Worse than a "down jacket explosion" is wearing a down jacket while riding in a car

Winter has been here for a while, and you probably haven’t worn your down jacket for a while, right? But when you turn on the news, you’ll find that this year’s down jackets are also starting to “explode” one after another.

"Explosion" occurred when drying a down jacket丨Beijing Satellite TV

Some exploded in washing machines, some exploded in cars, but this is not the scariest thing...down jackets can also become "child killers."

Many media reported the news that "children wearing down jackets while riding in a car with seat belts may cause the seat belts to be ineffective."

Puffer jackets could render seatbelts ineffective

It's so cold, I just want to wear something to keep warm, why are there so many potential risks? Can I still buy this down jacket in the middle of winter?

Will a down jacket explode if you machine wash it?

Let me first say the conclusion: some down jackets can be machine washed! Before washing, first check the down jacket's washing label and then read the instructions for use of the washing machine.

"Machine-washed down jackets will explode" has become a kind of urban legend, and even a so-called laundry common sense. But down jackets are really wronged: it can't all be blamed on me!

Many truth-seeking media not only conducted experiments, but also invited various experts to interpret them; but if you just search, you will find that these conclusions are all kinds of strange. Some tell you that the cause of the explosion is static electricity generated when washing clothes, while others oppose the static electricity theory and bring up the air compression theory.

However, both of these points are puzzling.

The clothes in the washing machine are so wet and in constant contact with the inner wall of the washing machine, so it is difficult for static electricity to accumulate under such conditions. Static electricity is not a unique characteristic of down jackets. If static electricity in the washing machine causes an explosion, wouldn't synthetic clothing become even more dangerous? With the popularity of synthetic fibers, explosions are not rare. And down jackets are not made of plastic bags, they are breathable. When they are spun dry, they will not suddenly compress the air and cause an explosion like "hammering a plastic bag".

Anyone who uses a washing machine regularly can easily see the problem: the weight is not balanced during the spin cycle.

A media experiment video shows that the unbalanced weight of clothes in the drum causes violent vibrations.

Most old-fashioned washing machines do not have intelligent detection systems. Down jackets are large in size and hold a lot of water. During the spin drying process, the weight of each part of the clothes changes, causing the weight in the drum to be unbalanced. The drum will constantly hit the inner shell of the washing machine, and it is easy for the washing machine to be damaged by the drum. At the same time, as the volume of the down jacket increases during the spin drying process, the down jacket may be squeezed out of the spin drying barrel. If it scrapes other parts of the barrel at this time, the scene of "a machine full of goose feathers" will appear in front of you.

Down jackets cannot be machine washed, and the main reason is that machine washing can easily damage the water resistance and warmth retention of down jackets. However, there are now down jackets that can be machine washed on the market. Whether your down jacket can be machine washed depends on the following points.

First of all, we have to look at the label on the down jacket. If it says that it cannot be dry cleaned or machine washed, then we can only wash it according to the washing instructions on the down jacket's washing label.

Super long washing label, you are amazing if you can finish reading it丨Photo taken by the author

Secondly, down jackets should not be sent for dry cleaning. Down jackets are filled with duck or goose down, which are mainly composed of protein. The tetrachloroethylene and petroleum hydrocarbon solvents in dry cleaning agents will destroy the protein, making the down hard and brittle, reducing the fluffiness of the down and affecting its warmth retention performance. The drying process will also cause the fabric to age.

If your down jacket's washing label says it can be machine washed, you still have to check if your washing machine is suitable. Some washing machines may have a special "down" program. If not, you can also choose a program like "gentle". Do not use the high-speed spin dry function, which may cause the down jacket to shed, thus shortening the life of the down jacket.

Some washing machines have a "down" function, which is usually marked next to the knob. Photo taken by the author

It is recommended to wash down jackets by hand. However, there are many things to pay attention to when washing by hand.

Using soap, washing powder or laundry detergent with too strong alkalinity to wash down jackets can easily damage the protective film on the surface of the fibers.

Wringing out a down jacket like a rag or tearing the jacket with force will damage it.

Don't expose it to the sun, try to dry it naturally.

Therefore, try to keep your down jacket clean and reduce the number of washings to extend its service life.

How down jackets became a "child killer"

In cold winter, bulky and slippery down jackets are a huge safety hazard for children.

Fluffy down can capture a lot of air, and it is these bulging down that prevent the seat belt from buckling tightly. When children wear down jackets in a car, a layer of slippery down cushions will be separated from the child safety seat belt, creating a fatal gap of several centimeters.

In the event of a car accident, the child will be dangled in the safety seat, causing injuries to the head, chest, and neck. In extreme cases, the child may even fly out of the down jacket, with disastrous consequences.

In a crash test conducted by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, two child-sized dummies were placed in two identical child safety seats. The only difference was that there was a gap of about ten centimeters between the dummies and the seat belts in the experimental group. This gap is exactly the thickness of a winter down jacket after being compressed.

When hit, the dummy in the experimental group rushed out of the seat and hit its head on the front seat (in car accidents, the main cause of head injuries in children is hitting the front seat back), while the dummy in the control group was firmly fixed in the safety seat by the seat belt.

The key to ensuring children's safety is that the seat belt should be tightly attached to the body. Only in this way can the pressure be effectively dispersed and collision injuries be prevented. Even if the seat belt buckle is fastened, as long as the child is wearing a down jacket, he or she will still slide under the seat belt.

In fact, there are certain risks for adults wearing down jackets and fastening seat belts.

A test by German automobile organization ADAC showed that even at low speeds, people wearing thick winter clothing suffer more serious injuries in the event of an accident. In the experiment, the test vehicle braked suddenly at a speed of 16 kilometers per hour, a speed change similar to a rear-end collision in city traffic.

"Both adults and children suffer from transverse seat belts that cut deeply into the abdomen," the ADAC report said. "This can cause serious damage to soft tissues such as the intestines, liver or spleen, or even internal bleeding. The thickness of winter clothing means that the seat belts do not fit tightly to the body and can move up and down during sudden braking."

So, it’s better to take off your down jacket when riding in a car.

It is also very simple to test whether the seat belt is fastened properly. Just pull the seat belt with your hand to see if there is enough space for your hand to pass under the belt. If you can put your hand in, it is best to take off your coat, whether it is a down coat or not.

Author: Owl, Little Towel, Flip

Editor: July, Owl

This article comes from Guokr.