Got a down jacket and a down sleeping bag, and pretty soon they are gonna need to be washed/cleaned. I have heard that down gear shouldn't be washed as it will destroy the down inside.
Has anyone had any experience of washing down gear or whether it should even be attempted?
Wash on a gentle/wool wash using tech wash or soap flakes.
Tumble dry on a low heat with a couple of tennis balls thrown in to prevent the down clumping together.
The jacket you can wash with the relevant nikwax product. A lot of people dry them with a tennis ball to help seperate the down (better if you can find one without the yellow fluff). The sleeping bag should be washed proffesionally as your washing machine and tumble dryer at home won't be big enough.
Not sure about washing but I always use a liner in the bag as that's easier to wash which you may or may not do. It's not a cure but it does postpone the inevitable.
Putting it in the dryer with tennis balls seems to recover the loft quite well though.
Edit: bloody hell, do I really type that slowly on this phone?
Alpkit do a good guide on their site
http://www.alpkit.com/support/stickies/cleaning-down-sleeping-bags
as above.
In fact Ive just bought some Nikwax down wash (about £4 for 300ml) for my gilet. I use dryer balls to fluff it back up again and works well. Havent tried the Skyhigh yet - worried it might be too big for the drum, but it is a big dryer so might still be ok.
Quick question for the pros then: if you use down wash, why the need for down proof, why not just use TX Direct on the outer shell?
dryer balls... Good idea. My wife was crapping herself thinking that she had ruined her TNF gillet the other day by washing it. Luckily the down came back to life after a spell in the tumble dryer.
Washing though... After a week! Not exactly the done thing if it's not totally filthy.
An important thing to remember when washing any technical clothes/bags is to thoroughly clean the detergent drawer before you put your very expensive kit in the machine.
Detergent drawers can get bits of old powder/softener which will negate all the good you're doing by washing with soap flakes or Nikwax products.
If your kit is super expensive then it's worth contacting Franklins in Sheffield about professionally cleaning it.