How to Wash Down Filled Jackets and Comforters

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I just recently bought Lululemon‘s Brave the Cold down jacket. It’s hands down the best looking AND performing down jacket I’ve ever owned. I chose the deep indigo color and have not looked back to my other down pieces.

While wearing my coat, I accidentally spilled some food down the front. *Doh!* Instead of taking my coat to the dry cleaners, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

A few weeks ago, my little 10-year-old Chihuahua had an accident on our bed and ended up wetting our down comforter. I went to 5 different cleaners not realizing that dry cleaning facilities were usually closed on Sundays. Not wanting to go to bed without my Ralph Lauren down comforter, I looked online and found instructions on how to clean my down comforter at HOME! I followed the instructions but didn’t have any dryer or tennis balls. I modified my method and what resulted was a clean down comforter and the comfort of being able to sleep in my bed again. I applied this same process to my Brave the Cold jacket and it worked like a charm.

Now that I am an experienced down cleaner, I’d love to share my instructions on how to clean your beloved down pieces at home.

How to Wash Down Filled Jackets and Comforters:

Take the jacket or comforter to your washer. Make sure to turn your down jacket inside out. I have a top loading washer. Load the piece in and make sure that to push the item against the outer edge of the washer, leaving the center uncovered, this will allow for the spin cycle to remove any excess water from the item efficiently.
Add mild detergent (I use Ecos environmentally friendly detergent) and set the washer to delicate with an extra rinse. You want to make sure that all the liquid soap is removed before drying it. In some cases, you may want to wash the item another time if it’s prone to heavy soaking which may leave detergent in the feathers.
After the item has been rinsed completely, transfer it to the dryer and set it on tumble dry low. Use tennis balls (if you have them) to fluff the blanket as it dries. If you do not have tennis balls, return to the dryer every 15-20 minutes and hand-fluff the item so that the feathers are distributed evenly and it dries completely. You want to make sure the feathers dry completely or else mold can grow in your jacket or comforter.
Dry the item a second or even third time and fluff every 15-20 minutes.
Once the item is dry, enjoy it and pat yourself on the back. You did it!

The process was so easy and my item looked as good as new! I also didn’t have to spend $100 at the dry cleaners, for something I could do myself.

If this was helpful to you, please pin it for later.