Help! How do you wash down?

“My cat peed on my mom's down throw blanket tonight. She's out of town and is going to kill me! Is it ok to throw the blanket in the washing machine?”

“1:Go to REI, buy technical down wash...

2: go to laundry mat and use a front loader machine.

3: Follow the directions on the technical wash.”

“Thanks for your advice Sassafras, but the nearest REI is two hours away and my parents are coming back tomorrow. I have to wash it tonight.”

“Ut oh....well, maybe use a gentle detergent and dry it with a few tennis balls. It's just a throw so it's not huge, like a comforter right?”

“I know this subject has been covered before...try doing a search and I bet you'll find lots of advice.”

“Heck with the tennis balls.

...use the cat!”

“You can use Ivory snow soap or if you use detergent, use powder since they say it rinses out better. It's best to use down soap, though.”

“Thanks everyone for your advice. It's washed now, thank goodness. I had to use liquid woolite because that is all I had and I dried it with a tennis ball. It looks good now, I can't even tell its been washed.”

“For future reference;
Use "down wash soap" or Ivory Snow....real soap is prefered....or just a hint of detergent.
You can throw in a half-cap of pine oil/pine cleaner(or less!!!) to get the funk out(mildew,etc).

I have washed down bags and vests in the bathtub....gentle action so as not to rip internal baffles in sleeping bags.

Drying is the real pain in the a$$.
It seems to take forever for the drying to start, but once it does, it comes out nice and fluffy.”