How To Store A Sleeping Bag To Keep Using It For Years To Come?
Who doesn’t like to go for an outdoor trip with friends once in their lifetime? There are many adventurous youngsters these days fond of exploring rough and tough outdoor destinations often. When nature enthusiastic youth, travel for outdoor activities like trekking, hunting, camping, and backpacking, the most important thing they pack is the sleeping bag. A sleeping bag is required for any overnight adventure.
The sleeping sack will last years if treated properly. Remember the insulation inside has the chance of getting damaged, if not stored correctly. Let’s have a look at how to store a sleeping bag correctly so that they remain healthy and usable for years.
How To Store A Sleeping Bag To Keep Using It For Years To Come?
Washing the sleeping sack
When the sleep sack is not in use, you must clean it properly before storing them. Washing your bag often will help to get rid of oil, dirt, and sweat present in the insulation. If you are an avid traveller, washing the sleeping bag once in a season is recommended. But never wash your sleeping roll unless it is highly needed.
Don’t give your sleeping roll for dry-cleaning because harsh chemicals will ruin the material. To clean the bedroll properly, you can use a front loading machine. Don’t use a top-loading machine to wash the sleeping sack because the agitator can rip your bag.
Before washing, make sure you unzip the bag and move the slider half way up on to the side of the zipper. This ensures the slider remains safe while washing. Use mild detergent, light cycle and wash it in warm water. You should never make use of bleach or fabric softener to wash the bag.
Via: https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/caring-sleeping-bag.html
Hand washing the sleeping roll
You must always check product label before you start washing the sleeping sack. There are some sleeping sacks which need to be hand washed while some professional needs cleaning.
If you prefer hand washing, you may put the sleeping roll in a huge mesh bag and knead in soapy water and then rinse out the excess water. Afterwards, you can put the bag into a dryer.
Drying the sleeping sack
Moving the wet bag from the machine to the dryer can be a difficult process. When the sleeping sack is wet and heavy, there is a chance of stitches getting shred. So gently lift the bag and be cautious when putting into the dryer. Go for the largest dryer so that the bag fits into it properly.
You may toss in few tennis balls into the sack to help them fluff it up. When tumble drying your bag, never set the heat on high as this may cause melting of nylon. Turn the settings to the lowest, and it will usually take 5 hours to dry the sleeping bag completely. Make sure the insulation of the bag isn’t clumping.
To keep the mould and mildew grow on the surface of the bag, you can dry them at outdoor space. First, unzip the bag and then hang it over a larger hanger and let them remain outdoor space for 8 to 9 hours. Make sure the bag is not hung at direct sunlight because too much heat can weaken the fabric. Make sure you turn the bag inside out every hour.
How to Store Your Sleeping Sack?
The bedroll should be kept out of the compression sack. The stuff sack is used for backpacking purpose only so whenever you are not travelling, allow the sleeping bag to breathe at an open space. When packing for your trip, you can place the sleeping sack in a storage bag as it remains loose and breathable inside the storage bag.
The insulating fibres won’t compress while travelling. Make sure the storage bag is large enough for the sleeping bag to drop in. Once you reach the campsite, you may un-stuff the bag and allow the fibres to loft inside the tent.
Once you are back from the trip, air out your sleeping sack at the earliest, this is to eliminate moisture the bag collected from your clothes and body. Then you can hang the sleeping bag for 24 hours inside your room. If the weather is pleasant outside, don’t mind hanging them out. Then pull out a breathable sack to store the bag. There are cotton storage bags available which are good enough to settle the bag.
You shouldn’t compress the insulation for long as the loft gets to loosen up. So make sure the cotton bag has space enough to hold the sleeping sack. If your sleeping bag didn’t come up with a stuff sack as an alternative, then you could use a king size pillow cover. But the better option remains cotton or a mesh stack for storage.
Find a humid place to keep your sleeping bag safe and secure until you need it for your next trip. Make sure you don’t place it on a damp basement or unheated places like loft or garage. Keep the bag safe inside the corner of your closet.
Useful Hacks to Maintain Your Sleeping Bag!
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Useful Hacks to Maintain Your Sleeping Bag!
When you are using a sleeping bag during your trip, make sure you protect them from getting wet. Sleeping on a wet quilt is an extremely unpleasant situation. What’s more annoying is once the sleeping sack gets wet, it will smell-badly. You must follow a few hacks to protect your sleeping roll from getting wet.
Make use of sleeping bag liner
Using a sleeping bag liner is a great option to keep your sleeping bag safe from dust, dirt, and mud — the stuff or clothing act as a barrier between your skin and sleeping roll. Also, they are good enough to keep you feel warm during the wintry night. The liner or cloth material can be washed easily than a sleeping bag.
Spread out your sleeping bag daily
If you are on a trip, make sure you spread out the bag outdoor allowing the odour to dissipate. If you do this daily, you will smell better next time when you get in. You can also hang the sleeping roll for 15 minutes outside in daylight to smell fresh. During harsh weather make sure you pack the sleeping bag in a stuff sack and place it in your tent or car avoiding it from getting wet.
As an outdoor enthusiast, the sleeping roll is a must-have gear whenever you go for camping and hiking. To feel relaxed and comfy outdoor, the sleeping bag should smell fresh. Hence, you should master the proper way of storing a sleeping bag. Keep your bag clean, dry, aired out for its longevity and ready to use during camping trips.
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