Washing your sleeping bag
Enjoying a long and happy marriage with your favourite sleeping bag can come down to laundry. Washing your sleeping bag is the single best thing you can do to prolong the life of your outdoor bedding.
Washing a down sleeping bag requires specialised detergent to maintain the loft of the filler. Domex recommends the Nikwax range, developed to enhance the life of your sleeping bag and restore water repellency.
The team at New Zealand Hunter Adventures does a decent job explaining how to care for your sleeping bag regardless of fill type. Check out their video for expert guidance on washing your sleeping bag, with additional step-by-step instructions below.
IMPORTANT: When cleaning sleeping bags use a big, front-loading washing machine, generally found at a laundromat. Home washers are too small, and don’t allow proper circulation of water through the bag. Always use a front-loading washer, as top loaders may have an agitator that can tear the baffles inside your sleeping bag
Washing your Down-filled sleeping bag
- Put the bag in washing machine
- Add Nikwax Down Wash Direct
- Wash. Throw in an extra spin cycle or two to get the excess water out of the bag
- Dry! Run multiple dry cycles on low heat with clean tennis balls, or dryer balls, to fluff the bag back up
- Waterproof if necessary using Nikwax Down Proof
Washing your Synthetic-filled bag
Synthetic-filled bags are a tad less fussy than down bags to clean. You still need a big washer though, so pack up and head to the laundromat.
- Put bag in washing machine
- Add Nikwax Tech Wash
- Wash. Throw in an extra spin cycle or two to get excess water out of the bag
- Dry. You can use a dryer on low heat to speed up the process, or hang to dry
- Waterproof if necessary using Nikwax TX.Direct
