Nowadays, the most popular item of clothing for women and men is a down jacket. During winter, it is an essential garment, but sooner or later it has to be washed, and then you may face problems with stains that appeared on the item.
Why the stains appear after washing
Women often wonder why the white and yellow stains appear on a down jacket after the very first wash. You washed the garment following the fabric care label instructions, but the stains are still there, so what do you do?
There are a few reasons for this problem:
- during manufacturing process, the feathers were not washed properly;
- the garment was poorly rinsed;
- the jacket was dried incorrectly.
How to fix it
There is no multi-purpose cleaner for removal of the down jacket stains. You can try some different options of removing the stains, because the causes of stains are also different.
- Wash the jacket several times. Do not use regular laundry detergent, it is better to use a specific detergent for down-filled garments or detergent for delicate clothes.
- Rinse the garment 3 to 4 times to remove all the detergent residue.
- After washing, be sure to dry the jacket properly, so the stains are unlikely to appear.
If you don’t want to do the same thing twice, try to remove the stains with hydrogen peroxide. You can take a clean cloth napkin soaked in peroxide and wipe the surface where the stains were found.
Sometimes grease stains will remain on the down jacket after washing. To remove them, mix 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 0.5 tablespoon of salt, put this mixture into 0.5 liters of water, and rub the stained areas with a sponge.
Remember, this method is not suitable for white garments. To remove the stains on a white down jacket use wet make-up wipes to wipe dirty areas.
Do not use alcohol-based wipes to prevent the appearance of new stains.
When there are yellowish or dark stains on down jackets, grate 150 grams of laundry soap, mix it with a glass of water and gently wipe the stains with this solution.
You can also use ammonia and hydrogen peroxide. Mix peroxide and ammonia in equal proportions, and wipe the stains using the solution. After 40 minutes, rinse the garment again and dry in a well ventilated room, direct sunlight is prohibited.
Take one tablespoon of lemon juice and dip a cotton cloth into it, then wipe the dirty areas. After 30 minutes, wash the garment with the addition of detergent, and be sure to rinse it well.
Soak the jacket for 3-4 hours using “Vanish” for colored fabrics, add balm “Laska color magic”. After washing, rinse the garment 5 times, squeeze at 800 rpm and let it dry. Stains will disappear, and the jacket will look brand new.
You can use dish soap to remove the stains. Take 1 teaspoon of the dish soap, dilute it in one glass of water, dip a soft cloth into the solution, and wipe it over the surface of the garment. If that does not work, the garment should be washed again.
Grease spots on the jacket can be removed with a salt solution. Take 1 tablespoon of table salt and dissolve it in 100 grams of warm water until you get a mushy consistency. Apply the salt mush to the stains and leave it for 40-60 minutes. Remove the mush with a stiff brush. Rinse with water adding a teaspoon of baking soda.
Basic rules of drying the garment properly
After washing, the jacket should not be air-dried. Dry flat, while it dries, shake the garment a couple of times so the feathers could spread evenly, and there are no additional stains.
After the jacket is completely dry, it needs to be fluffed (each part separately), to let the feathers assume its former volume.
Let’s look through a couple other ways to make the garment look brand new:
- Use a vacuum cleaner. Please take a small nozzle with a narrow hole and turn on the vacuum cleaner at minimum power. You can also dry the jacket with a heat fan.
- Some jackets require ironing after drying, in which case the garment’s fabric needs to be steamed or ironed at a temperature of 110 degrees.
To avoid the problems mentioned above, please always check the fabric care label and make sure the down jacket can even be washed.