wash and care your down jacket

Some bullet points about wash and care your down products

  • Down is remarkably tough, when properly taken care of 
  • Wet down has no insulation properties, though getting it wet doesn’t hurt the down. 
  • Washing a down jacket is not much harder than washing a pair of jeans.
  • Remember you don’t need to wash you garment often, a couple of times a year is enough, preferable at the end of the season. 
  • If your garment gets a dirty spot, it’s better to remove the stain than wash the whole garment.
  • Use specific detergent for down garments and follow the washing instructions on the label carefully. We recommend Toko ECO Wash Down
  • While you can use regular detergents, they can strip away the natural oils in down and don’t always rinse out cleanly. 
  • Don’t add more detergent than necessary because residual soap can prevent the down from lofting completely. 
  • To ensure all residual soap is rinsed out, you can run the garment through an additional wash cycle with no soap at all.

 

What about repairing your down jacket?

  • Down garments are incredibly popular insulation pieces and for a good reason; they’re warm and so comfortably light you almost forget you’re wearing one. 
  • Most down garments use lightweight fabrics to keep the garment light and packable, unfortunately, there is a downside to the fabrics being so lightweight. 
  • Since nature itself doesn’t always come with soft surfaces, there’s always a chance that you might end up with a small tear in the shell fabric. 

 

 

So, what do you do then?

  • While many hardcore mountain guides patch their clothes with duct tape, it’s not really the best option, especially if you want to repair it later.
  • Instead, head to your nearest outdoor shop and pick up some nylon repair tape. 
  • Cut a piece at least 1,5 cm bigger around the hole, round off the corners, peel off the backing and stick it on. Repair tape is a super easy fix for small holes, and it will last for years through many washings. 
  • With larger rips it’s probably best to send it to our repair service.