How do I wash a coat or a down jacket?

Two things go wrong with coats. Ordinary detergent leaves residue that strips the natural oils from down and clogs the water-repellent finish on a technical shell. And down that is not tumbled as it dries dries in clumps, losing most of its insulating loft permanently.

What you'll need

• A down wash or technical fabric wash
• A large drum machine
• Three clean tennis balls or dryer balls
• A tumble dryer, for down

Step by step

1. Read the label and check the fill.Down, feather, synthetic and wool all behave differently. Down needs the tumble dry step; synthetic fill is far more forgiving.
2. Empty the pockets and close everything.Zips done up, velcro fastened, drawcords loose. Open zips catch and tear the shell fabric during the cycle.
3. Spot clean the collar and cuffs first.A little of the technical wash on a cloth. These areas hold body oil and a single machine cycle rarely clears them.
4. Use a specialist wash, never ordinary detergent.Detergent residue coats down and destroys its loft, and it strips the water-repellent finish on a shell. A down wash or technical cleaner is formulated to rinse out completely.
5. Never use fabric conditioner on any coat.It coats the fibres, clogs breathable membranes and ruins water repellency. There is no version of this that helps.
6. Wash cool on a gentle cycle with a low spin.Thirty degrees, delicate, 600 spin. A front-loading machine only — an agitator will tear baffles apart.
7. Rinse twice.Getting every trace of cleaner out matters more here than in any other wash. Residue is what kills loft.
8. Support the whole coat when you lift it out.A wet down jacket is heavy and the internal baffles can tear if it hangs by one shoulder. Gather it into a bundle.
9. Tumble dry down on low with tennis balls.Several hours, checking regularly. The balls break up the clumps as the down dries, which is what restores the loft. Do not rush it with high heat.
10. Keep drying until there is no cold spot at all.Squeeze the jacket all over — any dense cold patch is still wet down. Damp down goes mouldy and smells permanently.
11. Reproof a technical shell afterwards.Washing removes the durable water repellent finish. A wash-in or spray-on reproofer, then heat activation as the instructions say, restores it.

Tips

• Use a launderette's large machine for a big down duvet jacket. Cramming it into a small domestic drum stresses the seams and prevents rinsing.
• Wool coats are almost always dry clean only, and the structure — canvas, interfacing, shoulder pads — is why. Brush them and spot clean instead.
• Down jackets need washing far less often than people think. Once or twice a season, with spot cleaning between, is plenty.

Common mistakes

• Air drying a down jacket — The down dries in clumps, and once clumped it does not redistribute. The jacket loses most of its warmth permanently and often develops a musty smell from the slow drying.
• Using ordinary detergent or conditioner — Both leave residue on the down and the shell. Down loses loft, the shell loses water repellency, and the coat becomes noticeably less warm and less waterproof.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask