Taking care of your sleeping bag

At home it's a good idea to keep your sleeping bag in a loose roll. Don't store it in its tight travel stuffsack, as this will decrease its loft over time.

The more use your sleeping bag gets, the more you will benefit from a sleeping bag liner. They reduce the amount of washing your sleeping bag needs, and they also bring more warmth.

On the go it's wise to air the bag after each night, when possible. This reduces the amount of built-up moisture in the bag, keeping its insulation at the highest possible level.

As you use the bag, it starts to get dirtier, just like your bed sheets at home. After a certain point this build-up will actually effect the insulating properties of the bag. Washing a sleeping bag can definitely be done, but you have to keep a couple of crucial thins in mind: Make sure the sleeping bag is not too big for the washing machine - washing machines have maximum weights of washing and with a sleeping bag you want the dry weight of the bag to be no more than 1/3 of the maximum weight. If your machine is not up to the job, take it to a professional laundry service.

It is crucial to dry the bag in a controlled way - use a tumble drier at a very low temperature setting for an extended period of time, or hang the bag so that you can point some room fans to it. Especially with down bags it's important to "fluff up" the insulation along the drying process - it tends to settle in large clumps in the machine.

Some bag manufacturers offer specific washing instructions but here are a couple of rules of thumb:

When washing synthetic bags, use regular detergent without bleach. Don't use too much and don't use any fabric softeners or other extra chemicals.

When washing down bags, use down-specific detergent and a down or fine wash program.