Don't use any detergent that contains enzymes. Enzymes will damage the down. Most detergents contain enzymes. I have used Woolite, and there is a Tide that doesn't use enzymes, but I can't remember the name. Also some All detergent, but not every one. My understanding of Nikwax is it restores water resistance to outdoor items and is not meant to be used on items that don't need water resistance. I may be wrong about that. I hope someone with more technical experience will chime in.

I use purex (not the one with Clorox 2 or oxi as they have enzymes) for my down and it works well. Tides budget detergent t in the yellow bottles most don’t contain enzymes either. Be careful because they do make one with oxi and it has enzymes.

I recently washed one from my mother that she had likely never washed. The cover was badly stained and the down was all lumped together. I used Dawn dish soap (you know those commercials with the baby ducks!) It took a couple of washes to get the stains out, but the fill was nice and fluffy again, once it dried.

On using Seventh Generation, the company seems to have mixed messages and that would be a reason I would avoid using it on a down comforter. While the Seventh Generation web site recommends using Seventh Generation HE liquid detergents for down comforters, jackets and sleeping bags (Link is here) the company also says that all of its detergents have "select enzymes." As hcbm says, you want to avoid using any detergents with enzymes because they can adversely affect the down and the lofting ability that gives down its warmth.

In you local sporting goods store, I would look for Nikwax "Down Wash Direct" rather than their "proofing" product. I tried some "Direct" once on the recommendations of friends -- bought it through REI but you can get it through Amazon Prime, too if you decide to shop online. Got the Nikwax "Direct" for a sleeping bag and found it It was fine for the comforter, too.

Like hcbm, I also have used Woolite. I use Woolite these days because the jug I bought from Costco seems like a lifetime supply. ;>) A couple of cautions about Woolite, though. First, be careful to use low doses as it can get very sudsy in front load washers. Second, there are several formulations of the product and some of them do include enzymes. Those without enzymes will say so on the back label. (The back label on the jug I got from Costco has a section captioned "Important Information" where it tells you what is not included in the product.)

I've never tried washing a comforter with Dawn but I have successfully used Dawn to spot treat surface stains on a down comforter before washing it in Woolite.

I checked the REI stores by me, and they do have the Nikwax Down stuff in stock, so I guess I'll pick some up. It worked great on my coats, so I know I'll use it up other than for just the comforter.

I use Purex..read the back of the jug and make sure it's a Purex without enzymes. It does a fine job and IMO much better than Woolight.

Enzymes will eat the down .and you can be left with a shell containing a few lumps.

As a afterthought. ...all detergents containing enzymes must state enzymes on the package.

I buy Down wash @ Basspro. I have a down throw that is over 15 years old and in pristine condition even though I wash it about every 6 weeks. No clumping and no loss of loft.

Well, I picked up the Nikwax from REI and took the comforter to the laundromat - it's a king size, so figured the triple loader would be the best bet. It came out pretty good. Even though I used the extra-large dryer for about a hour, I had to bring it home semi-damp because the laundromat closed for the evening before it was dry. I'm attempting to finish drying it in my dryer on low, this is the third 70-minute cycle and I'm still not confident it's 100% dry. Ugh!

When you think it's dry...dry longer. Even a slight dampness in the down will mold.

mxk3 - did you toss some tennis balls into the dryer, with the comforter? Our down items say this in the drying instructions. Down takes a long time to dry.

^^ Yes.

I'm now on my *4th* dry cycle at home...

Can I just hang it out in the basement to let it air-dry?

Basement is fine if humidity is 50% or less. A fan to circulate the air would be good thing, too. ( I try to avoid mildew and mold)

Hang in there, but don't hang it out to line dry. Not recommended --- tends to leave down clumps that may trap some moisture as Mamapinky warned. You want the tumbling in the dryer to fluff the down and that will not happen when a comforter is hung to dry.

Also, I'll second Cavimum's recommendation of dryer balls. I've found that any kind of dryer balls really do shorten the drying time since they help with fluffing the down and breaking up the lumps. You can use tennis balls (just not the ones the dog has been playing with!), or the spiky soft plastic dryer balls that the hardware stores sell, or yarn balls. Heck, I recall one poster here even using clean sports shoes.

Anther thing that I've found helpful is turning the heat up a notch on the dryer. My dryer has five settings -- air dry, ex-low/delicates, low/knits, medium/P-press, and high. The first time I tried drying my queen sized down comforter, I did not use any dryer balls and had the dryer set on its lowest (air dry) setting. Took a little over 5 hours to fully dry. These days, using the dryer balls and the dryer's "low/knits" heat setting (which is actually my dryer's middle setting), my down comforter now takes about about 2½ hours to dry. (FWIW, the basement has around 25% humidity. YMMV.) Also, best check the web site of your comforter's maker to see about higher dryer heat settings. Some recommend only low or no heat settings, some allow full on hot. (For example, my comforter's manufacturer, Pacific Coast Bedding, specifically says you can use hot dryer settings if you want to. Link is here.)

Last night I needed to wash a white down jacket that got dirt all over it. Went to the store for either purex with no enzymes or some special wash from the sporting good section. They were out of both of them. I found foca liquid detergent (not the powder) that had no enzymes in it and it was 1.78! It cleaned so good! Didn’t effect my loft of the jacket at all and got every single stain off of it. I would highly recommend this one. Seems as the liquid foca is sold at Walmart only but can’t beat the price. Highly highly recommend this to anyone washing down.

Do you use a duvet cover? It would reduce the amount of times the comforter needs washed.

Larisa. The liquid Foca does have a ton of OB's.

I’m confused as purex has optical brightners as well. I thought we only had to avoid enzymes. Tides yellow bottle without enzymes has optical brightners as well. It worked well and the jacket it stain free and white again. I do have some grangers down detergent coming from amazon for next time. I ran out after washing it the past few times. That one works really well and comes with dryer balls for 10.00.

Larisa did you find Foca very sudsy. I find down is sudsy with most detergents, and Foca powder sudsy in anything, together I would think I would have suds pouring out of the machine.

What detergent has no enzymes and no optical brightness? I have two down jackets that need to be washed and they are dark colored. I don't want that dusty look to them. Also the detergent needs to work, as the necks are really dirty.

I can't think of a enzyme and OB free detergent.

Larisa...its fine. I only mentioned it because liquid Foca beefs up the OB's...way more than other detergent.

"What detergent has no enzymes and no optical brightness?"

Woollite for Darks and Charlie's Soap Have neither. Both are staples in my laundry room.

I think Country Save has neither but I have never tried it.

Since it does have a lot of OB it’s most likely why it’s gleeming white jacket now lol. I did get the jacket used but never really recalled it every being this bright white ha. It looks amazing though and couldn’t beat the price of detergent.

Well, circling back - I can vouch that the Nikwax works great on down (coats, gloves, comforter, whatever).

Larisa...don't wear it under a black light. LOL. Don't worry it's fine.

ob's sure can make whites appear gleeming white. Lol. Or its because you knew what you were doing when you washed it...good job!

Woolite for darks contains enzymes Cavimum :( the Only woolite that don’t contain enzymes now is woolite delicates from what their website shows (Back or bottle pictures I found on amazon but their website had the same ones). We use cheer for dark powder on all our dark clothing since it don’t have any OB but they too have enzymes.

I didn’t find the foca to be sudsy at all. I do have harder water and typically don’t get Suds. To be on the safe side I did do two extra rinses. I used one cap full (recommended was 1-2 cap fulls). I did wash another light colored jacket with the down jacket and it came out sparkling clean. I did not pre treat anything and used my delicate cycle on my front loader with extra rinse and just manually did another rinse and spin.

Larisa - OMG I just checked my Woolite/Darks and you are right! I wonder when they did that? That explains why I'm sometimes itchy and I thought it was the perfume. I better stop washing our dark wool items in that. Gah! Nothing is sacred anymore.....

I think it’s rather new :( I hate it when they change our favorite things. Now we’re left with hardly any options anymore. I’m still ticked tide changes all their scents including tide with bleach powder I had loved so much. Luckily I’ve found an alternative (oxydol with biz) but it does have enzymes. I don’t think it’s too much to ask to have one detergent that works well and don’t have enzymes or OB. Ugh we need to totally design and market a detergent that would actually work good and fit our needs. Then promise never to change the scents or formula.

I use Charlies Soap on lots of my clothes but IMO it tends to fade the dark colors. No perfumes, no enzymes, no OBAs, no itching.

I just washed my down jacket with the Dropps sensitive. One of the smaller handwash size pods did a good job. It doesn't have optical brighteners or enzymes. I find that the small size works for most of my loads. I've been using them part time since around Thanksgiving. I like their oxy pods too, the have TAED in them and seem to do a good job. I have some of the unscented Clorox 2 pods that I use if it's a big load, but for most things the Dropps work well.

After reading here I ordered Nikwax Down wash. It was supposed to arrive today, but is delayed and won't arrive until Saturday. I had been under the impression that Nikwax only made water proofing products. I can't wait to clean my coats. I'll report back on how well the new detergent works.

hcbm - how did you like the Nikwax?

Sorry for the delay in reporting. Amazon lost the first shipment, but I finally got the detergent and washed two different coats.

It did an excellent job. Both coats had ring around the collar and the bottom of the sleeves were pretty soiled. I read the instructions carefully and followed them except I used some to the detergent on the collar and sleeves, then added the rest to the wash. I washed each coat separately in my compact front loader. Make sure you shake up the detergent before using. I used hot which for me is not very hot. I stopped the wash and let the coats soak for about 1/2 an hour. Each item came out spotless. I dried them on low 4 times. The down fluffed right up.

I was surprised by two things; first I did not realize the detergent said it also water proofs the items. Well my coats weren't waterproof to begin with, but it didn't seem to change the feel or look of the coats. Second, you use a lot for each load. 3.4 oz. That makes the detergent really expensive. I have used other non-enzyme detergents successfully before, so I am not sure I would purchase again. On the other hand it rinsed extremely well and my coats look great.

^^ Yea, it is expensive, but I don't wash my down coats often so not a big deal. I look at dry cleaning costs for my wool coats the same way (and Nikwax is way cheaper than taking a coat to the dry cleaner, that's for sure).

Detergents without optical brighteners and enzymes: Ecover delicate wash (which I think is discontinued), some Ecos detergents. They work ok.

Juile now that you mention it I have five bottles of Ecover delicates in my laundry room from 2009ish. Great stuff too. Like all great things they go away. I’m totally gonna try the Ecover on my down jacket.

Miele down detergent is great!

Dawn dish soap. The original blue version. Use it on all our wool and down.