Through years of camping my sleeping bag has seen it all. With one trip after another it can get easy to put off caring for your sleeping bag. Washing your sleeping bag seems like it would be difficult, but it’s actually quite easy. With a few of these cleaning and care tips you’ll be able to extend the life of your sleeping bag.
How To Wash Your Sleeping Bag
Spot Cleaning Your Sleeping Bag
If you keep up with the care tips listed below hopefully your bag only needs a little TLC. Spot cleaning should be done anytime you get a little dirt or debris on your bag. Continuously putting your bag through the washing machine will subject it to some serious abuse.
To spot clean your bag use a Non Detergent soap like Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Liquid Soap and a little bit of water. You can also use a basic bar of soap like dial if you’d prefer. Then take a small brush and spot clean the shell without soaking the filling. Try holding the shell away from the insulation and allow it to air dry. Unless you are especially rough on your bag they can normally go a long time without needing a proper washing.
Washing and Drying Your Sleeping Bag in a Washing Machine
How Often Should You Wash a Sleeping Bag?
When your bag starts to look a little grimy it might need an all out washing. Try not to wash your bag to often because it will damage the filling. You’ll notice that every time you throw it in the washing machine goose down gets a little less fluffy.
Proper Way to Wash a Sleeping Bag
Normally I wash my bags at home in a traditional washing machine, but some people prefer the oversized machines at the laundromat. Just remember that it is going to take forever to dry so you’re going to have to make a day of it. You should also avoid top load washing machines that have an agitator in the middle. The agitator can catch on the zipper and rip the seams so use it at your own risk.
To wash my bag at home I throw it into the washing machine on the bulky item setting. Turn the water to high and use a gentle non detergent soap like Dr. Bronner’s which I talked about above. Try not to use a lot of soap because it will get real sudsy and possibly cause an error message on your machine. Once the bag’s done washing it’s going to come out soaking wet.
How To Dry a Sleeping Bag
I like to ring it out a bit in my utility sink before transferring it into the dryer. Set the dryer to low heat and expect it to take at least 3 cycles to fully dry. Down bags take a lot longer to fully dry than synthetic blends. Once you think the bag is fully dry you can toss in a couple dryer balls or tennis balls to break up the clumped filler.
Things To Avoid
- As tempting as it might be never take your sleeping bag to the dry cleaner. It will destroy the loft on your down bag.
- Don’t try fabric softener or products containing bleach
Hand Washing a Sleeping Bag
If you have a particularly expensive sleeping bag you might want to hand wash it. To hand wash a sleeping bag simply fill the tub with warm water and add a little bit of non detergent soap. Gently work the bag in the water trying to get soap throughout the entire bag. Once the bag is thoroughly cleaned drain the tub and press out most of the water. Refill the tub with warm water and repeat the process until you stop seeing soap suds in the water.
At this point I would highly advise you to place the bag in a dryer, but you can also sun dry it outside. If you choose not to use a dryer simply place the bag outside in the hot sun to dry. You’ll probably have to break up clumps in the filling once it’s close to being dry.
Caring For Your Sleeping Bag
When you’re out in the woods the last thing you want to think about is caring for your sleeping bag. For most people a sleeping bag is an afterthought. The last thing you need at the end of a long day. With a little bit of forethought you can make sure you’re sleeping bag lasts.
It doesn’t matter if your bag costs 30$ or 1000$ you’re going to want to keep it clean and dry while at camp. Both synthetic and down sleeping bags need to be kept dry to offer maximum insulation. You’ll notice that moisture will especially damage down sleeping bags. Once the down gets matted and compressed you lose most of it’s heating benefits. Whether you’re bag is down or synthetic the following tips will help you get the most out of your bag.
- Always Sleep in Clean Clothes: After a long day backpacking and you’re totally exhausted it can feel tempting to just lay down and relax. Try and resist the urge to plop down before putting on clean clothes. After a while all the sweat, dirt and body oils will damage your sleeping bags insulating capabilities. Makeup, sunscreen and lotion can also soak into your bag causing long lasting damage. At the very least put on a clean t-shirt and underwear or a pair of long johns in the cold.
- Buy a Sleeping Bag Liner: A sleeping bag liner is easy insurance to keep your bag in good condition. Unless you’re going on a arctic trip you’ll probably get along fine using a cheap Coleman Bag Liner. Liners come in all types of materials from lightweight silk and microfiber to warm fleece. They not only keep your bag clean by creating a protective barrier between you and the bag. They also add about 5 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit to your sleeping bags rating. If you get to hot during the summer they can work as a stand alone sleeping option. At the end of the trip you simply wash the sleeping bag liner with the rest of your clothes.
- Be Careful Around Campfires: If you plan on sitting around a campfire wrapped up in your sleeping bag you can expect some holes from burning sparks. Newer sleeping bags burn easily so consider using a sleeping bag liner to keep you warm around the fire.
- Be Careful With The Zipper: Sleeping Bag zippers are notoriously finicky. An all to common frustration is snagging a two way zipper on the fabric. Before you rip a huge tear along your bag take some time and slowly pull the zipper. Try and use a little light to make sure you don’t snag the zipper in the dark.
- Use Protection When Sleeping Under The Stars: If you want to sleep out under the stars throw a pad down onto the ground. A pad will not only protect you from dirt and twigs it should help reduce moisture caused from the morning dew.
- Air Out Your Sleeping Bag: Unless it’s going to rain all day you are going to want to try and air out your sleeping bag. Hanging it up outside everyday while camping should help reduce moisture buildup. Before you put your bag in storage always let it air out a little bit.
Use a Stuff Sack For Storage and Transport
To reduce the overall sleeping bag size most people like to carry them in a Stuff Sack. I’ve been using one of these cheap Alps Mountaineering Compression Stuff Sacks for years and I don’t have any complaints. It compresses your bag down to a quarter of its normal size for backpacking trips and protects the bag from water. It’s the perfect storage container both on the trail and for storage at home. Stuff sacks come in various sizes to fit more gear and can be fully waterproof.
How to Put a Sleeping Bag in a Stuff Sack
- Stuff Your Stuff Sack To fill a stuff sack you are going to want to start with the foot of the sleeping bag. With the zipper partially closed push the foot of the bag down into your stuff sack. From there just jam the bag down inside slowly forcing air out as you go up. If your bag has a waterproof shell turn it inside out before you start stuffing. You’ll quickly realize that the waterproof shell acts like a balloon if you don’t flip it first.
- Buy a Larger Sack Do yourself a favor and buy a stuff sack slightly larger than you actually need. It will make it a lot easier to work with. You can then stuff it further in your pack if you need a little more room.
- Consider a Waterproof Stuff Sack If you plan on doing a lot of camping you should definitely consider a waterproof sack. I really like the Sea to Summit Compression Dry Sack. It’s my go to sack whenever I go camping in the winter or rainy season. It’s both completely waterproof and compresses your sack down in half. The compression sack is perfect for reducing the footprint while backpacking. Just don’t leave the bag fully compressed in storage, because it will reduce the bags loft.
Storing Your Sleeping Bag
How you store your sleeping bag will greatly affect it’s lifespan. Even a little bit of moisture will cause mildew and unpleasant odors in storage. When you arrive home make sure you unzip the sleeping bag and let it dry out completely. Once it’s dry store your sleeping bag in a stuff sack or large pillowcase you have lying around. If you store your bag compressed it will lose its loft reducing effectiveness.