How recently was the washing of your winter coat? What about your gloves, scarves, and bulky sweaters? You know that your winter clothing needs to be cleaned, but the thought of having to pay for dry cleaning is usually reason enough to put it off for, say, a few years. The good news is that washing your bulky winter clothing at home is something you can and should do.
For down and other fluffy materials, many people believe they must use professional dry cleaning, but it’s usually okay to wash and dry them.
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How Many Times Should I Wash My Winter Clothes?
Unless it becomes extremely filthy, winter clothing, especially waterproof fabric, doesn’t need to be washed after every wear.” However, try washing accessories and jackets three or five times during the season. Wash mittens and gloves more frequently, particularly if they come into contact with subway poles or doorknobs.
Lastly, wash your winter clothing, including hats, scarves, and gloves, before storing it for the spring and summer “to avoid stains setting in or odors from body oils, grime, and dirt build-up to remain.”
How to Use a Washing Machine to Clean a Down Jacket or Fluffy Winter Coat
Verify the Label
To find out if you can wash your down coat in the washing machine, read the fabric care labels.
Get ready for the washing machine
Empty all pockets and close all zippers. Next, make sure the seams on your puffy jacket are sturdy and secure any loose ones so the washing cycle won’t exacerbate them.
Use Dye-Free Detergent to Wash
Depending on how fragile your jacket is, use a normal or moderate wash and a normal spin cycle, unless the care label specifies otherwise. Use a detergent without dyes.
Arrange the Load
When the washer is halfway full, submerge the coat and add a couple of towels in complementary colors to balance the load. Periodically stop the washer to remove air from the items. If you have a front-loading washer, you can rinse the items twice to remove all of the soap without submerging them. Just use a moderate cycle.
Dry
Use low to tumble dry. For added assistance in breaking up any clumps in the feather or down filling, insert a few dryer balls or clean tennis balls inside of clean cotton socks.
How to Wash Winter Gloves
Although we’re accustomed to frequently cleaning our hands, what about your gloves? We typically discard them, germs and all, back into the pile of winter clothing after wearing them for a whole day.
“Given their frequent interaction with dirt and germs, gloves are sometimes the most unclean winter accessory—something that many of us tend to forget about. This is the easiest and best approach to maintain clean gloves.
Verify the Label
To find out if you may wash your gloves in the washing machine, read the labels on the fabric.
Treat Stains
Apply detergent to stains on gloves and let them sit for five to ten minutes to pretreat.
Use the Gentle Setting to wash
After putting the gloves in a mesh bag, gently cycle them in cold water.
Dry
Depending on the recommendations on the fabric care label, you can either hang dry or tumble dry on low.
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