How to wash a sleeping bag?

Taking good care of your sleeping bag is essential if you want it to keep you warm and cosy on as many nights in the tent as possible. How often should you wash your sleeping bag? How to store it so that it doesn’t lose its properties? What to do to extend the lifespan of a sleeping bag?

You need to be extremely gentle with your sleeping bag. You don’t want to destroy something you probably paid a lot of money for. The most important rule for washing your sleeping bag sounds: follow the manufacturer’s instructions. You will find them on the garment label or the producer’s website.

Read also: how to choose a sleeping bag for bicycle touring.

How often should you wash a sleeping bag?

When browsing online, you will find some opinions that you should avoid washing your sleeping bag as it can reduce its insulating properties. This is partially true.

However, especially with a down sleeping bag, if you don’t wash your sleeping bag for a long time, it will absorb your sweat and body oils. This will lead to a loss of loft and worsen insulation.

Good indicators that your sleeping bag needs some love and soap are:

• It has lost its volume and loft
• It has overall darkened, and there are many stains
• It is smelly or doesn’t feel fresh anymore.

Some ways to extend the lifespan of your sleeping bag and keep it fresh for longer:

• Spot cleaning the stains. You can do it with a sponge soaked sparsely with water or, if the stains are difficult to remove, special soap for outdoor gear.
• Air it out as much as possible. After every trip, let your sleeping bag breathe a bit
• Don’t keep it compressed if not necessary
• Consider using a sleeping bag liner. Washing the liner is much easier than washing a sleeping bag, and using it will extend the lifespan of your sleeping bag quite a lot
• Always sleep in clean clothes
• Keep it dry. Use a waterproof bag for transportation. If your campsite was wet and your sleeping bag feels humid, find a place to let it dry as soon as possible.

How NOT to wash your sleeping bag

There are a few things you definitely shouldn’t do to your sleeping bag:

• Don’t give it to a dry cleaner! That’s the best way to kill your sleeping bag.
• Don’t use bleach or fabric softeners.
• Don’t wash it in a top-loading machine with an agitator.

How to wash a sleeping bag

You have 3 options:

1. Leave it to the professionals

Do the manufacturer’s instructions seem super complicated? Was your sleeping bag super expensive, so you worry you will mess it up? You can leave washing it to the professionals. Services like Rainy Pass in the US or Scottish Mountain Gear in the UK will take care of your gear and make sure it is cleaned correctly so that you don’t have to worry about it.

Some manufacturers, like Rab, also offer services of washing and re-lofting their gear. You simply pack and ship the sleeping bag to them and they send it back to you, all fresh and clean, in about two weeks.

2. Wash by hand

Hand washing your sleeping bag is quite time-consuming and bothersome. You will need a bathtub, and a special detergent (different for a down and synthetic sleeping bag). Alternatively, mild soap flakes will also do the job.

1. Fill the tub with cool or lukewarm water and add some soap. Don’t overdo it with soap, it will be difficult to rinse. Close all the zips and gently soak the sleeping bag in.

2. Leave it for about an hour. Move it around a bit and work the soap throughout the sleeping bag. If there are some persistent stains, you can use a sponge with a bit of extra soap to remove them, but be careful! Don’t rub or squeeze. It’s better to have some stains than destroy the fabric.

3. Drain the bathtub and fill it back up with clean water. Move the sleeping bag around a bit to rinse the soap and drain the tap again. If necessary, repeat this step until all the soap is gone.

4. Gently press the remaining water out of the sleeping bag. Be careful by lifting the sleeping bag, especially if it’s filled with down – wet insulation weighs much more and it can rip the seams if you just lift it without caution.

5. Synthetic bags can be left to dry naturally but don’t hang them in direct sunlight. The best way to dry a down sleeping bag is to use a dryer. The sleeping bag needs enough space to dry, so if your dryer is small (or if you don’t have one), you can use a dryer at a laundromat.

Rules for drying a sleeping bag in a dryer

• For extra protection, you can put the sleeping bag in a large cotton bag.
• Put three tennis balls into the tumble. The wet down forms clumps. The tennis balls help to break them up.
• Don’t use dryer sheets.
• Set the dryer at a low temperature (40°C will be ideal, go for the lowest temperature possible).
• Use a delicates program or other program with a slow spin.
• Regularly check if the sleeping bag is already dry (about every hour). A synthetic sleeping bag should be dry after about one hour. For down, it will take much longer. You may need to repeat the cycle a few times. If you still can feel clumps of down, the bag is not entirely dry yet. The last time I washed my sleeping bag, the drying took more than four hours. 
• Properly air the sleeping bag before you store it.

Wash in a washing machine?

A sleeping bag needs a lot of space to be cleaned. It’s best to do it in a front-loading washing machine with a big tumble (at least 7 kg load). Check also if the manufacturer doesn’t advise against machine washing.

1. Close all zippers.

2. Clean the powder drawer of your machine thoroughly. The leftovers of the detergents can damage your sleeping bag.

3. Place the sleeping bag in the tumble. Add three tennis balls, especially if you are washing a down sleeping bag.

4. Choose the program with low spin (for example, wool or delicates).

5. Set the temperature to 30°C.

6. Add the special soap following the instructions on the label.

7. After the first cycle, run another one without soap to ensure all the soap is rinsed.

8. Be very careful while removing the sleeping bag from the machine. Don’t pull it, don’t simply pick it up. My method is to have a wash bowl ready. I put my hands under the sleeping bag, gently lift it and put it in the bowl. I carry the bowl to the bathtub and place the sleeping bag there. I press to remove some of the water soaked.

9. Synthetic bags can be left to dry naturally but don’t hang them in direct sunlight. The best way to dry a down sleeping bag is to use a dryer. The sleeping bag needs enough space to dry, so if your dryer is small (or if you don’t have one), you can use a dryer at a laundromat.

Rules for drying a sleeping bag in a dryer

• For extra protection, you can put the sleeping bag in a large cotton bag.
• Put three tennis balls into the tumble. The wet down forms clumps. The tennis balls help to break them up.
• Don’t use dryer sheets.
• Set the dryer at a low temperature (40°C will be ideal, go for the lowest temperature possible).
• Use a delicates program or other program with a slow spin.
• Regularly check if the sleeping bag is already dry (about every hour). A synthetic sleeping bag should be dry after about one hour. For down, it will take much longer. You may need to repeat the cycle a few times. If you still can feel clumps of down, the bag is not entirely dry yet. The last time I washed my sleeping bag, the drying took more than four hours. 
• Properly air the sleeping bag before you store it.

Voila! Your sleeping bag should be clean and fresh now.