Can you wash your Canada Goose or other expensive down coat? That was the question I had after years of paying for a dry cleaner to do it. So I chucked it in my washing machine and I can tell you yes. Yes you can wash a down jacket at home. Read on.
Skip right to the instructions.
One of my earliest memories, although I have no idea how old I was, is of me standing in the front hall of the house I grew up in getting bundled up to go outside on a cold winter day.
Standing there in my coat, boots, snow pants, mittens, and hat, so protected against the weather I was more like a stuffed animal than a human. Arms and legs locked into place by stuffed mounds of nylon, dacron and scratchy wool. The final step before going out into the kind of cold that makes your nostril hairs freeze in place, was the doing up of the coat.
This step normally went well, but if Betty was in a hurry to get me out of the house she'd grab onto the zipper and tug it up fast and hard. If I looked down at the wrong moment the zipper teeth would chew into my chin leaving me screaming and my chin scarred.
That chin scar was how you could tell the kids of all the mothers on the street that had a job, soap opera or drink to get back to. Those kids had the tribal scarring of a tiny red welt on their chin all winter long.
As a kid, my coats were never down filled. They had some kind of revolutionary 70's era pillow filling in them that mainly kept you from getting wet as opposed to cold.
Now my two main winter coats are down filled. The first one, is a white, down filled inexpensive coat known as The Upper East Side coat in New York. Because .... everyone on the Upper East Side owns one. I got mine on Amazon and you can too. They aren't as cheap as they were a few years ago but if you buy the coat in the *summer* the price on it is always lower than it is in the winter.
The second one is a Canada Goose "Resolute" which I've owned for well over a decade. It's huge, warm and comfortable.
The only problem is … you have to dry clean it.
I have a thing about dry cleaning. I hate it. It isn't the price, it's the pain.
I realize it doesn't take that much time and it's really no harder than filling up your car with gas, but I hate that too, so I guess it all makes sense.
Can you wash a down jacket in the washing machine?
YES.
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I'd been washing my down coats for years. For some reason, the Canada Goose coat says dry clean only. So for 10 years I watched my beautiful red Canada Goose coat get dirtier and grungier and filthier.
It was $800 when I bought it. The Resolute now sells for $1,500.
One day I took a $1,500 chance and shoved it into the washing machine. And then the dryer.
How to wash a down jacket at home.
Wash & dry a down jacket.
How to wash a down jacket at home in your own washing machine.
Materials
- Down coat
- Washing machine
- Dryer
- Gentle washing powder
Instructions
- If your coat has a removable fur collar, remove it.
- Apply stain remover like Resolve to any terrifying stains.
- Wash in the washing machine on warm with the bulky items setting if you have one.
- Repeat stain removal and washing if needed but remember the more times you wash the greater chance your coat colour will fade. Just like jeans.
- Dry in the dryer until the coat is completely dry and puffed up. This could take up to 7 hours for a large coat.
Notes
* If you wash your Canada Goose coat in your washing machine you void the warranty.
*This Resolve product in particular is fantastic.
* If you can feel any down that's squished down and not fluffed up after drying, shake the area of the coat a bit to loosen the wet down and put it back in the dryer.
* Make sure the coat is COMPLETELY dry or you'll end up with stinky damp down.
Recommended Products
I'm an Amazon affiliate some I get a few cents when you buy something I've linked to.
My Canada Goose coat washed perfectly in the washing machine. Perfectly.
Here however, are my disclaimers.
1. If you wash your Canada Goose coat in your washing machine you void the warranty.
2. If you let your coat get as dirty as mine was it might take several washes as well as working in a bit of stain remover. (I had to wash my coat a total of 4 times, using various stain removers in between to get it clean. I started off with the "delicate/hand wash" cold cycle to be safe then gave up and went full force with a regular wash with warm water.)
3. To dry it, you need to add a few tennis balls or dryer balls into your dryer to help smash the down and let it fluff up. Do NOT try to air dry a down coat. It needs to go in the dryer.
4. It will take around 7 hours to fully dry. That's your dryer running for 7 hours straight. Just so you know.
5. I'm not responsible if your Canada Goose coat happens to fall apart if you wash it and you're forced to wear leg warmers, a snood and oatmeal mittens to keep warm. Not. Responsible.
Having said that, I can tell you I will never dry clean my Canada Goose coat again. I'll be washing it in my own washing machine at the end of every season while I fondly reminisce about childhood chin scars.
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Amy in StL
I always wash my down coats but when it came to washing my dad's Korean War era sleeping bag (that had huge rips that had been patched) I was terrified. I decided it had to be done and bit the bullet. It washed and dried fine and is so much more pleasant to sleep in. I also bought an old down coat at goodwill and used down from the sleeves to refill some areas that seemed to have lost down over the years. (The body part of the coat became a vest)
leslie
I apologize for getting off the topic but you brought up an excellent point about putting gas in the car in the winter. I swear gas stations are surrounded by air that is about 15 degrees colder than , say, across the street (unless across the street is another gas station). Someone might be missing a great money-making opportunity by contracting with people to come to their houses in the late evening or early morning and fill their gas tank for about 4-5 months during the winter so they never have to go to a gas station ALL winter long. Of course who's crazy enough to do that?
Connie S.
I have a Land's End Down jacket in Pink. Deliberately bought that colour thinking it wouldn't show the dirt so easily. Heck - it gets so dirty especially around the wrist cuffs that i'm washing it every few weeks! It too said dry clean only but i hate the cost and the smell of the dry cleaning fluids too . So i said a little prayer, crossed my fingers and threw it in the machine one day (gentle cycle) - it survived beautifully! And definitely looked alot better clean. But it is very Important to dry thoroughly so it doesn't go mouldy . Makes sense when you think of it - ducks and geese spend most of their time in the water getting wet, then preening and "fluffing". A little more water isn't going to hurt it.
Debbie
I don't have time to read all of the comments as it is that kind of day. However, you know what a snood is!!!! Very few people I know are familiar with the word snood. I feel so connected to you. I have been washing down coats for years, no matter what the label says. However, I could never put as much fun into the telling about it as you. Thanks for today's smile. Now it is back to work for me.
Kim from Milwaukee
I just adopted your bath towel theory (buying black) and only buy black winter coats...so I never have to wash it!! j/k but still....
Jane
My mother had killer nails and her thumb got to my chin before the zipper....
Nancy Blue Moon
Love that red parka!
Sabrina
Congrats on your beautiful clean coat! I've not yet had to wash one (living in El Paso, Texas) but I have always washed our down duvets and throws. I'm always paranoid of moldy feathers, so I dry - on low for a 5-6 cycles. I don't go any higher because I am afraid to burn the tender down. That's probably not even a thing, but I feel like slow and low is better. I believe, too, that the tennis balls help to fluff and massage the clumps apart during drying to break up the globs and mats of wet feathers, as opposed to pulling the stuff out of the dryer and doing it manually every cycle or so. I have not yet gotten around to buying any tennis balls yet, so my dryer looks like a mini rave or disco. I collect all my son's bouncy balls, hackey sacks, - anything small with a little heft - and toss them in. That includes the ones with the flashing lights :) I don't mind the noise either. When I no longer hear it, I know its time to turn it back on.
Trish
Did you know that a lot of fur on hoods is wolverine fur because it will not freeze from your breath!! Just your trivia tidbit for the day.
Tina Nova Scotia
Mine is coyote.
It's a CG coat. They use coyote fur.
Mel
I'm glad I'm not the only one with a scar. Mine is on my neck right in the sweet spot of my collarbone. I have gotten asked multiple times if it is a hickey and I must have had fun last night... um nope, 1. what a weird spot for a hickey. And 2. really a hickey? Scarred for life. Literally and figuratively. I am so so so careful zipping up my son's coat so that he doesn't suffer the same fate.
Darla
The weight of the tennis balls is what fluffs it. Wool balls may help it dry faster, but won't help fulff
Liz
aaaaaaahhh!! the zipper chin. Hurts so bad. I have to say that maybe worse yet is accidentally doing the zipper chin to a child! It's possibly the worst feeling in the world...next to accidentally clipping some of their neck skin into a helmut clip :(
magali
My coat is so filthy too and I also have been scared to put it in the washing machine. My mom put her white one in and it turned out great except for one big problem. She has the bomber model and the fur doesn't unzip so it came out with all this fur missing. I hot glued the tuffs she was able to save for her and it's ok looking for now. She ordered a coyote fur online and will make her own detachable collar. So ya, very important step to remove the collar!
I feel more brave now that I know two people who have done it!
Jennifer Ramirez
Wow, the zipper scar! That brought me back to my 8 year old self. My mom had 4 daughters and a job and we all had that little "hickey" either on our chin or neck (ouch) throughout the bitterly cold winters in Upstate NY. When I was about 14 I begged my mom for a peacoat. It was a beautiful baby pink, wool and it buttoned up, no zipper here! I washed AND dried it once! Who knew you couldn't throw wool in the laundry? (not 14 year old me, thats who). I never wore my beloved peacoat again. My mother made me give it to my much younger and much smaller sister. I begrudgingly handed it over, but I secretly planned her demise every.single.time she put it on.
Jay
Coincidentally, I washed my daughter's down duvet last night. I wash all the duvets every spring plus "as needed" washes as a result of peeing/vomitting/milk-spilling/other accidents thanks to a house filled with kids and pets. (Last night was a cat's fault)
Over the years it does lose some feathers but mostly the duvet lasts pretty well despite Dry Clean Only instructions
Luanne
Same re: thinking that going to the dry cleaner place is just entirely too much effort. I don't know how babysitting a dryer for 7 hours seems like less effort.... but it does.
Rondina
I put down pillows and comforters in the washer and dryer all the time. They turn out fine, but I want to know more about this tennis ball thing. That's a new one for me.
Mary Werner
I washed my daughters down filled comforter and obviously didn't let it dry enough to fluff. It seemed dry BUT she saw it and through it out saying I ruined it. Boy, have I felt bad for years but knowing it wasn't fluffed properly in the drier has taken away that guilt - however, plenty more remains since I am a Mom. I had previously washed down filled small things that dried fine and now I'm off to tell my daughter - which is the best part of your post today.
Teddee Grace
I washed a down comforter recently and put it in the bathtub after it was washed, rolled it and squeezed as much water out of it as I could, then let it hang above the tub all night and the next day before drying it. I think that cut the drying time in half.
Valerie
Money saving post Karen.
All of the above applies to goose down duvets. I did not like the odour of dry cleaning fluid that seemed to remain whenever I had them done at the cleaners.
Re: the tennis or dryer balls: I have read that crumbled balls of foil wrap will work in the dryer as well. I have not tried them but they would be quieter.
Reminder: in the winter, never place your tongue on a frozen zipper.
Kim from Milwaukee
I believe the foil balls are for static....I've used washed tennis shoes instead of tennis balls, they work to fluff the down comforters, pillows and coats as well.
Carolyn
North Face customer service told me to put my sneakers in a pillow case (tied closed) and put them in the dryer with my jacket so they could kick the hell out of the down. Worked perfectly!! It refluffed the down and solved the "cold spot" problem :)