How to wash a down jacket without ruining the fill

Check the label and decide when to wash

Start with the care label inside the jacket, usually on a side seam. Most technical down jackets show a machine wash symbol and a tumble dry symbol with one dot, meaning low heat. Our guide to reading care label symbols explains the dots and bars. Fashion puffers are more varied: a jacket with a leather or fur trim, a coated or waxed shell, or a dry clean only label should go to a professional who handles down, and anything with a detachable fur ruff needs that removed first. If the fill is synthetic rather than down, the same gentle routine applies, but follow its own label for heat.

Wash when the jacket is visibly dirty, smells, or has lost loft, not on a schedule for its own sake. Outdoor Research suggests about once a month if you wear a down jacket hard every week; a jacket worn around town usually needs far less, perhaps once or twice a season. Between washes, wipe the collar and cuffs with a damp cloth and a drop of down wash, and air the jacket after a sweaty day before hanging it up.

Use a down wash, not ordinary detergent

A down wash detergent is formulated to clean without stripping the natural oils in the down clusters and to rinse out completely. Outdoor Research and Nikwax both explain that ordinary detergents can strip those oils and leave residue, and residue is the enemy of loft: clusters coated in soap stick together and dry slowly. Fabric softener is worse, since it coats both the down and the water repellent finish on the shell. Never use bleach.

Detergent left in the machine from earlier loads matters too. Arc'teryx suggests running an empty rinse cycle before you wash, so your jacket is not the first thing to meet leftover powder or softener. Measure the down wash according to the bottle, which usually doses by the number of garments rather than by load size.

How to wash a down jacket in a washing machine

A front loading washer is the safest choice because it tumbles instead of twisting. A top loader without a center agitator is generally fine; a top loader with a tall central post can snag the shell and tear the baffles, so for a big parka or if yours has one, use a large front loader at a laundromat.

1. 01

   Prepare the jacket

   Empty the pockets, close the main zipper and any underarm zippers, open the pocket zippers, loosen drawcords and fasten hook and loop tabs so they cannot catch on the shell. Arc'teryx recommends putting the jacket in a mesh bag for extra protection. Remove fur trims and detachable hoods.

2. 02

   Load one or two items

   Nikwax suggests a maximum of two items per wash. The down needs room to move through the water, and a crowded drum leaves patches unwashed and unrinsed.

3. 03

   Choose a gentle cycle at the label temperature

   Use the gentle, delicate or permanent press cycle. Makers differ on temperature: Arc'teryx specifies up to 104°F (40°C), while Outdoor Research recommends cold water. The label in your jacket is the deciding voice; cold or cool water is the cautious choice if it gives no number.

4. 04

   Rinse twice and spin thoroughly

   Add an extra rinse so no wash is left in the fill, then run a spin cycle, or two if the machine allows, to remove as much water as possible. Every bit of water you spin out now is time saved in the dryer. The jacket will come out flat and heavy with small wet lumps inside; that is expected.

Hand washing a puffer jacket

If the label asks for hand washing, or you only have an agitator top loader, use a clean bathtub and the same basic method as in our guide to hand washing clothes, scaled up. Fill it with water at the label temperature, dissolve the down wash, and press the jacket under until it is saturated. Knead it gently for a few minutes, paying attention to the collar and cuffs, then drain, refill with clean water and press repeatedly until no suds appear. Two or three rinses are usually needed.

Wet down is heavy, and lifting a sodden jacket by the shoulders can tear the internal baffle stitching. Press out as much water as you can while it lies in the empty tub, then gather it up from underneath in both arms. If your washer has a spin only setting, running it once will remove far more water than pressing alone.

Dry it slowly with dryer balls

Drying is where the jacket either gets its loft back or ends up lumpy. Use the lowest heat setting. Arc'teryx recommends two dryer balls or clean tennis balls, which bounce against the jacket and break up clusters as they dry. If you worry about new tennis balls marking a pale shell, wool dryer balls, or tennis balls tucked inside clean white socks, do the same job.

Every 30 to 45 minutes, take the jacket out, turn it inside out or back again, and pull apart any lumps you can feel with your fingers, working the down back toward empty corners of each baffle. Arc'teryx warns that a down garment can take upwards of three hours to dry, and Nikwax notes it may need several cycles. Keep going until there are no clumps at all and the jacket feels evenly light. A jacket that seems dry outside can still be damp in the center of the thickest baffles, and down stored damp clumps and can develop mildew.

Air drying is possible if you have no dryer, but it is slow, often several days, and you need to shake the jacket and break up clumps by hand every few hours. Lay it flat or hang it somewhere warm and airy, away from direct heat, and finish with a short low tumble if you can. Our guide to air drying clothes has more on where and how to hang things indoors.

If it comes out clumpy, smelly or flat

Persistent clumps almost always mean the down is still wet or still holds detergent. Put it back in the dryer on low with the balls and keep breaking up lumps. If clumps return after it is fully dry, rinse the jacket again in plain water with an extra spin and dry once more. A musty smell after drying points to down that was left damp too long; wash and dry it again straight away, and see our guide on dealing with mildew in clothes if spots appear on the shell. For lingering odor without mildew, our guide to getting smells out of clothes has further options.

A few feathers working through the shell is normal. Pull a poking feather back in from the inside of the fabric rather than pulling it out, which enlarges the hole. Small tears can be closed with a repair patch made for outdoor fabrics. If rain no longer beads on the shell after washing, Arc'teryx suggests renewing the water repellent treatment with a product made for that purpose.