The best at-home cleaner for down jackets and sleeping bags.

When you notice your down sleeping bag or jacket starting to look a bit less puffy than it used to be, it’s time to use Nikwax Down Wash Direct. By cleaning the plumes, you reinvigorate the down’s loftiness, re-puff the baffles, and ultimately increase the warmth retention of the garment.

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• Weight: 0 oz | Price: $13
• Technology: Down-safe soap.
• Pros: Renews loft. Cleans. Safe. Biodegradable.
• Cons: Never quite restores 100% of original loft.

Features and Verdict

We tend not to get our down pieces very dirty in the first place, but still like to wash them about once per year of heavy use, or every other year with moderate to light use. Down washing is an important and underrated aspect of gear maintenance and most people do it too infrequently.

Nikwax recommends using this detergent in the tub for large garments like sleeping bags, or a large professional-grade front loading washing machine. Dry it out afterwards by tubmle drying on low heat settings. It even works on DWR-treated hydrophobic down. The only bummer is that even a thorough washing and drying will only restore the down to about 90% of its original puffiness.

The wear and tear caused by bodyweight and compression storage will slowly degrades the plumes, and you will never quite get a full factory reset.

But that’s not Nikwax’s fault, and we highly recommend Nikwax Down Wash Direct to get the most out of your down products.