Tips to Keeping Down Sleeping Bags in the Best Shape Possible

Posted on March 10, 2010 | Category: Camping Trivia

Down sleeping bags are great pieces of equipment for hiking, camping or even roughing it in an apartment without any furniture. They are comfortable, light, warm and practical. Since down sleeping bags are an investment that you probably don’t want to have lose its quality after only a relatively short period of time, there are some things that you can do to prevent it from getting dirty and losing its softness and shape.

• Don’t keep the sleeping bag in your backpack or in a storage bag for long periods of time when you are not using it. Keeping it packed away compresses the filling and makes it flatter than it normally would be. While fluffing down sleeping bags can bring back some if the original size, over time, keeping them compressed with take the fluffy side from them. Store your sleeping bag in the mesh bag that most come with. These leave a little extra space so that it is not so tightly compressed.
• Make sure that your sleeping bag is completely dry before either packing it for the trip or storing it. Moisture can easily be trapped inside and cause mould to grow. To ensure that your bag is dry either air it out sufficiently or put it in the dryer on the tumble setting or on low heat.
• Wash the sleeping bag by submersing it in warm soapy water in the bathtub or washing it warm soapy water in a front load washer. In either case, add the soap before putting the sleeping bag into the water. Knead the soapy water through the sleeping bag and rinse several times. Dry it in the try on low or no heat settings. Make sure that the sleeping bag is completely dry before storing. Either give it extra time in the dryer or let it air dry before putting it back in the mesh bag.

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