Down redistribution after washing 0 degree bag

[Curtis B.]

How do you redistribute down into possibly closed panels after washing a down bag?

I have a North Face 0 degree bag that I washed by hand in the tub using Nikwax Down Wash and dried on very low heat in the dryer with tennis balls. Bag is now properly fluffy, except in about 3 panels.

I've held the bag up and briskly brushed the neighboring overstuffed panel downwards towards the empty panel. It appears that there are baffles to either side of these panels, preventing me from fluffing the down into the panel. I'm baffled (hah!) as to how the down disappeared from the panels, let alone how to get it to return.

Any suggestions?

[todd]

Probably, the ends of the chambers have semi-closed baffles to LIMIT down movement. You'll have to gently, perhaps painstakingly, work excess down back into those chambers.

Feel around for the opening…it has to be there.

Please report back, too.

[Joshua Abel]

after recently washing my down bag (with nikwax) in a front loader I had to run it through the dryer about 8 times with tennis balls before it was anywhere near being dry – then again I was very nervous and just did "fluff dry" (no heat). I left it out in my office draped over a table and would visit 2-3 times a day to check each baffle and work out by hand any lumps I still felt. It took a good 3-5 days of constant checking and fluffing and working it to get the bag back to normal.

[. Kirby]

What Joshua said. It took me about a week to get my bag back to "normal," but I was very careful about it.

[Gregory Dailey]

I had this problem with an older North Face bag once. Turned out there were a couple of spots where baffles were torn. It was a matter of finding the spots and working the down back into the proper channels. They were small tears and not a problem when the down was dry.

[Roger Caffin]

Very simple. If the down does not fluff out easily and properly, it is not yet dry.
Yes, it can take a LONG time.

Cheers

[Curtis B.]

I don't know where the wet down issue came from. My original post stated that it was very dry and puffy.

[Kevin Buggie]

I was able to redistribute a fair amount of down between baffles in a EE enigma where the inner-side stitching of the baffles has a 2" gap to allow Tims down stuffer machine hose to fill all the baffles from one entry point at the bottom.

The technique I used was to ball up a good bit of the down next to the gap and then push the wad of down through the gap with my thumb. Backlighting through the quilt and the the super thin shell fabric helped me see what I was working with, and in the end (lots of patience) it worked.

Not sure if this will work for you, but maybe just feel, massage, and poke around til you find the baffle holes. Good luck!

[Curtis B.]

With some effort I was able to find a handful of thumb-sized holes at the edges of the baffles and pushed wads of down through, successfully redistributing the down. It was tedious, but the down seemed to move. There were a couple of baffles that I gave up on.

[Author]

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