"Dry-cleaning" bags

“know it's a little late, since I just dropped off the bags, but...

I have seen conflicting advice about the cleaning of sleeping bags. I just took two of our synths (one an older TNF
bag and the other a more recent REI bag) to a drycleaner who uses a new process called Green Earth Cleaning. They
don't use perc, but instead a chemically inert cleaner. No resulting odor, no toxins, no toxic chemical permits, etc.,
etc.

I have seen everything from "don't dry clean your bag, it destroys the fill material" to "send it to the dry cleaners".
Since they are not down, there are no "extra issues" associated with the natural fill, but I wonder about the synth
fill, etc. I didn't want to trust one of the local laundromats with their dubious front loaders (and didn't want the
hassle either, as little as that might seem to some...that's why I got a W&D at home!). I've had more damage to my
clothes and anything else I've trusted to those things in years past that I could have bought multiple replacements
for what it cost in wrecked clothes. I saw in a usenet discussion somewhere that REI had a down bag cleaning
service that was good. Do they do synths as well, or is that "overkill" because it is relatively straight forward? TNF
bag has had no tags for years (don't even remember what it is anymore), and I didn't check the REI bag.

Any input on this for future (presuming that the bags come back in one piece...!)? BTW, if anyone wants to check
out the site, this GreenEarth Cleaning has a site that is rather informative: www.greenearthcleaning.com

...and I know I am a wimp for not just going with the dumb front loader at the local yucko laundromat.”

“you shoulda used the frontloader.

i never trust regular drycleaners with anything.”

“I've dry cleaned my down bags and am very pleased with the results. Glad I wasn't aware that there were "extra issues" with that.”

“I've always preferred cleaning mine in the bathtub.”

“If you take a dry cleaning bag and roll it tightly around a stick and light it, its really cool. It burns like a M/F and drops off flaming gooey drops of molten plastic and it whistles as it falls. Weeee!”

“flyguy6x, did you have a medication change? ;-)”

“My bags say that they can be washed in a frontloader. So that is what I've done. Recently, my sister-in-law told me that she worked for a dry cleaners in high school. They were sent over to the laundermat with the sleeping bags to wash them in the frontloader. I don't know if all drycleaners do that but I think I'd inquire when I dropped the bag off. I have a cheap sleeping bag so I'm not real worried but I am interested to hear what everyone else does.

LeSubtil, I like the bathtub idea. How do you keep it from getting all the floors wet as you take it outside to dry? Will a basket be sufficient or does that leak water all over the floor?”

“Ya know, I'd thought about this possibility, Sunshine. But I thought the new system that they employ, rather than the old toxic dry cleaning, would be the difference. I guess I shall see. My issue is the same with trust, only I've had more bad experiences with laundromats than with dry cleaners.”

“I have a 30 year old down bag. I've washed it in the bathtub with ivory soap successfully as well as in the big machines at the laundromat a number of times with special soap sold for down garments. I dry it for a short time on the lowest setting(you have to be reeeal careful here) in the dryer then finish drying it on the line outside.(the humidity and fog up here behind the Redwood curtain makes drying completely on the line outside somewhat iffy. Mildew is a worry.)
Dry cleaners ain't what they used to be from what I can tell. Ever since they eliminated the nasty chlorinated solvents(bad for people good for getting clothes clean) they seem to have become a poor version of the laundromat. If they ever perfect the liquid carbon dioxide wash maybe dry cleaners will be worth it again. A4, I've had more bad experiences with dry cleaners. Go figure.”

“i just tumble dry mine with a shoe in the dryer.. the shoe keeps it from clumping. my sleeping bag sux anyways though.”

“Sunshine - easy - you just carefully squeeze most of the water out before lifting the bag out of the tub.

The trick is not to pick it up while saturated with water; the weight may rip the internal baffles.

Besides, I'm a guy, why should I care if the floor gets all wet? (tic)”