We have had 2 Outwell Camper Luxe sleeping bags for several years and have never washed them. I normally air them really well after each trip but after returning from 2 weeks away I'm wondering if I should give them a wash. Any advice on this - presume I'll have to go to a launderette to do it?
I washed my old one in the bath then put it into a bin bag and ran like hell to the garden rotary before the bin liner split, flooding the house.
The problem with washing sleeping bags is that the insulating material inside gets more compacted each wash and soon the bag doesn't retain much heat any more. Hence I have just bought a new one. I did have the old one for about 12 years though, so it had a good innings.
"The problem with washing sleeping bags is that the insulating material inside gets more compacted each wash and soon the bag doesn't retain much heat any more."
I agree with Bob61 on this one. One solution is to use a sleeping bag liner which is much easier to wash and dry and prolongs the life of the sleeping bag.
I do try to wash ours (Gelert Sleeping Pods) once a year (we don't camp that often and do as Bob61, treading the bag one at a time in the bath, and then lugging it out in a plastic trug to drape on first a sturdy metal clothes airer, and then on the rotary line as most of the water has run out, reducing the weight. Even a single wet bag feels like wrestling with a giant recalcitrant rubber anaconda.
And the filling - synthetic - has gone noticeably less evenly dispersed particularly in my OH's (we have our own bags, as I wriggle too much).
Still, it's worth it for freshness and means I wouldn't be embarrassed about lending to someone if they had to stay overnight with us!
As for liners.... oooh not, for me (see above re wriggling) and I do like to stick my feet out when they get hot.
I'm now looking for new ones that unzip all along the bottom, so perhaps I'm not too upset by the degradation from washing.
I did take them to a laundry once, but one came back minus the zip tags so it must have been quite a rough wash they received, although it did save me time.
If all else fails, there's always Febreeze!
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Ours are definitely due their first wash (in 5 years) after our recent trip. They are huge, the four season one weighs 13lb. A friend has an industrial machine and I plan on asking her to do them for me. We always air them well after we get back from anywhere though.
To cut down on washing them I bought a brushed cotton kingsize duvet cover set and cut the sides of the duvet cover open to the bottom 3 or 4 inches or so and then hemmed them. This acts as a bottom and top sheet as you effectively get inside the (turned outside) duvet cover. I used the button holes on the bottom of the duvet cover to attach the bottom sheet to the bag, just sewed buttons on the bags at the very top.
Definitely saved on the need for washing.
We have proper liners for our mummy bags - again I think it makes a difference.
Our Outwell double (maybe same as OP's) has a label stating machine washable at 30 degrees. That we do, one half at a time. Decent fillings will be affected more by being dirty than correct washing (I'm not claiming the Outwell is decent - budget IMO but it seems fine).
at Bob61 - Synthetic filling will be degrading after 12 years regular use, washed or not.
I've recently had a 40 year old down bag professionlally cleaned & the loft is now amazing. We have it opened as a backup quilt for cold nights when the Outwell is on the cold side.
We also wash our Outwell synthetic bags at 30 degrees as stated on the label 5 seasons old and still nice and fluffy and keep us warm. Keeping them squashed in stuff sacks when not in use is more likely to destroy the loft than washing
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We have king-size sleeping bags (Sunncamp) and they fit, one at a time, in my washing machine. They get a 30 degree super-quick wash and 1200 rpm spin at the end of each camping season, occasionally during the season, and hung to dry on the line.
They're still pretty damn fluffy and I haven't noticed them being any less warm. They're 8 years old now.
I've no idea where our nearest launderette is these days - there's certainly not one within 10 miles. The 5 nearest ones have all closed down in the last few years.
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Topic: Washing Sleeping Bags
