restoring loft?

**Nhott** · 03-08-2014, 08:49

The underquilt may have been hung from the center during drying. The down most likely clumped together at the ends. I wouldn't stress too much. I would suggest running it through the wash with just water to get any excess nikwax out and drying with tennis balls like the others suggested.

Experts correct me if I'm wrong but the down used 3 years ago wasn't hydrophobic. Untreated down will compress with water and shift more than hydrophobic down. You can search youtube for video comparisons to see what happens to down when wet.

I'm new to underquilts and such but have been using down bags for many years. The dryer always does the trick.

**TZBrown** · 03-08-2014, 08:57

As it was freshly laundered you probably have down clumps that are not lofted and stuck together.

If you have a dehumidifier hang the quilt in a small room with that, fluff a couple of times a day,
If not hang and fluff between dry cycles, it may take a week or more to get all of the down clumps broken and re lofted.
High, 850 quality down, clumps a lot worse than 650

It will come back

**hutzelbein** · 03-08-2014, 09:01

Originally Posted by Nhott

The underquilt may have been hung from the center during drying. The down most likely clumped together at the ends. I wouldn't stress too much. I would suggest running it through the wash with just water to get any excess nikwax out and drying with tennis balls like the others suggested.

Experts correct me if I'm wrong but the down used 3 years ago wasn't hydrophobic. Untreated down will compress with water and shift more than hydrophobic down. You can search youtube for video comparisons to see what happens to down when wet.

I'm new to underquilts and such but have been using down bags for many years. The dryer always does the trick.

I hadn't thought of that, but that could actually be the problem. I have washed down bags and quilts in the past, and it's a lot of work. I don't have a drier that works with down garments (mine switches off as soon as the shell is dry; it doesn't seem to recognize that the down inside is still wet), so what I do is, I wait for a sunny day and then put the washed down item on an airer in my winter garden. It gets pretty hot there. Every 30 minutes or so, I work the down, breaking up clumps and shaking it up. A drier would produce more fluff, but doing it that way has worked well for me.

It is possible, that fluffing won't work (or is way more difficult and time consuming) with down that has been dried in a clump. Washing the quilt or just getting it wet again and then following the procedure might restore the down. Good luck!

**Ramblinrev** · 03-08-2014, 11:28

IMO don't rewash it. As it is dry, just clumped, put the drier on "No Heat" or "Fluff" setting and add couple tennis balls or clean tennis shoes, if such an item actually exists. Whirl it around for a a while and shake it good. The idea is to get something in there to break up the clumps of down with out damaging the down or covering.

**stevebo** · 03-08-2014, 11:49

I know exactly how you feel-------I washed my 20 degree burrow a few months back and to my horror found that all of the down had migrated to the head and foot ends, leaving the center baffles empty. I completly flipped out about it----but come to find out, like was previously mentiond, you can move down from baffle to baffle on HG quilts. (it just takes a while)
I thought about another use for this feature------technically, if you are a DIY guy and want to add down to your quilt, you could easily move all of the down out of a baffle or 2, and then just open up and fill those baffles.
I hope this works out for you!

**cliffhanger** · 03-08-2014, 20:47

the down missing probably moved to the other chambers.

The HG quilts(and every other brand I've seen) don't have "sealed baffles"(probably because they would tear anyway due to stress at those points?) at the ends(foot and head) and down may been moved to the other chambers during the washing or drying.

I would move the extra down to the baffles with less down via the gaps at the head and foot ends.

**outdooraddict** · 03-09-2014, 00:01

Originally Posted by cliffhanger

the down missing probably moved to the other chambers.

The HG quilts(and every other brand I've seen) don't have "sealed baffles"(probably because they would tear anyway due to stress at those points?) at the ends(foot and head) and down may been moved to the other chambers during the washing or drying.

I would move the extra down to the baffles with less down via the gaps at the head and foot ends.

I'll try that, thanks.

**outdooraddict** · 03-09-2014, 16:36

It's a bit labor intensive, but I'm getting the center baffles filled in. Now to get the same amount in each is going to be a bit tricky.

Thanks for all of the help! How long of cycle should I run for the tennis balls? It's just a timed run with no heat

**stevebo** · 03-10-2014, 06:22

On the brite side, this is a condition that happens alot when you wash your down quilts---------now you know what to do!

**Drybones** · 03-12-2014, 13:17

Originally Posted by outdooraddict

I just got my 0 degree Incubator with 4oz overfill from another member on here. It's a few years old. Said it was freshly washed.

When I took it out of the box there was literally no down, all the way down the center of the uq. Is all I really have to do is let it sit out? I dont see how these voids will fill in? I'm new to down too, just wondering if there is anything I should try

Put it in a dryer with several tennis balls, if it was recently washed it may not have gotten dried properly. I washed and dried an old bag and two $21 Walmart down jackets yesterday to apply a DWR finish...came out fluffier than before...and shed water. I used high heat to set the DWR but would probably just use a medium setting for a bag that's already pretty dry. Good luck.