washing your feather padded jacket

How to look after and repair a feather padded jacket?

As a seasoned trekker, you indulged yourself by treating yourself to a nice feather down jacket. As a novice trekker, you’ve opted for feathers and down that will keep you warm while out hiking. Whether you’re one or the other, your goal is to keep your padded jacket as long as possible. Follow our advice to enjoy your jacket for many years to come!

The 4 steps to looking after a feather padded jacket

  1. 1 Proper washing and drying
  2. 2 Reactivate the water-repellency
  3. 3 Store the down
  4. 4 Fix a tear

How to wash and dry a feather down jacket while keeping its volume?

In general, it’s not recommended to wash a down jacket too frequently it is not recommended to wash a down jacket too frequently because each wash reduces the insulating and swelling properties of the feather.
Furthermore, looking after products containing feathers or down sometimes ends in disaster: feathers don’t tolerate water well and clump together when wet. We’ll explain how to avoid that!

The key word is: VENTILATION! The down needs to be ventilated or agitated at all stages of the washing process.
Here are 4 steps to properly wash a down or feather padded jacket:
- Pull up the zips of the down jacket and put it in the machine
- Add 2 or 3 tennis balls (ideally already a little worn to avoid losing the yellow threads) and other clothes in the drum of the machine
- Start a cycle at 30°C with a special down detergent or, at the very least, a liquid detergent for technical sportswear because conventional detergents contain enzymes, perfume and brighteners which can damage the water-repellent treatment and reduce the properties down insulation.
- Rinse twice and set to a very delicate spin cycle to avoid creating clumps of feathers


To dry a down jacket :
- The best method: the tumble dryer!
Put your jacket in the dryer along with 2 or 3 tennis balls and some clothes, then run 2-3 gentle drying cycles. Between each cycle, shake and tap the jacket to break up any clumps that have formed.

- No dryer?
No problem, you can hang your down jacket to dry on a drying rack, but you’ll need to shake it and turn it over regularly to avoid balls of feathers forming! Dry it in a dry place at room temperature (not on a radiator… as you’ll see! ).

Wash and dry a down jacket

How to reactivate the water-repellency of a down jacket?

Let's face it, a down jacket that isn’t waterproof in the beginning cannot become waterproof! On the other hand, it’s quite possible to reactivate its water-repellency, that is, its property to be hydrophobic and not absorb droplets on its surface.

Here's how to reactivate the water-repellency of a down jacket:
- Washing: follow the instructions above
- Impregnation: use a water-repellency liquid reactivator in a basin of water (30°C and 15 minutes of soaking) or in the washing machine in the softener compartment (delicate cycle 30°C) taking care to remove all traces of detergent from the detergent compartment beforehand.
- Activation: it’s done by applying heat either in a tumble dryer (follow the instructions above) or on a drying rack (follow the instructions above), occasionally using a hair dryer with gentle heat.

Storing away a down jacket

How to store a down jacket without damaging its feathers?

The way you store your down jacket will also contribute to its longevity. It’s very common for feather padded jackets to fold away into their own pocket or in a separate pouch, but you should NEVER store your feather products compacted, at the risk of reducing their thermal properties over the long term. This also applies to vacuum storage bags.

Of course, you can compact your down jacket for the duration of a trek. But, for the long summer months, it's best to put your product on a hanger and let it expand. This way, your feather padded jacket retains its loft and therefore its heat!

how to fix a hole in a down jacket

How to repair a hole in a down jacket?

What to do if your down jacket has a tear in it? Let’s be clear: a small loss of feathers is quite possible without there being a specific hole. The feathers sometimes manage, despite our best efforts, to pass between the assembly threads of the garment.
Here, it would be more a question of a snag among the branches or caused by a rock.

- Do you want the repair to be inconspicuous, pretty neat even?
If the fabric isn’t too thin, take the time to sew up the hole with a thread the colour of the outside of your jacket.
Beware: if you sew, don’t pierce the other side of the jacket, as this will create a thermal bridge and so reduce the performance of your jacket.
- You’re short of time and have no sewing skills?
The sticky repair patch comes to your rescue: cut a round-edged rectangle one or two centimetres larger than the size of the snag, glue it to the clean, flattened fabric and it's done - you're good to go!

You’re now ready to enjoy your feather padded jacket for a long time to come!
Feel free to share with us in the comments which parts of the world you have enjoyed the warmth of your down jacket the most! And of course, your washing tips if you have any others.

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