How to wash down sleeping bags

October 5, 2011 By Clarke Green

Good advice about how to wash down sleeping bags at Tom Managan’s Hike Hacker:

… don’t wash the bag a lot, but do launder it at the end of the season before long-term storage, or after your annual two-week backpacking trip.

Where to wash it? Not at home: washing machines with agitators can tear up your bag. You need a front-loading, non-agitating machine found in a laundromat. Lots of folks these days have home-sized front-loaders, which can work in a pinch (though my wife, an unsurpassed authority on household cleaning, insists the tubs in home front-loaders aren’t big enough to thoroughly rinse the soap out of a sleeping bag).

Getting it dry really requires the large tumblers available at laundromats (home dyers are too small and get hot enough to damage your bag’s liner…). Since you have to go to the laundromat to dry it anyway, you might as well do the whole deed there.

Tags: Sleeping Gear

About Clarke Green

Clarke has worked with thousands of Scouts and Scouters as a director at his local Scout Camp (Camp Horseshoe), and as a Scoutmaster for 30 years. He is the recipient of a number of awards recognizing his service to Scouting, including the B.S.A.’s Silver Beaver, District Award of Merit, and is a Vigil Honor member of Octoraro Lodge 22. He is author of the blog and podcast at Scoutmastercg.com, The Scouting Journey, and Thoughts on Scouting. An avid outdoorsman and amateur actor, he lives in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania with his wife Teddi.

Comments

Walter Underwood says

October 5, 2011 at 3:09 pm

I follow the instructions from Western Mountaineering, because they make very fine sleeping bags. Also because I have one of their bags.

These are mostly the same as Tom Mangan’s instructions, but with a bit more detail and additional instructions for washing in a bathtub. Clearly, they have done the latter, because they mention how hard it is to get the bag under water and wet. They suggest stuffing it first, then unstuffing it underwater. Clever!

http://www.westernmountaineering.com/index.cfm?section=product-tips-and-care

Feathered Friends, another premium down bag maker, has similar instructions with slightly different helpful details, like this “If your product has started to lose loft, or the fabric is starting to look discolored, it is time for the bag to be washed.” That’s clear.

http://www.featheredfriends.com/Picasso/Headmenu/DownCare.html

Enjoy your down bag!