Down Wash – Dish Soap?

[Adam Thibault]

I need to wash my down quilt and jacket but don't want to pay the $10 for Nikwax down wash. A guy at the dry cleaners said you can use dish soap (i.e. Dawn) and it works just as well (yet much cheaper). Has anyone heard this before?

[Jim Carr]

I would not trust my down to dish soap just down soap or Ivory flakes.

[Konrad .]

hmmmm, well i know they use dawn on live birds when there has been an oil spill.

But honestly, how much did you pay for your down quilt? You're probably not going to wash it again for another year…i say just cough up the 10 bucks and have the peace of mind

[Michael Crosby]

It is not worth the chance of having to replace a good piece of gear to save $10.00 I have a lot of down gear and always use Nikwax down wash and have never had a problem. It is just not a smart gamble-$10.00 vs. $100.00+

[Alex Gilman]

get off your wallet :)

[Roger Caffin]

> don't want to pay the $10 for Nikwax down wash
False economy. Use the right stuff.

Cheers

[Jim Carr]

BTW my down wash from Revivex has done multiple washes over the years so its not $10 per wash.

[B. F.]

I'm no expert, but dish soap is made to remove as much fat and oil as possible. Down is a natural product and as far as I know has a sensible film of fat or something similiar, wich has to be threaded with care. Dish soap will remove these and will therefore damage the down for sure.

[Kimberly Wersal]

No! Way too harsh. Use the down wash. One bottle will do several washes.

[Brad Groves]

Your bag is worth the bucks. Definitely wouldn't use dish soap. As others have said, you shouldn't be washing your down bag very frequently anyway–probably once a year at most, more likely every couple years. Talk about cheap insurance! But if you can't bring yourself to drop the money on Nikwax or Revivex or Downe down wash (all work fine, I happen to prefer the Revivex right now), then buy yourself some Woolite. The Woolite is quite mild and would be fine for a down bag, plus you can use it to wash your baselayers… I generally just buy the down wash, and wash all my down stuff at the same time. Vests, jackets, whatever, to maximize use of the soap and just get all the hassle out of the way at once.

Be gentle with the wet bag, lotsa weight on baffles, etc. I use the extractor before going into the dryers…

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