A very practical solution for Russian winters is down jackets. In fact, these are very comfortable clothes that protect well from moisture and wind. They are worn with great pleasure by men, women, and, of course, our beloved children. And the housewife will definitely be faced with the question of washing these comfortable and fashionable clothes.
Down jackets use feather, down, holofiber, padding polyester as filler, and, accordingly, washing this item should be done very delicately. Most manufacturers recommend not washing these products, but suggest using dry cleaning services. But there are some disadvantages here:
- this is a waste of time to take the down jacket to the dry cleaner, and then, accordingly, pick it up;
- and of course, the price range. The services of good dry cleaners are not cheap.
A woman is faced with the choice of how to wash her down jacket efficiently and without streaks at home. Let's first look at the machine wash option.
Machine washable
First, before you start doing laundry, you need to go to a sports store. Yes, yes, exactly in sports, to buy tennis balls. It is thanks to these balls that the fluff will not cake, and, accordingly, the quality of washing will improve.
The balls must first be washed in the machine, this is done so that they do not fade and spoil your favorite item. You can use small children's rubber balls instead of tennis balls.If there are no tennis balls or rubber balls at home, it is more practical to use special plastic balls for washing down jackets, which are sold in household chemical stores. There is an opinion that rubber balls are better for this purpose, as they are heavier and knock down more effectively.
Secondly, jackets that contain down sometimes have streaks after washing. This indicates that the powder and washing mode were chosen incorrectly. If there is no special detergent at home, which, by the way, is sold in all large sports stores, then you can use a gel for washing wool. Some enterprising housewives use shampoo or liquid soap. But, here you need to approach with great caution, since we do not know how the shampoo will behave in the washing machine.
If even after washing with the means described above, unsightly streaks remain, then you need to consider the option that the item was not rinsed well. And, in this case, there are two options for getting rid of the resulting stains:
- manual rinsing: pour as much water as possible into the bathtub and rinse thoroughly until the water is clean, without soap. Rinsing should occur in 2 - 3 waters;
- additional rinsing in the washing machine.
Thirdly, the obligatory use of fabric softener, as it helps to eliminate the remains of washing powder, and your favorite down jacket acquires a pleasant aroma.
Fourthly, the down jacket is wrung out very well and hung to dry on a hanger. Periodically shaken, due to which the fluff is evenly distributed and dries. Also, periodic shaking helps to dry without unsightly stains.
Preparing a down jacket for washing.
- We check the pockets and take out all the contents.
- If possible, remove jewelry and metal objects.
- We fasten all zippers, pockets, buttons to avoid deformation.
- Turn the down jacket inside out.
- It is necessary to unfasten the edge, since it must be washed separately and only by hand.
Select the washing mode.
To wash a down jacket at home and avoid headaches and disappointment in life, you should take the choice of mode and temperature seriously.
- First, it would be a good idea to read the machine’s instructions and see if it has a down washing mode. If you haven’t found it, it doesn’t matter! You need to use the delicate or soft wash mode.
- The temperature should not be higher than 30 - 40 degrees!
- Program an additional rinse.
- The spin should vary from 600 to 800 rpm.
- The down jacket is loaded into the machine along with the tennis balls. You can also put a towel so that the jacket does not swell during washing.
- During washing, only one down jacket should spin in the drum; in order for the jacket to wash well, it needs to rotate freely.
- Detergent is poured into a special compartment; it is better if it is liquid, as it produces less foam. And as a result, it is easier to rinse out. The start button turns on. And the process began.
Handwash
If it is not possible to wash the product in a washing machine, then, of course, you can carry out this process manually. This type of washing is more troublesome and takes a little longer, but with the right approach you can get a perfectly clean down jacket.
You need to pour warm water into a deep basin or bath, no more than 30 degrees.It is better to wash by hand using liquid detergents. If you only have powder, you need to wait until it is completely dissolved before placing the down jacket in the container, since then it will be very difficult to rinse it. And one more thing, detergents should not contain bleach.
The dirtiest places on the jacket (pockets, cuffs, collars) must be pre-treated with soap. You can also use household stuff. This must be done to remove dirt more easily.
Now it's time to decide on the type of filler.
- If the filler is synthetic, then it can be safely washed in the usual way. The jacket should be twisted with the greatest care, without much use of a violin, to avoid deformation.
- Pooh requires great care. It is not recommended to soak it completely, but only to wash the most contaminated areas. Detergent is applied to the jacket, foamed by hand, and all this is washed off with a sponge.
If you still need to completely wash the down jacket, then to do this, hang it on hangers, soap it and gently rub it with a soft brush. After this, all soap is washed off with a shower. This option will be more gentle than wet down. In this way, the jacket will dry faster and there will be less chance of deformation and streaks.
It should be noted that not all products can be washed. There are types of jackets that require dry cleaning only. This method can be used to wash items that have a high degree of protection from the cold, tracksuits, and items made from natural fur.
Drying a down jacket
Well, we finally managed to properly wash our favorite down jacket.There is one more process ahead of us - drying the product. Some people advise drying your jacket near heating devices, but this is the wrong decision. Since this method can lead to exactly what many fear - the appearance of divorces.
- The down jacket must be dried on hangers
- A very good option for drying outside, on the balcony, where fresh air circulates
- It’s a good idea to spin the product in the washing machine with a couple of balls, as this will whip up the filler once again and improve the appearance.
- You can shake the down jacket periodically like a pillow
- If the filling is in pockets or in the corners, then you can use a vacuum cleaner at the lowest power so that the fluff under the lining moves.
- It would be better for the drying process to take place as quickly as possible. This is necessary in order to avoid an unpleasant odor.
Well, as you can see, it’s not that difficult to wash a down jacket at home. It is only important to adhere to certain rules.
