Sleeping Bag Care Between Trips

Sleeping Bag Care Between Trips

Being an Outdoor Guide means that everyone asks you how to fix their stuff. Here are some tips and tricks that you can use!

Spot Cleaning

Any time you wash a sleeping bag, you subject it to wear and tear and decrease the loft a little. Spot cleaning the shell with a paste of laundry detergent, water and a toothbrush is advised before washing the whole thing.

Focus on the hood and collar where hair and skin oils tend to accumulate. By holding the shell or liner fabric away from the insulation, you can wash and rinse the area without getting the inside wet.

Washing

If your bag is losing loft, is darkened with grime and basically no longer inhabitable, then by all means give it a full washing.

Tip: Dry cleaning is not appropriate for sleeping bags, especially down. Solvents used in dry cleaning can strip the natural oils from down that help it retain loft. Solvents are also very difficult to remove from synthetic insulation.

If you decide to wash your bag yourself, use a gentle, non-detergent soap that is made for washing down- and synthetic-filled items.

• Down: For down bags, hand-washing in a bathtub works best. Fill the tub with warm water and add one of the above-recommended cleaners. Put the bag in and gently work in the soap, then allow it to soak for 15 minutes. Drain the tub and press out any remaining water. In a cold-water rinse, work the soap out gently, let the bag sit for 15 minutes and drain. Press out any remaining water. Repeat the rinse until all the soap is out. It's also possible, (according to some bag manufacturers) to machine wash a down bag, as long as a front-loading washer is used. Never use an agitator-style machine as the motion can damage the stitching and insulation. Make sure to wash on the gentle cycle in cool water with one of the aforementioned down soaps.
• Synthetics: Synthetic bags can be washed in the same way. Hand-wash in a bathtub, or use a large, front-loading washer with no agitator. Use cool water and mild soap. Rinse several times to make sure all the soap is removed. An extra spin cycle or an extractor may be used to remove excess water.

Drying

Air drying is the safest way to dry your bag, but obviously the longest. If you tumble dry your bag, use very low heat or a no-heat setting and keep an eye on it. Dryers have varying heat outputs, so you need to check periodically to make sure the shell and insulation aren't overheating, which can actually lead to melting. Add a couple of clean tennis balls when the bag is nearly dry. This will help break up any clumps of insulation and help restore the loft.

Storage

How you store your bag affects its lifespan. When you arrive home from a trip, first air out the bag inside-out to make sure it's dry. Then store loosely in a large cotton storage sack—often included when you purchase a sleeping bag, but also available separately.

Do not store your bag compressed in its stuff sack as this will eventually damage the fill. Watertight storage bags are also a bad idea. Condensation can build up inside and result in mildew.

Other Sleeping Bag Tips

Restoring DWR

The original DWR (durable water repellent) finish on a sleeping bag's shell eventually wears off. You can restore water repellency and help keep the bag cleaner if you reapply this finish. There are several products available to restore the DWR to your sleeping bag shell fabric.

Leaking Down

Many, but not all, goose-down bags feature "down-proof" liners and shells made of very tightly woven fabric which prevent the down from escaping. If a few feathers make it through the shell or liner of your bag, don't become too concerned. This is normal, especially along the seams. The sharp quills of the feathers may poke through, especially when the bag is new and the down hasn't totally settled. Work the feathers gently back inside, pulling from the opposite side; the holes should be minimal and close back up.

Fabric Tears

For small holes or tears in the sleeping bag shell, a patch of nylon repair tape will do the trick until you get home.

Article and others like it found at REI.com