Herald Scotland

A friend gave me a NF Nuptse Down Jacket she came across in the Lost and Found room at her school in Toronto. Canadian school kids are obviously very well dressed! Unfortunately, the jacket had been stored in a damp and dingy room and had a horrible smell of neglect. Not to appear ungrateful, I happily accepted the free gift. But, the minute she flew home to Canada, I threw the jacket in the washing machine (following the care instructions on the label) and hoped for the best. Note, I wouldn't do this to my own jacket!

Oh dear. It's been on the radiator now for several days but the down is still really notted and bunched up. It looks awful. Have I ruined it or will continued warming help restore some loft? I don't have access to a tumble drier at home. My Canadian friend is returning to the UK again soon and I'm positive she will be expecting to see me proudly wearing the jacket. Any help or advice would be gratefully recieved.

Dave Porter

http://www.tauntonleisure.com/products/the-north-face-nuptse-jacket---black/1915/

;-) - Sorry, couldn't resist.

http://www.OUTDOORSmagic.com/forum/forummessages/mps/dt/4/UTN/34128/
This actually may be of some help rather than just a smart a*** comment.

I've read in several places that tumble drying with a tennis ball helps break up the lumps,
might be worth a trip to the launderette or beg a favor from a friend and borrow their tumble dryer.
Perhaps you have a friend who has a tumble drier and plays tennis!

I'm not too sure I would have put it on a radiator - i'd have tried to get the air moving through it.
Perhaps on a clothes horse in a warm and dry room.

Thanks for the link. Looks like I'll be heading down to the local Laundrette with a couple of tennis balls and this months TGO to keep me busy.

I do have a 10 year old RAB Glacier Guide jacket which I have never washed. The shell is a bit shabby (mostly black horrible soot deposits from my MSR Whisperlite stove) but essentially the down is in reasonable condition. It does seem a heavy jacket by todays standards though.

RAB used to suggest "think carefully" before washing a down item on their care label and always suggested cleaning by a Sheffield based "Professional" Cleaning Company.

Dave Porter

Laundrette is a really good idea because the bigger machines will allow more movement of air through the jacket. I would also recomend a low heat setting. You can actually buy the dryer balls from tesco and they don't cost a lot.

Put a couple of tennis balls in the tumble dryer with the down jacket and any clumping will be 'magically' removed

With the fantastic blue sky weather conditions last weekend I couldn't face spending time in the Laundrette, so I headed to North Wales instead. In the end after some preliminary drying by the radiator, I draped the jacket over a chair in the warmest room in the house and left it there all week.

Amazingly, the jacket has made a remarkable recovery and looks as good as new. I'll be able to wear the jacket to pick up my Canadian friend from Manchester Airport tomorrow. Thanks for all the advice.

Dave Porter