North Face Greenland

How to clean down vest, jacket and mummy bag?

Landery detergent removes natural oils. What is good.

Public Comments

1. Take them to the dry cleaner or find some of the special detergent made for use on down. Yes, there is such a thing.
2. use woolite( found in grocery store)
3. Dry cleaning is not recommended. Down products can be washed, provided the shell is washable, which in the case of outdoor gear is almost always true. Here's some advice from the experts at MEC: http://www.mec.ca/Main/content_text.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302881782&CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673221015 And REI: http://www.rei.com/learn/Camping/rei/learn/camp/clslbagcare
4. woolite by hand or in the washer*. *IF YOU HAVE A HEAVY DOWN BAG DO NOT PUT IT IN THE WASHER! Thin wall baffles can be ruined by the weight of wet down when spinning cycle starts (then your fill will migrate all over and you'll have cold spots). I wash my down vest/jackets and lite weight down bag in the washer, alone (again, my heavier extreme cold weather down bag goes no where near the washer and I don't even lift it roughly when I'm washing it in the bathtub to protect the baffles). I then drip dry untill no big pools are forming and then throw them in the dryer on low heat with a few tennis balls to get the down fluffed and the fill distributed in the baffles evenly.
5. This is actually a very good question Having both done this many times and avoided doing it even many more here what I have discovered: While theoreticlly you can dry clean down items if a petroleum based sovent [ Stoddard Fluid ] is used and not the synthetic industry standard which is perchlorethylene aka" perc" in practice since almost nobody in the industry uses the petroleum based stuff it's a moot point. However in the course of researching this answer i have discovered that there is a move away from perc and to a new similiar- to -Stoddard Fluid compound called DF [Definetly Fatal ?] 2000 and I'm wondering if the use of DF-2000 could be used for down.The argument against perc [aside from the environmental one ] was that it ate the interlocking microfilaments of the down which of course in time would reduce your loft.-not good DF-2000 may or may not work for down but that is in the future this is now For baffled down sleeping bags: In bathtub wash in warm water using woolite Scrub the dirt off of the shell Once your bag is reallly wet-and getting it that way is a major project lol- drain the wash water and replace it with warm rinse water Repeat the rinse process Once you are satisfied that your bag has been washed and rinsed properly drain the water from the tub and leave your bag in the tub for at least 12-24 hours. The objective of course is to allow gravity to remove most of the water. Picking up a wet baffled down bag can have catastrophic results. Once your bag is only very damp ,take it to the laundromat and put it in a commercial dryer using low heat . Add some tennis balls and / or canvas sneakers You will be there for a while so go at a quiet time and bring some reading material with you. If you use sneakers you can't leave bc they will periodically knock the door open. When your bag gets dryish use your fingers to feel for and gently break-up clunps of wet down Have fun
6. i suggest goin and buyin a lighter bag
7. shampoo and a wash tub. rinse well, hang dry.
8. Take them to the dry cleaners
9. Buy some Nikwax Down Wash at a camping store. Follow the directions on the bottle. I've used it for years on my down sleeping bag...never had any problems.