How to Wash Your Winter Outerwear

Colette Nataf

Snow, rain, spilled hot chocolate — winter outerwear goes through a lot. Keep using it year after year with these 5 easy tips.

Last night it dropped down to 40 degrees at my house in Northern California, so I decided it was time to break out my family’s winter coats and snow pants.

When I pulled them from storage, they smelled like mildew and had a layer of dust on them. I knew I had to clean the outwear somehow, but I didn’t know how to wash materials like Gore-Tex, rubber, and down feathers.

I’d like to share the findings from my research with you all because this totally would have helped me out last week when I washed all my winter gear.

Step 1: Empty those pockets

Make sure everything is out of all your pockets. Nothing worse than accidentally running some handwarmers through the wash!

Step 2: Load it up

Place all your winter gear in the washing machine BY ITSELF. You don’t want bulky zippers and buttons getting caught on delicate cotton materials.

Step 3: Add Laundry sheets

Place 1-3 HeySunday ™ laundry sheets in the washer. We recommend 1 sheet if it's just 2-3 items, 2 sheets if 4-6 items, and 3 sheets if 7-10 items.

Do not wash more than 10 at once. Laundry sheets are great for washing outer gear because they dissolve quickly and use zero artificial dyes, so no worrying about your coats getting discolored!

Step 4: Wash on COLD

Wash your outerwear on a cold wash temperature setting for 30-50 minutes (depending on the load size).

Step 5: AIR DRY

Take your gear out of the washer and HANG DRY.

Do not place your gear in the dryer and heat can damage down, fur, and gore- tex materials. If you’re in a rush, you can tumble dry your gear and a low temperature, but air dry is the best way to go.

Considerations

My winter gear seriously felt brand new after I washed it. It’s funny how we never think about washing our outerwear, but it is so important!

We also often leave our coats laying around outside in public and it can collect a lot of germs and grime. I will definitely be washing my entire family’s winter gear at least 3-4 times a year!

Also- always check the tag on your outerwear to make sure there are any steps specific to the brand of gear you’re washing!