Can you wash a down jacket?

Down loses loft as body oils and dirt accumulate, and a dirty down jacket is a colder jacket, so washing restores warmth rather than threatening it. Use a down-specific wash: ordinary detergent strips the natural oils from the feathers and leaves residue that stops them re-lofting. The drying is the part people get wrong. Wet down clumps into dense lumps, and only prolonged low-heat tumbling with dryer balls breaks those clumps apart. Expect two to three hours. Air drying alone leaves permanent clumps and risks mildew in the damp cores.

How to do it properly

1. Zip it up, fasten the cuffs, and use a front-loading machine — a top-loader agitator tears baffles.
2. Gentle cold cycle with down wash, then two extra rinses to clear all residue.
3. Tumble dry low with three clean dryer balls or tennis balls.
4. Keep going for two to three hours, breaking up lumps by hand every 30 minutes.
5. It is only dry when no dense spots remain anywhere in the baffles.

Other "can you wash" questions

• Can you wash pillows? It depends — Down and polyester pillows wash fine. Memory foam and latex must never go in the machine.
• Can you wash sneakers in the washing machine? It depends — Canvas and synthetic trainers survive a cold gentle cycle. Leather and suede do not.
• Can you wash memory foam? No — No. Memory foam disintegrates in a washing machine and cannot be dried through.
• Can you wash a weighted blanket? It depends — Usually yes, but check the weight — most domestic machines top out around 7 kg dry.
• Can you wash silk? It depends — Hand wash cold with a pH-neutral detergent. Never use biological powder or hot water.
• Can you wash wool? It depends — Yes, cold and without agitation. Heat plus movement is what felts it, not water alone.
• Can you wash stuffed animals? It depends — Most wash fine in a pillowcase on cold gentle. Anything with electronics or glued parts does not.