Sleeping Bag Care

Sleeping bags these days are not the cheapest things in the world. In order for you to get the most out of your purchase, you need to take good care of it. In the lifetime of your bag, you will only want to clean it two or three times. The loft of your sleeping will decrease each time it is washed. The best thing, is to try and keep it clean while you are out and about. Another tip is to use a thin sleeping bag liner so your bodies natural oils do not rub on your bag.

 

STORAGE

       When you buy your sleeping bag, it will come with a storage sack like the one in the picture below. It should probably be kept in tfrom flickrhe top of your closest, and not left out so your cat can lay on it. Another method is to hang your bag from the back of your closet or in your garage. A lot of sleeping bags have a little cloth loop on the bottom for this exact reason.

       If you are car camping, than it can be left in your storage bag the whole time. If you are going on a  backpacking trip, place your bag in your stuff sack the morning of the trip. The reason it should be stored like this is to maintain the loft in your sleeping bag. When your bag is squeezed into a little stuff sack, it pinches and creases on the filling and can cause gaps. The last thing you will want is to feel a cold spot on your back during the night because of how you stored your sleeping bag.

      When you get home from your trip, let your bag air out, especially if it is wet. A wet bag in a stuff sack will guarantee mold, and you do not want that.

 

 HOW TO WASH A SLEEPING BAG

       Washing your sleeping bag seems like an easy task, just throw it in your washing machine. Wrong! This is probably the most common way that sleeping bags get ruined. Now, it is true that you can use a washing machine, but it must be an oversized FRONT LOADING washing machine, like the one at the laundromat. You will also want to use a non detergent soap, like Nikwax Down Wash, which is made especially for these kind of items. Another method is to place your sleeping bag in the bath tub, using cold water, and hand wash it. This works really well, but is a little more time consuming. Make sure to rinse out all the soap. It may take a few rinses to accomplish this task.

Down Sleeping Bags:

  • Extreme caution should be used while drying any sleeping bag. Most are made with fabrics that will melt in ordinary dryers. Air drying is the best method. With down bags, cautiously make sure all the filling has not clumped up. If some has, carefully spread it out so it dries evenly.

Synthetic Sleeping Bags:

  • Synthetic bags can be placed in the dryer on LOW heat. I would periodically check it throughout the drying process. To be safe, I would advise to let it air dry like a down bag. The benefit of a synthetic bag is that the filling will not clump together.

Dry Cleaning:

  • NOT RECOMMENDED. Methods and materials used in dry cleaning will kill the loft of your bag and deteriorate the outer shell coating.

 

 Photo Credit: http://flickr.com/photos/pagent/453599885/