Washed Down jacket in the washing machine, how to unclump the down?

[Catloverss]

I got second hand North face Nuptse jacket, badly stank upon arriving.
Says washing machine washable on 30 degrees or less.
I put it on specific Down jackets program, sadly even the lowest spin it had was 800.
it’s obvious clumped, the down inside, big lumps of down stuck together.
I have no tumble dryer, already checked with friends too.
At the moment it rests on towel but how to fluff it up?

Do you have a laundrette anywhere close? Even without a tennis ball if you take it out of the dryer every few mins and give it a good shake that will help

Just wait for it to dry on a radiator then shake the shit out of it. Always works for me

Even with big lumps of clumps ? Literally the whole back is flat and empty as the whole down is clumped together in the bottom..

Yes. They look ruined but all will be well.

Nowhere near me..

I washed my daughters cream Coach down jacket. I gasped when I took it out of the machine. I thought it was beyond repair. But when it dried it was fine.

Do you mean it will be still warm jacket? Chat gpt says all ruined now, it won’t perk up and will stay flat..

I dried it in the sun btw. It looked exactly the same as the day she bought it.

Mate of mine put hers in a large fabric drawstring bag (laundry bag?) with a load of tennis balls and bashed it to hell and back against a wall and that worked. I think it was dry first. Keep shaking it upside down whilst it dries and then beat the hell out of it once its dry.

I wonder if the smell was a re-proofing treatment?
I always use NikWax TX Direct to restore the waterproof surface of our down jackets, it smells a bit initially but fades quickly.
We're a climbing/mountaineering family so have loads of down clothes & sleeping bags, providing the baffle stitching is in place then the down will fluff up & stay in the right place once it's thoroughly dry.
Don't bin it!!!

Let it dry thoroughly. Then shake it in every possible direction until your arms hurt. Then get a friend to do it. Then do it again. Hold it from top, bottom, sides and shake it. Smack it against a chair and just keep doing it. It will come back in the end. Works with all my down things.

This. Just on spin.

When I wash duvets I put them on the radiator and every so often during the drying time fluff it up and keep moving the down around. Should work ok for a coat?

It's not ruined forever, just keep shaking it as it dries.

It’ll be fine once it’s dry. Pull the clumps apart with your fingers occasionally as it dries.

This is what you should do. The clumps are likely not really dry. You need to move them around with your fingers. Do not dry clean. Dry cleaning and washing with regular detergent will strip the oils from the feathers and make it less fluffy and insulating over time.

hairdryer! Put the jacket on a big coat hanger and blow dry it, up the sleeves, in the main body. Stop every now and again and give it a good shake

Nice to hear you're believing chat gpt over real life people lol

It will be ruined if you don’t get the clumps dry. You need to break them up. In future, handwashing in down soap is much better. Career outdoor industry professional here and it drives me bloody mad that North Face puts those washing instructions on their jackets. Yet another reason why they are crap.

This what we do! Put it on a hanger and hang on a doorframe. Zip it up, clamp one of the sleeves shut with pegs (or your free hand) and then blow a warm hairdryer up the other sleeve. Works quickly and is brilliant!

Do you have radiators? If so, put it on a radiator and turn it constantly so the clumps dry out. Once it feels dry, hang it on a washing line - use plenty of pegs - and wallop at the clumps until they start to break up. A tennis racquet, cricket bat or similar will do it. Do t panic, it will come back to life again

It will be fine. It will just take a lot longer without a tumble dryer.
I don't have a tumble dryer and wash my down coat and sleeping bags in the machine.
It's important to wash it with tennis balls in the machine. You can try it on the spin cycle again.
And then you'll have to be patient. Keep shaking it, beating it up and so on. As the down starts to dry it will fluff up again.
Do not put it in the bin.

Thanks everyone.
At the moment is laying flat on towel. Yes have radiators but was told not use it with the jacket as would make it worse.
Tried some hair dryer blasts, still very clumps all over.
I do try to separate the clumps, but it won’t do much as inside the lining etc and still wet and it feels like stuck all together.
It was second hand from Vinted but doesn’t really looks used at all.etc, advertised as used tho.

No scuffs etc.
One pocket is faulty, poorly sewn, I wonder if this is customer returns or faulty item.

Does your washing machine have a spin function? If so you could use that with tennisballs, I know on ours the spin function doesn’t add any water to the machine.

I wash my goosedown pillows in the summer, and put them out in the sunshine to dry. Every so often I go out and plump them by clapping my hands either side. Maybe you could do this in between sessions with the hairdryer? It's not too much effort.