Down jacket washing help

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 Dave 88 29 May 2017
Can anyone help please. My good lady put her down jacket in the washing machine and now it's completely deflated and looks more like a wind proof. Is it for the bin or is there any saving it?
 LG-Mark 29 May 2017
In reply to Dave 88:

Put it in the tumble dryer with 2 tennis balls.... 45-60mins should revive it.
 Pipecleaner 29 May 2017
In reply to Dave 88:

Tumble on a low heat obviously...and take it out every ten mins or so and give it a shake and a check.
The tennis balls really do help, ive revived a few very sad looking sleeping bags and theyve been fine!
Good luck.
OP Dave 88 29 May 2017
In reply to Dave 88:

This has worked a treat, thanks both of you. Couple of flat spots still where the down has bunched in some of the baffles, but pretty much sorted thank you!
 kermit_uk 29 May 2017
In reply to Dave 88:

as above but make sure it really is dry.

Down keeps you warm by trapping lots of air but it also traps lots of water. If not fully dried the down can go mouldy. A big down jacket on a low heat I would say take more like 2-3 hours to be totally dry. 1 hour and then air it rubbing any clumped spots to break them apart will also work. Just don't leave it in a wardrobe etc whilst it's still a bit lumpy.

Alternatively give it a day or two airing then another 15 minutes in a drier with the tennis balls.
 Sealwife 29 May 2017
In reply to Dave 88:

I did something similar and thought I'd killed a down jacket. I don't own a tumble drier, so I blew warm air into it with a hair drier and kind of fluffed it up with my hands and broke up the clumpy bits. It's not quite as new but it's now usable.
 marsbar 30 May 2017
In reply to Dave 88:

It will seem dry when it isn't totally dry inside, keep shaking it and leave it out to air for a week and it will be fine.
 discosucks 30 May 2017
the Tumble dryer really sorts it out , it looks like a really sorry case when it comes from the washing machine haha .

I had no tennis balls , so i Just put two large towels in with it and it sorted it out .

Just give it a shake in many directions every 10-15 mins .
Rigid Raider 30 May 2017
In reply to Dave 88:

I once washed my (then) 22 year-old Point Five down bag thinking it owed me nothing. The first challenge was actually getting it wet, which took me ages in a bath full of the special soap. The next challenge was getting it dry as it refused to release any water at all and just laid on my drying rack over the bath like wet bog paper. After a couple of days it began to fester and smell bad so in desperation I put it in the machine on a fast spin and to my surprise it came out almost dry. To my further surprise after an hour hanging up in warm sunshine it puffed up beautifully and looked as good as the day my parents gave it to me as an 18th birthday present. Even now, 43 years later I still use it occasionally and it's still warm. Are down bags as good as that nowadays?

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