In the wilderness or camping trip sleeping bag is the greatest palace that they can have with them. For staying the night outside, sleeping bags can be very useful to everyone. Just because you use the sleeping bags outside, your sleeping bags handles a lot of dirt.
You should clean your sleeping bags often. We have arranged some instruction and procedures to clean your sleeping bags firmly. Let us have a look.
Before we dive deep into cleaning, we should always keep in mind that there are two ways of cleaning sleeping bags. When you purchase a bag, you will see that on the instruction manual, manufacturers have told that either you can hand wash, or you can machine wash, or you can do both.
How to Wash a Down Sleeping Bag
Check out the process to see how to use a sleeping bag.
Hand washing
Almost most of the sleeping bags can be washed using this method. You will not need many materials to arrange for this method. But you will have to do a lot of physical activities which is actually good for you. At first, we will see what things we need.
- Bathtub or a big bowl
- Special down soap
You can always use the bathtub that is in your house or you may have special big bowls that have enough capacity to accommodate a lot of water. And in the market, you will find that special washing powder or soap that nylon can handle.
We will suggest you do not use any bleach because that might tear the nylon apart. Fabric softener is extremely prohibited for sleeping bags.
And if you want to be safer then you should avoid regular detergents. You can use detergents that have a lower scale of alkali.
Now we move on to the steps of washing your sleeping bag. You might memorize them for your efficiency.
Step 1:
Turn your sleep bag inside out and close all the zippers. And then fill out your bathtub or bowl with mildly warm water. And then soak your bag under the water and gently massage the bad so that water gets everywhere in the bag. And then you should leave the bag there for one-hour so that the water gets to every corner. It’s going to make the waxes and dirt a bit lose.
Step 2:
Mix your nylon friendly wax removal soap in the bathtub before you leave this for one hour. 100ml will do the job very well. As we have said do not use any soap that has a high amount of alkali. As the bag has been soaked under water for an hour then we go to the next step.
Step 3:
Drain the water from your tub and refill the tub with new water. As we drained the first time, most of the dirt and wax has been gone. Now we will be washing off the excess amount of wax and dirt from the bag using clean water. Gently rub and massage the bag and drain out the water again.
Step 4:
You can repeat the last process while you feel that your bag is clean enough. Now you will have to take the bag out of the tub and keep it on a surface or position so that the excess water inside of the bag drains out drop by drop. You can lay it on a chair or on grass.
When the water is not dripping, you can take it to lightly bright sunlight and let it dry for a full day. You should always keep in check that the sunlight is not very bright because it might damage the nylon coating.
Step 4:
As you feel that the bag has been dried, you will feel that the fluffy feather inside has gathered up as many clumps. Pull those clumps apart by using your hand as you do to your feather pillow. And on the final step store it in your storage in an uncompressed manner and then it’s ready for your next adventure.
Machine washing
In almost every house people use the washing machine to wash their clothes. And using the same washing machine you can easily clean your dirty sleeping bags with some simple and easy steps. First, let us know what thing do we need.
- Large front-loading washing machine
- Special dewaxing soap
- Large front-loading dryer
- Tennis balls, clean sneakers or wool balls
If you go to the nearest laundromats, you will find large sized washing machines. We recommend that because household ones are not that big enough to accommodate your sleeping bags. And the laundry ones are very powerful.
We have already told you about the soap in handwashing procedures. Avoid bleach. And to dry your bags, you will have to load it into big dryers that most probably every laundry shop has.
We have recommended using tennis balls or clean sneakers because in the washing machine the washing action is only spinning. There are not many things happening. But if there are some solid materials, the bags will be getting some messages and it will help to remove the wax and dirt easily. Now let’s get into the steps.
Step 1:
Before you start, learn how the machine works and how to set up the temperature of the water that you are going to use. It’s necessary because water above the right temperature can damage your sleeping bag easily. You can either find the temperature labeled in the bag or use mild warm water for washing.
Step 2:
Turn your sleeping bag inside out and lock all the zippers. Put it inside the washing machine. Be careful to not get poked by any machine part. And be sure to check that the machine is a top loader otherwise agitator machines is dangerous because it has metal spinners in it.
Step 3:
On step 3, you will have to put your soap in it.
Usually, these wax removal soaps are liquid, and 100 ml will do absolutely fine for one sleeping bag. Do not use anything more that specialized soaps. If you want added protection, you can also keep some down poof to add later to make the fur softer and enhance the texture.
Step 5:
Now you will have to close the door of the washer and set the temperature and use gentle cycle mode. After the cycle is completed, look for soap bubbles if you find any by squeezing, give it another round. And then you will be done.
Step 4:
It’s the final step and in this step, you will have to pull the bag out and put it in the dryer on a Tumble Dry Low setting. Dry it out with the lowest heat setting. It may take 3 to 5 hours to dry completely. Keep checking and judge by your hand. When the bag is almost dry, throw balls or the clean sneakers that you have brought with yourself in it. It will loosen the clumps that may have gathered during washing session.
Hopefully, you know what the processes are and how they work. If you hand wash it will cost you less but it can be tiring and time-consuming. And machine-washing costs a bit more but it saves a lot of time and calories. The choice is yours.
Looking at the bluest sky, I forget all my stresses. Going through the green I try to breathe, more than I do in my reality. So, that’s why I love camping.
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