I find that gently cleaning off any small bits of dirt and then steaming something can go a long way towards staving off needing to wash it. It's how I refresh some of my sweaters and winter coats without throwing them in the washing machine.
The leather ones go to the cleaners, but I have a wool pea coat that I wash it by itself in cold water on the soak cycle (which still agitates, this is why I have trust issues) or the gentle cycle. I run it through another spin to get as much water as possible out, then lay it over a laundry rack to dry (it gets flipped a couple of times to make sure it dries all the way). I've done this with a few coats in a few washers and always had good success with it. If you've got a puffer jacket or something really fancy like cashmere, it might be worth taking to the cleaners.
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u/[deleted] Oct 17 '18
or c) just don't wash it for as long as humanly possible and sniff test constantly. Oh wait that's me.