Regarding the cleaning of down jackets, especially whether they should be dry cleaned, the advice and information on the Internet are relatively consistent. First of all, it is important to look at the washing label on the down jacket or the care and washing instructions on the inside to determine the recommended washing method. Most down jackets will be marked with hand washing, avoid dry cleaning. This is because solvents used in the dry cleaning process, such as perchloroethylene, dissolve the natural oils on the surface of the down, causing the down to become dry, brittle, and breakable, thus losing its fluffy properties and warmth. In addition, the outer fabric of a down jacket may have a waterproof and windproof coating, and dry cleaners can also cause this coating to peel off, thus losing its windproof and waterproof function and accelerating the aging of the fabric.
If you choose to wash your down jacket by hand, it is important to control the water temperature, which is recommended not to exceed 30 to 40 to avoid destroying the warmth of the padding. Use neutral detergents and avoid alkaline detergents that may affect the fill volume and cause fading. Do not wring out the washed down jacket, but squeeze the water along the garment, and then hang it to dry to avoid exposure to the sun. After drying, it can be gently patted with a clean and smooth hanger to help the padding of the down jacket regain its fluffiness and softness.
As for whether you can use a washing machine to wash your down jacket, it depends on the type and function of the washing machine. In recent years, many household washing machines have specialized down jacket washing functions, which are designed to be more gentle, and add several preparatory spinning steps, such as balance control and relaxed agitation, before the official dehydration, to avoid damage to the down jacket. However, the old-fashioned parallel bar washing machine is the most prone to the so-called "** accident", that is, due to the large amount of air contained in the clothes, when the stirring speed is too fast, the air "breakout" may destroy the whole clothes.
In conclusion, down jackets should be washed according to the instructions of their wash labels, and dry cleaning should be avoided as much as possible to keep them warm and prolong their lifespan. If you choose to wash by hand or machine, make sure to use the appropriate gentle method to protect the quality of the down jacket.