Down jackets are necessary clothes in winter. However, the fabric craftsmanship of different down jackets varies greatly. Laundry shops need to have the knowledge in this area to provide professional care and cleaning services.
Question 1
The customer’s down jacket has been stored in the wardrobe for winter, and the fabric has partially changed color. What could be the cause?
- If laundry shops face down jackets with these kinds of problems, it is suggested to check:
– the location of the discoloration
– whether the jacket was covered with a plastic film bag
– if it was stored in close contact with other dark-colored clothing
– whether the discolored area was exposed to light
- Some customers do not remove the plastic film bags provided by laundry shops after their down jackets are cleaned for seasonal storage. Instead, they store the jackets directly in these bags. The polyethylene in the film bags may cause the fabric of certain garments to turn yellow.
Additionally, yellowing can also occur in the following conditions.
– Light-colored fabrics are pressed against dark-colored fabrics during storage.
– The down jacket’s fabric or coating undergoes oxidation.
– The fabric is exposed to sunlight.
– Detergents containing bleach are used during fabric cleaning.
– The fabric is alkaline.
- After knowing the above causes, laundry shops should remind customers after finishing the seasonal cleaning of down jackets that the plastic film bags should be removed before storage. The down jackets should be stored in a dark place, together with clothes of similar colors whenever possible.
Question 2
Why does a water stain appear on the fabric surface of a down jacket after washing and drying? There are three main reasons.
- Impermeable or low-permeability fabric
After a down jacket is washed, the down tends to clump when wet, and the moisture inside the clumped down is difficult to evaporate. The fabric will continuously absorb the residual detergent in the moisture and the dye dissolved in the water. When the fabric dries, the areas that absorbed more detergent and dye will be darker than the faster-drying parts, forming what is commonly called water stains.
Such water stains can usually be removed by rinsing with clean water again. Therefore, laundry shops should:
– Pay attention to thorough pre-washing during the cleaning process when using industrial washing machine.
– Ensure the down jacket is fully soaked inside and out before adding cleaning chemicals.
– Do a thorough rinse after the main washing cycle
For fabrics with poor permeability, the number of rinsing cycles can be increased to reduce chemical residues inside the down as much as possible. If water stains have already appeared, re-rinsing with clean water and then drying can usually remove them.
- Residual moisture after dehydration and drying method
For down jackets made of impermeable or low-permeability fabrics, moisture is hard to evaporate once the down clumps. This leads to longer drying time and a higher chance of water stains.
Therefore, laundry shops should use Kingtar industrial washing machines with higher dehydration efficiency. The Kingstar wet cleaning machine has a dehydration factor of 400G and can effectively reduce residual moisture after dehydration. For drying, Kingstar industrial dryers should be used as much as possible. They has multiple heat preservation and energy-saving designs, which ensures rapid heating, excellent heat preservation, and fast drying speed. This can effectively remove moisture from clumped down and prevent the down from clumping, thus avoiding water stains caused by long-term down clumping.
- Fabric color
In practice, complaints about water stains on washed fabrics mainly focus on darker colors such as military green, dark red, fuchsia, smoky gray, and navy blue. Other colors of the same fabric rarely have water stain issues. This shows that water stains are related to the dyeing process.
Generally, the darker the color, the higher the probability that the dye in the down jacket fabric will dissolve into water during washing, and the greater the risk of residual water stains after the down jacket is dried.
Question 3
Why does the surface of light-colored down jackets have yellow stains after washing and drying?
There are two main reasons for residual light yellow stains on light-colored fabrics: the fabric is PU-coated, and the drying method used.
- PU-coated fabric
After a down jacket is washed, the down tends to clump. The back of the fabric is covered with a low-moisture-permeable PU film, which contains micropores. The damp, clumped down comes into contact with the back of the fabric, and the micropores of the PU film absorb residual oil from the moisture in the down, then penetrate the absorbed oil to the fabric surface. When the fabric dries, the areas with more oil will show the light yellow color of down oil. Such yellow stains on the fabric surface can usually be easily removed by washing again with oil-removing detergent and rinsing multiple times.
- Drying method
Air-drying causes the fabric to absorb oil from the down for a long time, which eventually transfers to the fabric surface. If such fabrics are dried using an industrial dryer, they can effectively remove moisture from the clumped down and prevent the down from clumping in the first place. This naturally avoids oil transfer to the fabric surface due to long drying times, which would otherwise cause the fabric to turn yellow.
Question 4
After a down jacket is washed and dried, the down inside clumps together. It can only be loosened by patting hard, and its fluffiness is significantly reduced compared to before washing. What is the reason, and how can it be improved?
- When the down jacket is dehydrated after washing, the wet down clumps and accumulates under the centrifugal force of the industrial washing machine.
- Incomplete drying of the down jacket causes only the surface of the clumped down to dry, while the down inside the clumps still contains a lot of moisture. This naturally reduces the fluffiness.
- It is recommended to use an industrial dryer to dry down jackets after they are washed in an industrial washing machine. This allows the down inside to regain its original fluffy state (or even become fluffier). However, note that tumble drying may easily cause wear to the down jacket’s fabric and accessories. Laundry shops are advised to first check the down jacket’s fabric composition and whether it has special processes such as pearlescent coating.
- For down jackets that cannot be tumble-dried, it is recommended to wash them on a sunny and windy day. After washing, turn the jacket’s lining inside out, and lay it flat outdoors to dry.
If the down remains non-fluffy after drying and patting, use a hair dryer to blow hot air on the jacket while patting it. This will help the down regain its fluffiness.
Conclusion
The above are common problems with down jackets and knowledge about washing, care, and maintenance. We hope that every laundry shop can have a better understanding and provide professional washing and care services for customers.
