Nikwax Down Wash Direct

Down-filled items provide lightweight insulation to keep you warm. Down is ideal for very cold and dry conditions: down has exceptional insulating properties, trapping air between its filaments, which is then heated by your body heat to keep you warm. No other product offers so much insulation for so little weight and bulk. It’s ideal for sleeping bags, jackets, vests, and winter clothing in general. However, through use, dirt and body oils build up on down items. This is especially likely in damp and wet conditions. This affects both the fabric and the down fill. Dirt attracts water; if the fabric absorbs water, then rain and condensation can easily transfer into the down. If down gets wet, it clumps together. This causes it to lose loft and insulation, as it can’t trap air effectively. When wet, down loses all of its insulating properties, as water conducts heat away from the body up to 25 times faster than air. It will also gain weight, and lose significant breathability, leaving you feeling cold, wet, and uncomfortable.

Therefore, it is important to maintain Durable Water Repellency (DWR), to stop down-filled gear from getting wet. The outer fabric of your down filled item, as well as the down inside, must be maintained to ensure comfort. Nikwax Down Wash.Direct revitalizes insulation, and restores the Durable Water Repellency (DWR) of both the outer fabric and down fill. This prevents water-absorption, and maintains breathability, keeping you warm, dry and comfortable.

Your down items could be soaking up water because the Durable Water Repellency (DWR) has been compromised by dirt, or because they have been cleaned with a conventional laundry detergent. Dirt attracts water, and household detergents leave water-attracting (hydrophilic) residues, leading to fabric and down ‘wetting out’ in wet or damp conditions. Cleaning products that are not designed specifically for down may also compromise loftiness. The wrong cleaner might re-deposit dirt from the outer fabric onto the down, reducing loft and insulation. Therefore, they need to be avoided when cleaning down items. If your down items are relatively new, or have been recently treated with Nikwax Down Proof (also sold at Trailhead Paddle Shack), then cleaning with Nikwax Down Wash.Direct will not only remove contaminants, such as dirt and residues left behind by household detergents, but also revitalize insulation and restore DWR. However, once the gear has been thoroughly used, you will need to add DWR, using Nikwax Down Proof, after cleaning first with Nikwax Down Wash.Direct. This adds DWR to the outer fabric of the gear, and also to the down fill.

Nikwax Down Wash.Direct prolongs the effective life of your down gear. It is the safe way to thoroughly clean your down clothing and equipment. It is quick and easy to use in a washing machine, and doing so ensures that the whole item is thoroughly cleaned.

• Technical cleaner for both hydrophobic and regular down clothing and sleeping bags
• Cleans effectively, revitalizes insulation, and restores the water-repellency of hydrophobic down
• Revives the performance of your down gear, keeping you warmer and drier
• Recommended for Nikwax Hydrophobic Down™, Hydrodown™, and all other down clothing and sleeping bags