How to wash and dry your down jacket
Proper garment care extends the life of your kit. The down jacket is an outdoor essential that can be tricky to wash and dry. To help you out, here are our care tips for your down jacket to preserve its technical characteristics.
To properly care for your down jacket, it is important to identify the type of down it contains. There are two types of down on the market. Animal down made from goose or duck feathers. At Cimalp, out of respect for animal welfare, we have opted for a synthetic and plant-based filling made from Cimaloft® down, composed of 37% corn fibres and 63% recycled polyester, which can be found in
l'Himalayan. This warm, lightweight synthetic insulation delivers thermal performance as effective as animal down. It is rated using the CUIN index: Cimalp's down has a rating of 850 CUIN, equivalent to goose down. Once the type of down has been determined, here are the steps to correctly wash and dry your down jacket.
Step 1: preparation
For synthetic down, once you have closed all the zips, place your down jacket in a mesh bag (optional) and then into the washing machine. Select a low-temperature programme on your washing machine: either a synthetic programme or a 30-degree wash with your usual detergent. You can also use high-performance care and waterproofing products.
Step 2: washing
To maintain the loft of the synthetic feathers, we recommend washing your down jacket with other synthetic garments to prevent the feathers from clumping in one area of your down jacket. What matters most is preserving the loft of the filling, whether it consists of animal feathers or a synthetic filling. You can also add washing balls or tennis balls to your drum during the wash cycle — they will bounce against the down jacket and help aerate the filling.
For animal down, which is more delicate to care for and wash, we recommend cleaning the down jacket by hand using a damp sponge, which will prevent altering the technical properties of the filling. The post-wash phase will also be crucial for maintaining the loft of the down jacket.
Step 3: drying
When removed from the washing machine, the down jacket can be placed either on a hanger or laid flat. Air-drying the down jacket is ideal. However, this takes a little longer and requires turning the garment over several times to dry both the inside and outside. Even if the down jacket feels dry to the touch, the down may still be damp. To avoid this, make sure to pat your jacket at each turn. This also helps redistribute the synthetic feathers evenly across all sleeves of the down jacket.
The other drying option is to tumble-dry the down jacket. However, be careful not to use too intense a drying programme, as the down jacket remains a delicate garment. You can also add tennis balls to the tumble dryer. As with washing, the bouncing action will help preserve the loft of the synthetic or animal feather filling.
Watch our tips in video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx9rPG0clOY&t=1s
