Caring for Your Sleeping Bag

晃晃

The below article is forwarded from http://www.rei.com/expertadvice/articles/caring+sleeping+bag.html

Caring for Your Sleeping Bag
Protect your investment. With a bit of REI's care and cleaning know-how, you can keep your sleeping bag in top condition for many camping seasons to come.

Quick Read
Avoid washing in the first place! Keep your sleeping bag clean by using a liner or wearing clean clothing to bed. This prevents the need for washing which can decrease the bag's loft.
When necessary, hand-washing is the preferred method of washing both down and synthetic sleeping bags. Use a mild soap, as detergents can leave a residue. Never dry-clean your bag.
Make sure your bag is completely dry before storing. Place it loosely in a large cotton storage bag, hang it, or store it flat. Don't store it in a stuff sack as this will break down the insulation.

On the Trail

An Ounce of Prevention
Keeping your sleeping bag clean and dry while you're out on the trail can go a long way towards extending its life and keeping you warm. Accumulated body oils, sweat and dirt can rob your sleeping bag of its insulating power. Keep them away from your bag by sleeping in clean, long underwear, socks and a hat. If it's warm out, wear clean cotton clothes to bed. Just don't fall into bed in the same clothes you hiked in. You'll drag dirt into the bag with you, and you're likely to sleep colder because of accumulated perspiration in the clothes (even if they feel dry). And never sleep in the clothes you cooked and ate in. This is extremely important in bear country!

If bundling up in lots of clothing sounds too restrictive, you might consider using a sleeping bag liner. Typically made of cotton or polyester, liners add very little weight to your pack and keep your bag clean and sweet-smelling. Plus, they add about 5° F to 15° F to your bag's comfort rating. At the end of each trip, wash the liner and you're good to go again.

Airing out your sleeping bag each day of your trip will help keep it dry and lofty. Even if you have to wait till midday to do so, turn it inside-out and try to expose it to sunlight and a good breeze, if there is one. This will dry out any moisture and help remove perspiration from the night before. It's not a good idea to leave a bag in direct sunlight for very long, as UV light slowly degrades the fabric. However, if your bag gets really wet, it may be necessary to drape it over a rock or bush in direct sunlight for several hours.

The Right Stuff
Your sleeping bag is made to be stuffed over and over without damage. But taking care how you do it will add to its lifespan. Using a larger stuff sack will make stuffing easier, and you can still pack around the stuff sack inside your backpack.

Compression stuff sacks are easy to stuff and save space in your pack. Never leave your bag in a compression stuff sack for an extended period, however, as it will reduce the loft. For easier stuffing, start with the foot first and the zipper at least partially closed. Push the bag firmly into the bottom of the stuff sack and stuff evenly as you go up. This also puts even stress on the stitching.

You can keep your bag dry while you're on the trail by lining a nylon stuff sack with a plastic garbage bag and then stuffing the sleeping bag in it. Or use a waterproof stuff sack.

Between Trips

Spot Cleaning
Any time you wash a sleeping bag, you subject it to wear and tear and decrease the loft a little. Spot cleaning the shell with a paste of laundry detergent, water and a toothbrush is advised before washing the whole thing. This is especially true around the hood and collar where hair and skin oils tend to accumulate. By holding the shell or liner fabric away from the insulation, you can wash and rinse the area without getting the inside wet.

However, if you find that your bag is losing loft, is darkened with grime and basically no longer inhabitable unless you wash it, then by all means do so! At this point, washing will actually help restore the loft, and your tent mates and innocent forest creatures will probably thank you for it, too.

Washing
Many people prefer to have their bag professionally laundered. REI partners with Rainy Pass Repairs, inc., to offer a bag-laundering service.

Note: Dry cleaning is not appropriate for sleeping bags, especially down. Solvents used in dry cleaning can strip the natural oils from down that help it retain loft. Solvents are also very difficult to remove from synthetic insulation.

If you decide to wash your bag yourself, use a gentle, non-detergent soap such as Nikwax Down Wash 2.0, which is made for washing down- and synthetic-filled items.

Down: For down bags, hand-washing in a bathtub works best. Fill the tub with warm water and add one of the above-recommended cleaners. Put the bag in and gently work in the soap, then allow it to soak for 15 minutes. Drain the tub and press out any remaining water. In a cold-water rinse, work the soap out gently, let the bag sit for 15 minutes and drain. Press out any remaining water. Repeat the rinse until all the soap is out. It's also possible, (according to some bag manufacturers) to machine wash a down bag, as long as a front-loading washer is used. Never use an agitator-style machine as the motion can damage the stitching and insulation. Make sure to wash on the gentle cycle in cool water with one of the aforementioned down soaps.
Synthetics: Synthetic bags can be washed in the same way. Hand-wash in a bathtub, or use a large, front-loading washer with no agitator. Use cool water and mild soap. Rinse several times to make sure all the soap is removed. An extra spin cycle or an extractor may be used to remove excess water.

Drying
Air drying is the safest way to dry your bag, but obviously the longest. If you tumble dry your bag, use very low heat or a no-heat setting and keep an eye on it. Dryers have varying heat outputs, so you need to check periodically to make sure the shell and insulation aren't overheating, which can actually lead to melting. Add a couple of clean tennis balls when the bag is nearly dry. This will help break up any clumps of insulation and help restore the loft.

Storage
How you store your bag between trips affects its lifespan. When you arrive home from a trip, first air out the bag inside-out for a couple days to make sure it's dry. Then store in a large cotton storage sack—often included when you purchase a sleeping bag, but also available separately.

Do NOT store your bag compressed in its stuff sack as this will eventually suck the life out of the loft. Watertight storage bags are also a bad idea. Condensation can build up inside them and result in mildew. In short, allow your bag come to its full loft with plenty of cool, dry ventilation, and all will be good.

Other Sleeping Bag Tips

Restoring DWR
The original DWR (durable water repellent) finish on a sleeping bag's shell eventually wears off. You can restore water repellency and help keep the bag cleaner if you reapply this finish. There are several products available to restore the DWR to your sleeping bag shell fabric.

Leaking Down
Many, but not all, goose-down bags feature "down-proof" liners and shells made of very tightly woven fabric which prevent the down from getting through. If a few feathers escape through the shell or liner of your bag, don't become too concerned. This is normal, especially along the seams. The sharp quills of the feathers may poke through, especially when the bag is new and the down hasn't totally settled. Work the feathers gently back inside, pulling from the opposite side; the holes should be minimal and close back up.

Fabric Tears
For small holes or tears in the sleeping bag shell, a patch of nylon repair tape will do the trick until you get home.