How to fix a puffer jacket: ‘Why I took a hair dryer and a rolling pin to my beloved puffer jacket’ | 9honey tests hack to fix deflated jacket after washing

It’s that time of year again. 

Australia is awash in a sea of black and all you can hear is the “swish swish” of millions of puffer jackets being put to use as the winter chill sets in. 

But not for me.

Watch the video above

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You see, I used to be part of the crowds, wearing my puffer jacket with pride. 

In fact, I loved it so much I thought I would take care of it by giving it a good wash before putting it away for the year. 

Big mistake.

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Even though I made sure to hand-wash it, scrunch the water out and lay it flat as it dried, the weight of the water completely deflated my beloved puffer. 

While it was still wearable, it drooped depressingly down my arms instead of insulating me with its warmth. 

I looked for ways to save it, seeing a gleam of hope when I came across the hack of putting it in a dryer with a bunch of tennis balls – except I don’t have a dryer, nor do I have tennis balls.

I was resigned until I saw another video, just in time for winter. 

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In it, the user inserted a hair dryer into the sleeve of the puffer jacket and beat it back into shape with a rolling pin. 

I saw another ray of hope – I definitely had both of those things. 

I got to work, arranging my puffer jacket on the floor and saying a prayer before turning on the hairdryer, hoping against hope this would work. 

I first tried it at full speed but with no heat, scared my puffer would burn. 

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But after almost 10 minutes of taking my anger out on my puffer and seeing no changes, I decided this called for a touch of heat. 

I put the heat on the lowest setting and continued to beat my puffer with the rolling pin, and after another 10 minutes of targeting the left sleeve and upper back of my puffer – where the air was traveling to the most – I began to see a difference. 

Excitedly, I moved on to the other side and repeated the steps, though since I was doing it with my non-dominant hand, the results were left wanting. 

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I tried to do the bottom section of my puffer but I couldn’t position the hairdryer in a way that would target that area – perhaps if I put it at the top and closed off the opening at the bottom it would’ve worked. 

After about 40 minutes of relentless beating, I shook out my puffer to admire my handiwork… and had to squint to see the difference. 

There was an improvement for sure, but it was only seen by my experienced eye, having seen how bad it was before. 

The areas I targeted the most – the arms and upper back – definitely looked and felt puffier, but they still bore creases and signs of deflation. It hadn’t returned to its former glory.

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I’m sure if I kept beating it for another two hours or so (perhaps at a higher temperature) it would have returned to the puffer of my dreams. Alas, I don’t have the time, patience, or stamina for that (though it was a great arm workout). 

This hack may work for you if you possess that patience, or if your puffer is only a little bit deflated. 

As for me? I’ll be searching for a dryer and tennis balls to let the wonders of modern technology do the work for me.

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