Patagonia is a popular fashion brand that specializes in outdoor gear and attire. Patagonia’s advocacy for sustainable practices has made the brand popular among those keen to reduce the negative impact on their environment. However, Patagonia products are not cheap. Thus, if you buy a Patagonia fleece, you are likely to wonder how to wash it well so that you don’t ruin it.
To wash Patagonia fleece, you can wash the fleece in the washer or handwash it. When washing the fleece, ensure that you use a mild detergent. Liquid detergents are usually more abrasive and might thus ruin some of the properties of your Patagonia jacket.
In this article, you will discover three different methods you can use to clean the Patagonia fleece. In addition, you will also get to understand the proper temperatures to wash the fleece and whether you should dry it in a dryer.
How To Clean Patagonia Fleece
As you probably know, cleaning garments reduces their lifespan. Moreover, when garments are cleaned wrongly, they could be ruined. Thus, whenever you are washing your clothes, you have to ensure that you wash the clothes the right way since failure to do that would ruin your clothes.
The cleaning methods you use to wash any clothing item are determined by the fabrics used to make the garment you want to clean. Thus, since Patagonia fleece is made from polyester, you can wash the fleece in three different methods. Let’s now look at the various methods that can be used to clean the Patagonia jacket.
Washing Patagonia Fleece With A Washing Machine
Since Patagonia fleece is made with polyester fabric, you can wash the fleece in the washing machine, and it will not be ruined. Indeed, since polyester is a synthetic fabric resistant to shrinking, there is no risk of the fleece shrinking in the washer or dryer.
However, even if you can wash Patagonia fleece with your washing machine, you must wash the fleece in the right setting. For example, if you clean your fleece with other clothes that bleed, the fleece will be ruined in the wash.
Moreover, if you wash the fleece in a hot water cycle for a long time, you could ruin your fleece. When polyester is exposed to very high temperatures for an extended period, the fabric might shrink.
Here is the procedure to ensure you wash your Patagonia jacket the right way in the washer.
1. Turn Patagonia fleece inside out
When washing clothes in the washer, you must turn the clothes inside out before loading them in the washer. By turning the clothes inside out, you will ensure that the outer side of your Patagonia fleece is protected from the agitation in the washer during the washing cycle.
As you turn the fleece inside out, make sure that you remove everything from the fleece pocket. If you leave items such as keys in the fleece pockets, the items could damage your washer’s drum.
In addition, by removing everything from the Patagonia fleece pocket, you will be ensuring that the fleece will not be ruined in the wash. For example, if you had some paper towels in the fleece pocket and leave the towels in the pockets as you wash the fleece, your fleece will come out of the washer full of lint from the paper towel.
2. Place Patagonia fleece in the washer
After removing everything from the fleece pockets and turning the fleece inside out, you must load the fleece into the washer. Since it is not advisable to wash the fleece alone, ensure that other clothes you put in the washer do not bleed.
When loading the Patagonia fleece and other clothes in the washer, ensure that you do not overload your washing machine.
When a washing machine is overloaded, the clothes would not be effectively cleaned. In addition, when you overload your washer, you could ruin the washing machine drum since you will be overworking the machine.
To confirm that you have not overloaded your washing machine drum, try to put your hands inside the drum once you have finished loading the clothes. If you can easily put your hands in and out, you have not overloaded the washing machine.
If you cannot easily put your hands in and out of the washer, you have overloaded the washing machine. If that’s the case, you need to put out some of the clothes loaded in the washer.
3. Set your washing machine to cold or warm water setting
The best water setting to wash your Patagonia fleece jacket is cold or warm. When you wash your fleece in either setting, the fleece cannot shrink in the wash.
If you cannot find cold or warm water settings on your washer, you can wash your fleece with delicate cotton or polyester setting.
4. Pour mild powder detergent on the washer’s detergent compartment
When washing Patagonia fleece, you must use mild powder detergent. Even if you will not ruin your Patagonia fleece if you wash it with a liquid detergent, mild powder detergent is the best for cleaning it since it will make your fleece soft and fluffy.
When using powder detergent, ensure that you mix it with some water before pouring it into the washer’s detergent compartment to avoid having any soap residue on the fleece once the wash cycle is over.
5. Switch on the washing machine
Once you have set up your washing machine and put the washing detergent, it’s time to turn on the washer so that it cleans the fleece.
6. Dry the Patagonia fleece
If you had other clothes in the washer, you could dry your Patagonia fleece and the other clothes in the dryer.
If you didn’t have other clothes in the washer and washed the fleece alone, you should not dry the fleece in the dryer on its own. If you dry the fleece in the dryer on its own, there is a risk that the fleece will pill due to the friction in the dryer.
To avoid your Patagonia fleece pilling in the dryer, you should air-dry the fleece away from direct sunlight. Place your fleece on a hanger and hang it on a clothesline to dry.
Handwashing Patagonia Fleece
The safest way to wash any piece of clothing is handwashing. That is because when you handwash your clothes, there is no risk of the clothes shrinking in the washing machine.
Thus, if it is possible for you to handwash your Patagonia fleece, then you should consider handwashing the fleece instead of washing it with a washing machine.
This is how to handwash the Patagonia fleece
1. Put warm water in a bucket
Put warm water in a bucket where you will be handwashing the Patagonia fleece. If you have a washbasin, you can also use it instead of a bucket.
Ensure that the amount of water you put in the bucket is enough to soak the Patagonia fleece entirely.
2. Mix water with washing detergent
Pour washing detergent into the bucket and use your hand to ensure that the water and the detergent are well mixed. If you are not sure about the correct detergent dosage, refer to the guidelines provided in the detergent’s packaging.
3. Soak Patagonia fleece in the water
Soak the fleece in the bucket and ensure that it is fully immersed in the water. Let the fleece soak in the solution for 5 minutes.
4. Use a soft bristle brush to wash the fleece
Using a soft bristle brush, lightly scrub the fleece in small circular movements to remove all the dirt in the fleece. Ensure that you scrub both the outside and inside of the fleece.
5. Empty the water in the bucket and rinse the fleece
Remove the Patagonia fleece from the bucket and empty the water. Rinse the bucket so that there are no soap suds as you rinse the fleece. After that, rinse the fleece with warm water.
6. Air dry the fleece
After rinsing the fleece, you should air dry it instead of drying it in the dryer. When airdrying the fleece, ensure you dry it away from the sun so that it is not faded by the sun.
Spot Cleaning Patagonia Fleece
As you most likely know, washing your clothes wears them down. Thus, it is always advisable to only clean your Patagonia fleece when necessary.
Usually, you should wash your Patagonia fleece after 5 to 6 wears. You might find that your fleece is clean, but it has some tiny marks on it. If that’s the case, you should spot clean the fleece instead of washing it at such times.
Here is how you can spot wash your Patagonia fleece:
1. Lay the fleece on a flat surface such as a craft table, iron board, or a clean floor.
2. Soak a clean towel or a soft sponge with a solution of water and washing detergent or dish soap.
3. Use the towel or soft brush soaked with a solution of water and washing detergent to blot out the dirt or stain from your Patagonia fleece.
Best Ways To Care For Patagonia Fleece
To keep your Patagonia fleece in good shape, you need to take good care of the fleece. Here are some of the best practices to keep your Patagonia fleece soft and fluffy for a long time:
Never Wash The Fleece With Hot Water
When any fiber comes into contact with heat, the fibers could be shrunk by the heat. Thus, to ensure that you do not shrink your Patagonia fleece in the wash, you must always wash the fleece in cold or warm water.
Do Not Wash The Fleece After Every Wear
Whenever you wash your Patagonia fleece, you are reducing its lifespan. Thus, you should always ensure that you wash the Patagonia fleece after wearing it at least five times.
If your fleece has stains or marks, you should consider spot cleaning it instead of washing it.
If the fleece has a foul smell but is not dirty, you should spray anti-odor fabric spray to remove the smell.
Use Mild Detergent
The best detergent to clean Patagonia fleece is mild detergent. The detergent is specifically formulated to be used on delicate fabrics. Thus, by using a mild detergent to wash Patagonia fleece, you will ensure that the detergent will not ruin the fabric.
Don’t Use Fabric Softener
You should never use fabric softener on your Patagonia fleece. Usually, fabric softeners coat a fabric’s surface with chemical compounds that are electrically charged. As a result, the fabric’s thread stands up from the surface, making the material softer and fluffier.
When you use fabric softener on your Patagonia fleece, the softener will coat the fleece surface, and the coating could impact breathability and other features of the fleece.
Does Patagonia Fleece Shrink?
As a garment made from 100% polyester, Patagonia fleece will not shrink in the wash. However, when the fleece is exposed to high temperatures for an extended period, the fleece might shrink.
Thus, if you wash Patagonia fleece with the hottest water setting for a few hours, the fleece is likely to shrink. Likewise, having the fleece in the dryer for long periods can also make it shrink.
Conclusions
To ensure that Patagonia fleece lasts a long time, the fleece needs to be washed the right way. As discussed in the article, you can handwash the fleece, wash it with a washing machine, or handwash it. I hope that you have found this article informative.
