How to wash a winter jacket in the washing machine

washing a winter jacket Can the jacket be washed in a washing machine? People's opinions on this matter are divided and this is not surprising. Those who washed their winter jacket correctly continue to wear it, but those who made mistakes threw away their favorite outerwear and are now speaking out against washing in a washing machine, but maybe they are right? Let's look at who is right and who is wrong within the framework of this publication, and at the same time we will deal with the question of how to wash a winter jacket correctly.

We wash it correctly

When understanding the question of how to wash a winter jacket, you must first understand the basic rules for washing this type of outerwear. These rules, although general in nature, nevertheless convey various aspects of the process of washing a jacket. Let's look at these rules.

When preparing to wash your winter jacket, always unzip any excess material from the jacket and remove everything from the pockets. Firstly, there may be elements on the jacket that are undesirable to wash, for example a fur collar, and secondly, some detachable parts, such as the hood, can be washed separately.
A winter jacket, no matter what material it is made of, does not withstand intense exposure, so no programs that involve machine washing and spinning at high speeds.

Spinning at low speeds is less effective, but what can you do, it’s better than ruining your favorite item of clothing.

To prevent the jacket's filling from bunching up, it is better to take some measures, namely, put several magnetic balls or, at worst, a couple of tennis balls. The balls will dangle inside during washing and spinning, breaking up the filler and preventing it from bunching up.
Don't skimp on water. You need to rinse the jacket with plenty of water, since the detergent that gets inside is very difficult to wash out. It is better to rinse your winter jacket several times than to rewash it later.
Do not use washing powder, replace it with laundry shampoo or gel. Firstly, gel and shampoo dissolve better, and secondly, they are much easier to rinse than powder.
Don't get carried away with soaking. Keep your jacket's exposure to water to a minimum, because whatever one may say, water is often harmful to the filler.
Wash your winter jacket in warm water (30-40⁰C), hot water can cause significant harm to it.
If complex stains are found on the jacket, they must first be treated with special sprays, or at least soap.

Let's choose a detergent

It is important to choose a good detergent for washing outerwear. We can say that half the success of this enterprise depends on the quality of the detergent. If you wash your jacket using regular laundry detergent, there will be white marks and streaks on the jacket that will appear every time you go outside. This is a rather unpleasant sight, so we won’t even consider loose powders, but will immediately turn our attention to liquid products.

Grangers Performance Wash. High quality cold water soluble washing gel that washes out very well. Suitable for all types of fabrics and fillings.
Lion for outerwear. A good Japanese shampoo for washing outerwear. It dissolves well, washes out perfectly and does not cause allergies.
SODASAN Active Sport.This shampoo was specially developed by German specialists for washing sportswear, ski jackets, down jackets, tents, sleeping bags and more. It has great features and is good for washing your jacket in the washing machine.
Holmenkol Natural Wash. Washing shampoo designed specifically for very gentle care of jackets and other clothes. It does not contain aggressive chemicals, but at the same time it perfectly removes stains and is easily removed after the first rinse.
Cotico. A very inexpensive gel, suitable for washing sports and casual outerwear, especially jackets. It dissolves in cold water, removes various stains, and rinses well, but it’s still better to use a double rinse.

Cotico for sportswear

Any gels and shampoos created for washing sports outerwear are most often suitable for winter jackets.

In the washing machine

The machine method of caring for a jacket is the most popular. Every third resident of cold countries washes their outerwear in a machine. And, indeed, there is no need to exhaust yourself by rubbing the surface of the jacket, rinsing it, pulling up and down something that cannot be lifted, and then still think about how to wring it out. It is enough to put a dirty winter jacket in the washing machine, and then take it out, clean and wrung out. Easier said than done. Some people still experience serious difficulties about this: in what mode should they wash this item, at what temperature should they wash it, at what speed should they spin it, is it possible to turn on the steaming and drying functions?

People have a lot of questions, so we will gradually answer them, at the same time talking about the process of automatically washing a winter jacket from “A” to “Z”.First, we prepare the jacket in accordance with the rules described in the first paragraph of the article, namely: we take everything out of the pockets, unfasten the hood, fur collar, lining, etc., fasten all the zippers or buttons. Once the winter jacket is prepared, we begin the process.

We load the jacket, throw in a few balls that we talked about above and close the hatch.
Next we need to select a gentle washing program. Here everything will depend on the model of the washing machine; the more modern, the better. After all, modern washing machines have a lot of useful functions and programs. In addition, modern machines have a large load, and the larger the drum load, the more efficiently and better you can wash bulky items.

Please note that the washing process will be better and easier for you if the machine has a “double rinse” function, as well as modes: “delicate”, “down jacket”, “hand wash”.

Adjust the washing temperature. If the gel is good and dissolves in cold water without problems, then you can choose temperature 30 degrees, in another case 40 degrees, but no more.
Next, we either turn off the spin cycle or adjust its speed to 400, maximum 500 per minute.
Press the “extra rinse” button; if there is none, you will then have to start rinsing and spinning manually for the second round.
We press “Start” and wait for the program to complete.

Separately, it should be said about drying the jacket. It needs to be dried on a horizontal plane; a folding dryer or, for example, a table top is perfect. Just keep in mind that if the table is not made of moisture-resistant materials, it may be damaged if you lay a wet jacket on it.

So, we lay out several well-absorbent rags, or even better, terry towels, to dry.They will help absorb excess moisture. Carefully spread the jacket on the towels, at the same time trying to straighten out the folds with your hands, and wait about 2 hours.

It is unacceptable to dry a winter jacket next to a radiator or heater, and you should also not expose it to dry outside under the scorching rays of the sun. The best conditions are in the shade, in a warm and well-ventilated place.

After this time, you need to go to the dryer and shake the jacket. Shake well so that the filler crumbled inside, rather than sticking together in lumps. At the same time, you can turn the jacket over and again try to smooth out the folds with your hands. Next, we will repeat shaking and smoothing every 2 hours until the jacket is completely dry. If this is not done, the jacket will be severely wrinkled, and its filling may even deteriorate. Drying a winter jacket in a dryer or washing machine with a drying function is prohibited!

Manually

Washing a winter jacket by hand is also quite possible. Such care is considered even more gentle, but this process is very labor-intensive and quite long. When washing a winter jacket by hand, you will encounter several problems at once.

The jacket will need to be rinsed thoroughly, and it will weigh a lot considering all the water it will absorb. Therefore, stick to a rinsing technique that does not involve taking items out of one container and putting them into another.
You will need quite a lot of water, so if you live in a house without running water, stock up on it in advance.
You will have to somehow carefully wring out the jacket or at least wait until the excess water drains, and this takes a lot of time.
And finally, the item will have to be pulled out and transferred to drying, while it will be wet. Firstly, it is physically difficult, and secondly, if you place the jacket carelessly to dry, you can tear the fabric. When wet, the jacket is much more susceptible to damage.

Well, okay, enough philosophy, let’s move on to the process. Prepare the jacket in the manner described above, and then immerse it in a bath of water in which you previously dissolved the gel. Next, wait 10-15 minutes, take a sponge and begin to rub the surface of the jacket outside and inside. When the jacket is well soaked and the surface has been treated, the water from the bath can be released.

After this, fill the bath with more clean, cool water and begin rinsing. As mentioned above, you will have to rinse several times, or “in three waters” as they said in Rus'. Having done this, we drain the water and wait for the excess water to drain from the jacket. In this case, the water can be slowly squeezed out manually, but without unnecessary effort, so as not to damage the filler or create jams. As soon as the maximum amount of water has been removed, you can begin drying, which we already talked about a little earlier.

To summarize, we note that machine washing a winter jacket is a pleasure, if, of course, you know how to do it correctly, otherwise you will simply ruin the thing. In essence, there is nothing complicated in this process, the main thing is to follow the rules formulated in this publication and everything will be fine. Good luck!