Washing the sleeping bag guide: How to wash your sleeping bag

When buying equipment for travel or outdoor, it should of course last as long as possible. It is therefore important that you treat your equipment properly. It’s everything from washing to impregnation. We guide you below to washing a sleeping bag.

Ventilation of sleeping bag

It all starts with venting. If you do not get the sleeping bag aired sufficiently, it will smell over time. Of course, having to sleep in a smelly sleeping bag is not a delicious experience. You do not need to wash your sleeping bag often – in fact it is best to avoid it, as washing can reduce the insulating ability of the sleeping bag. It is recommended that you wash your sleeping bag approximately once a year or if there is visible dirt on it. On the other hand, it is important that you ventilate your sleeping bag well after each use.

Zip the sleeping bag all the way up and hang it up so that lots of air comes through it. If you have arrived a little late to air the sleeping bag, we recommend that you do so as soon as you can. It’s better late than never.

Washing of sleeping bag

Of course, it may be necessary to wash your sleeping bag. The most important thing is to start by looking at the washing instructions – can your sleeping bag withstand getting in the washing machine? There is a difference in how you are allowed to wash your sleeping bag – it depends primarily on the filling. Is it down or fiber?
If your sleeping bag has a small stain, you can try removing it with a hard-wrung soap cloth before washing the entire sleeping bag.

Washing of sleeping bag with down

It is a little more cumbersome to wash a down sleeping bag rather than a fiber sleeping bag. First and foremost, it is especially important that you do not machine wash your down sleeping bag often, as the down’s content of natural oils may disappear.

When you need to wash your sleeping bag with down, we recommend that you use detergent that is made for down . It helps to hold the oil of the down, which are the ones that contribute to the high insulating ability of the down sleeping bag.
If you have a large tub where you can wash the sleeping bag by hand, it is most gentle for the sleeping bag. However, it is a cumbersome process – so if you prefer the washing machine, we understand it well. You must be aware that you must wash down at most on a 30 degree gentle program. When the program is complete, it is a good idea to give the sleeping bag a completely normal rinsing program, so that you make sure that the soap is rinsed out.

Before putting the sleeping bag in the washing machine, close all zippers and closures with velcro.

Washing of sleeping bag with fiber

Fiber filling is a synthetic material, but it still has the best of being washed by hand – just like the down filling. As I said, washing your sleeping bag by hand is a big task. If the sleeping bag’s wash label states that the bag can withstand machine washing, you can give it a gentle program. It also does not matter here which detergent you use. We recommend detergent for synthetic fillings .

Drying of sleeping bag

Most sleeping bags can be dried in a dryer. It is, as before washing, a good idea to check the wash mark to be sure. If your sleeping bag can withstand it, it can be an advantage to tumble dry it, as air drying is a long process. We recommend that you put 1-2 tennis balls into the drum along with your sleeping bag. This ensures that the filling is evenly distributed. This applies to both sleeping bags with down and fiber filling.