full blast in tumbler drier, and they were OK. Because no baffles, just a bag packed full of down.

 marsbar 24 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:

May I suggest an alternative basket in the bottom of your wardrobe rather than the floor.
In reply to marsbar:

Yeah; wool items on the floor are just asking or holes from carpet beetle larvae...

Not that keeping things off the floor helps much; the hairy little bastards seem to climb walls quite happily...
 Slarti B 24 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:
Wont help current situation but maybe give her one last chance before the break up.

I suggest you educate her by taking some of her delicate sink lingerie, nice white/pale cotton shirts and any other delicates and washing them on a high heat with a new, heavily dyed cotton T-Shirt, preferably lurid orange. In unlikely event of the dye running and she gets upset about effect on her best Janet Reger, just explain you were trying to help, in the same way as she helped with your down ( and hard shell) jacket.

If she doesn't get message after that then there is no hope

edited for Marsbar....
WARNING taking light hearted suggestions from random strangers on a forum too literally can seriously damage your relationship.

Post edited at 22:25
 marsbar 24 Mar 2015
In reply to Slarti B:

Truly tw*ttish suggestion.
1
 wercat 24 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:
You ought to look after your kit a bit better and not blame your future wife!

Do you consider yourself a decent kind of bloak? If so, think about what you posted!
Post edited at 22:15
2
 marsbar 24 Mar 2015
In reply to Slarti B:

OK then. I apologise for my over literal interpretation.
 Slarti B 25 Mar 2015
In reply to marsbar:

No probs, thanks for reply.

To be frank I feel thomwillson's pain from personal experience. I have fantasised about the orange T-Shirt trick on several occassions but either I am not brave enough or I value my relationship too much to risk it!

Best of luck to him with tumble drier and tennis balls.
In reply to thomwilson88:

> I'll try and source a tumble dryer but for now its laid across a chair infront of a warmish radiator.

if you don't have the gumption to find a laundrette promptly maybe you're safer without your jacket, remaining safely indoors. Doing laundry.

Jamming Dodger 25 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:

My darling other half understandably gets frustrated when I dare wash things which are left in a heap on the bedroom floor that I KNOW he has worn; and he has to find them hung up in the wardrobe (of all places), clean. I should have been dumped ages ago.
If it needs washing (i.e. needs your special attention) then a pile next to the wash basket probably isnt the best (or neatest) option.
In reply to Turdus torquatus:

> if you don't have the gumption to find a laundrette promptly maybe you're safer without your jacket, remaining safely indoors. Doing laundry.

+1
 Bluebird 25 Mar 2015
In reply to L.A.:

Marriage... My dad tells me the first 54 years are the hardest.
1
thomwilson88 25 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:

Update: jacket is recovering but still in a state of ailment.
The problem of sourcing a laundrette immediately was i was looking after my two young children and my partner wasnt finishing work until after places had shut.
And to clear a few things up on for the humour that was lost on some people. To say i would end my relationship was clearly in jest as i dont think anyone ever would end a relationship based on a washed garment.
Thanks for the help folks its saved an apparent broken family
 angry pirate 25 Mar 2015
In reply to wercat:

> You ought to look after your kit a bit better and not blame your future wife!

> Do you consider yourself a decent kind of bloak? If so, think about what you posted!

I read that out loud to my other half with tongue firmly in cheek, as I suspect was the intent of the OP. We both found it very amusing. You might want to check the humour settings on your computer
 Rod Anderson 25 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:

Maybe i was lucky but recently i did an experiment on a very old and knackered (20+ years old) ME Lightline recently.In the washing machine with bold 2in1 on a normal washing cycle. After a lot ( hours of cool tumble drying), it is in unbelievably good condition. The key thing i am sure is a lot of tumble drying with something like a ball or a shoe to break up the clumps of down. There is a good chance it will be perfectly fine.
 blurty 25 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:

Does Franklins still exist in Dore?

That used to be the best place to resuscitate knackered down
 Timmd 25 Mar 2015
In reply to captain paranoia:

> Yeah; wool items on the floor are just asking or holes from carpet beetle larvae...

> Not that keeping things off the floor helps much; the hairy little bastards seem to climb walls quite happily...

Aha. I was wondering why the wool jumper I'd left on my spare room floor had holes in it.
 nightclimber 25 Mar 2015
In reply to thomwilson88:

Of course, you could just take it as a cue to dump her.

Or else, don't whinge, and deal with it like a man.
 Mal Grey 25 Mar 2015
In reply to captain paranoia:

So that's what those fuzzy bugs I find occasionally are; larvae of varied carpet beetles. Explains the holes in my Merino too, I expect...

In reply to Mal Grey:

Well, merino tends to fall apart perfectly well on its own, without any help from our little woolly bear friends...
In reply to thomwilson88:

Take it down the dry cleaners, 2 tennis balls, lowest heat setting. Roberts your mothers brother!

New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Loading Notifications...