Sleeping bag washing

“I do have Slumberjack mummy

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=38505750&memberId=12500226

Is it ok to wash it in industrial washer?
And I guess that I need to air dry it.”

“btw what does exatly mean DOWN BAG?

... english is not my first language..

thank you”

“lizs is our 'expert' on washing sleeping bags. Maybe she will jump in?”

“stove... is she going to jump in to my bag??”

“"Down bag" means that the insulation is down from birds' feathers, usually goose down.

Looks like this:


last edited: 3/16/05 4:16:52 PM”

“You'll have to ask her.
She won't jump into mine. ;-)”

“The bag you linked to above is not a down bag, by the way...”

“bitpusher,

yes I know I bought synthetic because of weight and size. but I don't want to dry it in dryer.

so, if you live in country and have goose, you can experiment with your own bag...”

“lol, well, I suppose you could, but you can also buy the down and sew your own bag without having to go through the messy goose-killing part.

Actually, a down bag will weigh less and pack better than any synthetic bag. The bag you've chosen appears to be light enough and pack small enough, with the included compression stuff sack, but there are 20F down bags that compress to the size of a Nalgene bottle and weigh about 2 pounds.

As far as washing your bag goes, don't worry about it until it has the hiker smell real bad. If you want to keep that from happening for a long time, buy a bag liner, silk is probably best. This will add degrees to your bag and keep the smell out of it.”

“I have washed and dried my synthetic bag in the industrial washer and dryers. Only 2 times. It still works.”

“where can you buy "down" soap at or could you use woolite or something similar”

“Use an industrial sized washer and a Laundri-Mat sized dryer on low heat. You shouldn't have any problems.”

“thanks..

anyway... I don't want to believe that down bags can be lighter and especially smaller than synthetic”

“NEVER WASH IT!!!! Ah'....Think of your insolation as a cotten ball. What happens to a cotten ball when you pull on it? It tears! That is exactly what happens with the agitater and your insolation.

I've had my bag for 5 years and never have washed it since then. i also use a liner that gets washed after every trip. I use the Coolmax liner from campmor that weights 9 oz and gives 8 degrees of added warmth. However, they allso have a silk liner that costs only 10 dollars more, that adds more warmth (9.5degrees) and is half the weight and size (4.7oz).

At campmor they also sell detergent for sleeping bags. If you must wash it, use the sleepingbag specific detergent, in a commercial washer that has no agitator then hand to dry. Shake it like hell when it is dry to regain loft. or put in a dryer w/ a pair of sneakers to loft it up.”

“Down bags can be washed and dried at lower temperatures (lower mainly because of the synthethic shell on the sleeping). However, the feathers in a down sleeping bag are known to clump when they get wet, and then dry like that, thus lowering their insulational value. One way to "unclump" the down is to throw a couple of tennis balls into the dryer with the sleeping bag. As it turns, the tennis balls will constantly hit against the bag, thus unclumping the feathers as they dry out.

I'm not sure how synthetic bags react to the washers dryers. For starters though, I'd take the synthetic bag to the laundromat and put it into one of those front-loading washers that doesn't have the agitator thing in the middle. The sleeping bag is too big for the agitator and can easily destroy the filling. In the dryer, it should be fine, but use the gentle cycle and low heat. Because the material is all synthetic, it dries relatively easily, and too much heat could also destroy it.

BTW, you said English wasn't your first language. Are you Czech by any chance? Just curious...”

“I have some down wash you can use. I don't remember where I got it though. I also have a sleeve of tennis balls to use when you dry the bag. They help prevent clumps.”

“currahee, thanks. I don't need it now. Just curious as to where to buy it.”

“I can narrow it down to either REI Brentwood, or Bass Pro Shops @ Shopry Mills”

“lol, my wife was just at that Bass Pro Shop tonight...”

“[url]http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=39164709&memberId=12500226
[/url]

There is a link to the down wash that Campmor sells. I have also found a multi-purpose wash at Walmart that has worked well on shells, fleece, and sleeping bags.

-Jeremy”

“I have two Slumberjack Quallofill bags and I wash them after every outing unless I'm planning two week-ens out - then I'll wash them after the second outing.

I go to the near-by city and use the commercial front loader on the permanent press setting.

I dry them on low.

Keeping you sleeping bag clean maintains their loft.”

“NEVER wash any kind sleeping bag in a washer with an agitator!!!

One must use a front-loading machine!!!!

The agitator can tear the inner baffles.”

“Wish I would have known that 20 odd years ago. Had a number tears (synthetic insulation.) I just got out the sewing machine and sewed the tears together. Looked pretty weird, but it lasted a long time. lol

After trips we often stop off at the in-law's as they are the dog sitters. Mom-in-law gets upset that i take the gear to the laundramat. She just can't understand why. I've tried to explain, but it just doesn't seem to sink in.”

“does washing a down bag help restore any loft? my western mountaineering bag isn't jumping back to life the way it used to. over the summer i forgot about it and left it stuffed up for about 2 weeks. i hope i didn't kill it. i slept in in it over the weekend and it was not as warm as it used to be.

if my lazy a@@ ruined this bag im gonna be p!ssed. I'll have to punish myself by using a Quest or Coleman bag for a while. Lugging around an 8 pound sleeping bag should learn me some respect for down.”

“Sleeping bag washing
When the stank is just to great
for a good's night sleep”

“Try giving it a whirl in the tumble drier on a no heat setting for an hour first.”

“cool, thanks. i am pretty apprehensive about washing it. my parents have a gigantic frontloader i could go use and i still don't feel too comfortable. probably just cause i've never washed it. it is kinda stinky though.”

“And toss in a couple of tennis balls too. That should help. Like Y2 said, no heat setting and tumble on gentle.”

“I washed my WM bag by hand by using a large plastic clothes hamper, the kind with slots along the side. I think this method minimizes the amount of pull and strain on the bag when it is wet. Use gentle soap and warmish water, but not hot. Just swish the bag around in the hamper and gently squeeze the soapy water through the fabric. Rinse the bag the same way. The process takes a LOOOOOOOONG time, but I think it was worth it. I think it took a couple of hours to dry on very low temp or air dry with a couple of tennis balls.

The bag was like new when I finished. No loss of loft or warmth and no hiker funk.”

“sleeping bag liner, and if you must wash your bag do it by hand in the bath tub with speaical soap. Fill the tub and take the sleeping bag stuffed and put it under the water, unstuff it and sorta kneed it like you would bread after a few mins of working it like that drain the tub. Then push the water out don't ring it out. finnal put in the drier with two tennis balls on no or on the lowest heat setting and tumble till dry then let sit out. If you just want to get rid of the hiker funk though thats simple all you need is a few drier sheets. Put them in the storage bag after a trip, or stuff two in with the bag before your trip”

“just like new, that's what i wanted to hear. i've got some downwash from a wm dealer.

how do you tell when the inside of the bag's completely dry? weigh it before and after?”

“I suppose weighing it would work. I just carefully felt the bag after allowing it to cool to determine if it was completely dry. If you can feel clumps of down, even small clumps, it's not completely dry.

I think I saw washing instruction on WM website.”

“I wash the bag by hand in the top load machine.Most machines allow manuel selection of the different cycles.By gentle placing the bag against the side of the drum before the drum spins.I've used this method for 40 years and have had no problems with torn baffles,etc..”

“PS-forgot to suggest multiple rinse cycles to remove as much soap as possible.
last edited: 3/23/06 12:33:51 PM”

“Just washed my REI sub Kilo with no problems. My mentor taught me how and it worked fine. You can use a top loader but:

Use a gentle cycle and woolite. Cold water.
Tumble dry with no or low heat (We used low) and about 5 tennis balls. Came out looking brand new and the funk is gone! Now I need to remember to throw it in its linen bag between trips.”

“i used my parents frontloader on handwash setting. then i dried it for a while with some tennis balls in the drier. i just took my dry bag out of the dryer and it's like the day i bought it. it's lying on the floor and our little dog just ran across it and the loft bounced right back up. he!! yea.”

“Glad that worked for you ductape! I wish I had a frontloader washing machine.”

“When I come back from a trip I go to the laundrymat in the nearest city and use the commercial front loader.

The people there thought I was weird at first, but now they're used to seeing a full witner pack being unloaded.”