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Down jackets care, causes and origins of defects in washing

When buying a down jacket, the consumer is expecting a minimum functional performance that must not be affected by its maintenance. The down jacket’s care is fundamental in maintaining the original quality that the garment had at the time of purchase.

Services requested by the consumer at the time of purchase

• Compliance with legal hygiene standards
• Dimensional stability
• Feather and down composition
• Thermal insulation • Appearance
• Lightweight
• Pleasant odour
• Resistance to feather shedding
• Feather cleanliness
• Waterproofness
• Colour fastness

Many of these original performances can be compromised by incorrect washing. Often consumers may not pay much attention or trust what is written on the labels attached to the garments; a good laundry operator checks all the labels and informs the customer regarding any anomalies that could lead to deffects during washing.

Compliance with hygiene standards

Compliance with hygiene regulations It is mandatory for garments to have a label certifying that the feathers filling have been sterilised in accordance to the current regulations, as indicated below:

“This garment is padded with real down, that has been washed, and sterilized according to international standards R.A.L. and D.M.10/11/76, or with another procedure capable of achieving the same hygienic and sanitization effects”.

Usually, the consumer does not check for the presence of such a label; in the absence of such a label, the laundry should bring it to the customer’s attention.

Composition of the plumage

and elements coming out of the padding
Often the type of feather, whether goose or duck, is not indicated on the label.

feathers of duck and goose under the microscope

Goose feathers are superior to duck feathers in terms of odour, swelling and behaves better when washed (feather shedding, odour, puffiness cleaning).

feather down composition is important

The amount of various elements that come out from the garment (like feather – down – broken feather – feather fibre – down fibre – residue) during wearing and washing depends on:
• the type of animal;
• the quality of the feathers;
• the composition;
• the type of fabric.

down and feather fibres spillage from seams - down and feather fibres spillage from the inner pocket

leakage of down feather fibers and down fibers inside pocket

The spillage of these elements depends on several factors, such as:
• absent or broken container bag;
• poor quality of the filling material;
• large-sized intersection holes;
• lack of resin-coating of the intersecting holes;
• poorly executed quilting;
• low resistance to tearing;
• high electrostatic charge.

intersection hole between warp and weft larger than the filling material

Today, there are some garments similar to down jackets (generally used for the spring season) filled not with feathers but with polyester. In this case, the most frequent defects not related to washing but claimed after washing, are:
• spillage of the polyester filling fibres, which are too thin compared to the fabric with too large intersecting holes
• reduction in thickness due to smooth, non-creased polyester fibres;
• clustering with formation of lumps.

Dimensional stability

Depends on the quality of the outer fabric, lining and containment bag and, of course, on the maintenance carried out. The standard shrinkage to water washing is of maximum 2% in both directions with tumble drying at maximum 55°C. If the fabric shrinks excessively during washing and drying, is due to the lack of thermo fixation of the fabric.

Drying on a form finisher should be avoided, as the dry heat causes shrinkage on nylon or polyester outer fabric, as shown in the picture below (indicated by the shortening of the sleeves).

sleeves shortening

TNT of the container bag

If the fabric of the container bag is made of polypropylene TNT, drying it at a temperature higher than 40°C causes a strong shrinkage and consequently, the outer fabric quilted with lining shortens, taking a wavy configuration. In general, polypropylene TNT shrinks in only one direction, and the resulting waves on the outer fabric will have a privileged direction.

spillage of elements from
the TNT of the container bag

Stiffening

If the fabric is laminated with a PVC film (often not indicated on the label), it is necessary to avoid dry cleaning (both perchloroethylene and hydrocarbon) as the film stiffens, and the garment becomes a solid object, as shown in the picture.

excluding PVC, even high-temperature tumble drying could lead to the stiffening of the internal resin film

Streaks along the seams

Halos often appear along the seams, taking the form of a track. The responsibility can be blamed to poor cleaning of the feathers or degradation of the lamination resin. Often, there are discolouration lines on the collar and cuffs that are already present at the time of acceptance and can be highlighted by localized stain removal (to be avoided). These are caused by the degradation of the adhesive due to alcohol-based products (perfumes, deodorants, etc.)

halos along the seams - stains on the collar

Wrinkles

Wrinkles are often caused by the mechanical action of washing and drying due to the localised detachment of the laminates (lining and fabric). If the garment has a certain age, hydrolysis of the adhesive can occur, which loses its anchoring efficiency, and leading to the defect.

Unpleasant odour

After washing, drying and ironing, an unpleasant smell of “rotten fish” is noticed.
The unpleasant odour emanating from the feathers, which becomes noticeable in warm and humid conditions, persists over time and can no longer be eliminated.
It is caused by various factors:
• poor cleaning of the feathers (poorly dried or on the wrong side);
• type of animal (for example, duck may have a stronger odor than goose);
• feed and breeding conditions (fish meal, algae, marsh grass, etc.);
• age of the animal.
It is possible to eliminate the odour by spraying the garment with “odor-capturing spray for cats”, which is not a deodorant but a chemical spray that chemically transforms the unpleasant odour into a neutral one. The effect of the odour neutralizing is disappearing until the next washing and then it reappears.

Apparent stains

The generally light and transparent outer fabric is internally laminated If the lamination is not done correctly, itnternal detachment of the laminate may occur and light reflects differently in the area corresponding to the detachment zone, creating a stain. It looks like a stain but it is actually a different reflection of light on the outer fabric.

padding displacement with full and thin areas.

It is caused by the poor quality of the feathers and

large quilted areas - padding clustering with full and thin areas

Yellowing of the outer fabric originally white or light

There are two causes of the defect, certainly not caused by the laundry:
• degradation of the optic if the original colour was dyed with an optical brightener;
• low colour fastness to the action of phenolic resins present in adhesives, finishing products, etc., causing fabrics to take on a straw-yellow color.

yellowing due to phenolic degradation

Deterioration of external appearance

The outer fabric in synthetic fiber does not absorb water and therefore accumulates static electricity. Static electricity attracts all the dust present in the washing machine, especially during the drying phase, and facilitates the passage of feathers. Synthetic fabrics must be treated with an antistatic agent during production stage to prevent the accumulation of electrostatic charges. The electrostatic charge of fabrics should be less than 1 kV (kilovolt). Fabrics are often resin-coated and rubbing causes the degradation of the resin, as shown in the photo.

fading and light streaks - white pilling

emergence of dense and short white fluff

In polyester-cotton blend quilts (warp polyester and weft cotton), after washing, you may observe the emergence of dense and short white fluff, resembling like frost. This is caused by the shedding of cotton fibres, particularly due to the use of short Indian cotton fibres of 1,4 cm in length.

Hydro-repellence

A fabric is waterproof when water does not penetrate and flows, leaving the fabric dry. Water-repellence is measured on a scale of 1 – very bad to 5 – very good.

washing can cancel the hydro-repellence
and the customer may notice it later when the garment is exposed to rain

Fur stiffening

Some parts of the fur appear stiff and torn. The underlying leather is hardened and tears very easily. Unappropriated washing conditions (such as dry-cleaning or water-washing drying temperatures) can lead to the stiffening of the leather due to dehydration, resulting in possible tears during the washing agitation. Poor tanning can also cause this defect, even if the maintenance has been correctly made.

Hair loss

If the tanning process was made incorrectly, the hair is detaching from the base due to mechanical agitation.

Zip stains

The zipper reinforcement fabric is made of polyester. If the reinforcement fabric has low colour resistance, prolonged contact under pressure and in specific temperature and humidity conditions can cause colour transfer from the zipper to the adjacent fabric.

color discharge from the zipper to the fabric

Oxidation accessories

Washing can cause the oxidation of the metallic parts and colour discharge due to an imperfection

oxidized zipper teeth - colour discharge from oxidised zip to fabric

Note: For detachable fur only: gently dry-clean with hydrocarbons or mild water and dry at a temperature not exceeding 40°C.
If dry-cleaning is necessary due to the presence of prints or applications, use hydrocarbon as solvent.

LART

Laboratorio Analisi e Ricerca Tessile
Textile Research and Analysis Laboratory
Via Vasco de Gama 2 41012 CARPI (MO)
Tel. 059 645279
lart@lartessile.it – www.lartessile.it

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