1. washing down pillows and a down jacket. 2. Washing sneakers.
You have heard that some things (down pillows, down jackets, sneakers) can be washed but only with great care… I have always heard that, too, but was too worried to try. However, I finally reached the point where I did not care if I ruined them and decided to tackle some of these things. I washed the sneakers first and they came out okay, whiter but after using them in the dryer, they did seem to shrink a size; the second pair I washed were fine but a third pair did not retain their toe shape. They were a more mesh type fabric. I urge caution, especially if you have favorites. Wash in cold water and dry on very low heat.
I love down pillows but when they flattened and did not seem “fresh”, I wanted a change. I did machine wash them, using hot water, mild detergent and then I ran them through an entire second cycle with just water to make sure the soap had been rinsed out. They came out of my centrifuge-type washer smashed together in brick-like form.
I knew that, in order to re-fluff the down, they needed to be dried for a very long time and they needed to have something in the dryer with them that would bump the down apart. Hence, I used my sneakers and also a set of plastic dryer balls. )I also know that tennis balls should work but I didn’t have any.) I did the same thing with my down jacket. Why I was attracted to a WHITE jacket for winter is inexplicable but both the jacket and the down pillows turned out quite well. I did not and would not wash them together.
The secrets are: lots of rinsing, LOW heat for a long time period, and something to knock apart the down as it is drying. Not too scary, not too bad!
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