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Clean a down jacket in Melbourne

ouita

13-Dec-2010
11:04:50 PM

Anyone got a recommendation for somewhere that specialises in cleaning down? Google's not giving me any joy. Thanks!


mogul

13-Dec-2010
11:18:57 PM

Remote equipment repairs in Lt Bourke St


ajfclark

14-Dec-2010
7:10:16 AM

I believe they give a discount to VCC members too.

patto

14-Dec-2010
8:17:19 AM

I have a washing machine. It works. I also have a down detergent and a dryer to give it good fluff.

I'll also happily give a discount to VCC members.

climbingjac

14-Dec-2010
9:59:44 AM

Hi Ouita

Remote Repairs is above Mountain Designs in Lt Bourke. Do yourself a favour - don't wash it in the washing machine. The jacket will never be the same and it'll cost you about a million dollars in electricity tumble trying the thing on low heat for hours anyway. Might as well pay Remote to do the job properly. I just had mine cleaned - it was about $80 I think.

ouita

14-Dec-2010
1:44:05 PM

Cheers guys! Yeah feel the same way about getting it cleaned. Worth every penny ... i mean cent ...

paz

15-Dec-2010
12:31:35 AM

On 14/12/2010 climbingjac wrote:
Do yourself a
>favour - don't wash it in the washing machine. The jacket will never be
>the same and it'll cost you about a million dollars in electricity tumble
>trying the thing on low heat for hours anyway. Might as well pay Remote
>to do the job properly. I just had mine cleaned - it was about $80 I think.

you could spend $80. Or you could just wash it in the bath with some down wash, play with some rubber duckies for half hour or so (gives the hair down there a sprightly flow), drink your $80 worth of beer, and finally put it in a dryer for a couple cycles - believe it or not this only cost $4 at the laundromat. (Imagine my disappointment to arrive at the laundromat with 500,000 $2 coins ready to go. I'd even taken the next six months of work off in preparation and bought the latest version of tetris - cannot be clocked. I was set.

total cost of reinvigorating jacket - $22....

Feeling when putting on warm and toasty jacket once the second cycle was complete.... hmmmm, well i support dissemination of information so f*&k you mastercard.

but it was good.

patto

15-Dec-2010
8:15:13 AM

On 14/12/2010 climbingjac wrote:
>Hi Ouita
>
>Remote Repairs is above Mountain Designs in Lt Bourke. Do yourself a
>favour - don't wash it in the washing machine. The jacket will never be
>the same and it'll cost you about a million dollars in electricity tumble
>trying the thing on low heat for hours anyway. Might as well pay Remote
>to do the job properly. I just had mine cleaned - it was about $80 I think.

Its washing an item of clothing! Seriously how hard can it be. Nothing wrong with a machine if you use a front load, the right detergent and a gentle cycle. You gotta do something wrong to destroy a jacket.

I've washed down sleeping bags, and down queen sized quilts without issue. Though the quilt had to go in a bath!

climbingjac

15-Dec-2010
8:37:47 AM

Compare the result of a machine wash and a professional wash and you'll know ;-)

I've found the machine wash doesn't produce an equivalent result. And let's face it, down jackets, by the time they need a wash, REALLY need a wash, so it might as well be a good wash.


Paulie

15-Dec-2010
8:44:24 PM

I have been a Remote faithful ever since spending literally the entire freaking day in the laundromat going insane while trying to wash and dry 2 x winter down bags and 2 x 700g down jackets...tennis balls do sweet f'all...


dr box

15-Dec-2010
9:01:44 PM

last time i washed a downie in a machine it come out with less than half to the down to start with....maybe i'm a spaz, but i'm off to remote in the next couple of days with a big bag full of down

Fish Boy

15-Dec-2010
10:23:49 PM

^^^^You are a spaz.

I'll echo paz and patto, wash it in the machine. I've done it for years as have many others. What do you think Remote do that is better than at home?

Numerous dry cleaners can do it too, Brown Gouge for one....

Fish Boy

15-Dec-2010
10:24:53 PM

On 15/12/2010 dr box wrote:
>last time i washed a downie in a machine

Timbertop has a special ed program now does it?


ajfclark

16-Dec-2010
8:51:40 AM

On 15/12/2010 Fish Boy wrote:
>Numerous dry cleaners can do it too, Brown Gouge for one....

I've always thought that was a terrible name for a cleaning company. Makes me think of someone crapping their pants.

climbingjac

16-Dec-2010
12:20:49 PM

I quite often go the "please add a little extra down to the jacket as well please" or the "please add some weather proofing to the fabric please" options when outsourcing the washing of the downie. Soooo much better than DIY.

citationx

16-Dec-2010
1:02:40 PM

On 16/12/2010 climbingjac wrote:
>I quite often go the "please add a little extra down to the jacket as well
>please" or the "please add some weather proofing to the fabric please"
>options when outsourcing the washing of the downie. Soooo much better
>than DIY.

Seemingly it's really a case of whether you can be bothered to DIY or not. Both sides reckon they're good options, and I'm echoing the DIY. I shove my down sleeping bags in the bathtub, add various bits (including pure soap flakes), do the "vineyard dance" (stomping around on top of it as if you were stomping grapes style) and then 4 or 5 rinses in the bathtub and/or under the running shower. I air dry it out of the sun over a day or two mostly. Not had a problem yet. ( i do it when it's forecast to be hot hot hot to assist in the air drying)

patto

16-Dec-2010
1:49:20 PM

I added a small little rag with a few drops of lavender oil on it when I tumble dried my sleeping bags.

They now have a very subtle smell of lavender. :-D

climbingjac

16-Dec-2010
1:55:06 PM

On 16/12/2010 patto wrote:
>I added a small little rag with a few drops of lavender oil on it when
>I tumble dried my sleeping bags.
>
>They now have a very subtle smell of lavender. :-D

I think you can also get some lavender fragranced things that you are supposed to put into the dryer... similar result. Good idea patto!


dr box

16-Dec-2010
4:51:03 PM

>Timbertop has a special ed program now does it?

yeah, getting them into the washing machine is the easy part....drying....not so


IdratherbeclimbingM9

16-Dec-2010
4:54:35 PM

On 15/12/2010 Paulie wrote:
>tennis balls do sweet f'all...

Maybe try putting them in the bags?

On 16/12/2010 patto wrote:
>They now have a very subtle smell of lavender. :-D

I found that some incense I had stored in a cupboard where I also store my m/cycle helmet while not in use, did the same thing to it!
~> It is not all bad when one is swimming in sweat on a hot day!

There are 22 messages in this topic.