Due to the risk involved in washing your sleeping bag, damage caused in that process is not covered under our warranty. If is smells like smoke, leave it outside for the day to air out but typically bags are not meant to be washed very often to keep their temperature rating and quality over the years. Please reference the articles in our blogs and Knowledge Base for the best washing instructions.

The cleaning instructions we have on our bags are required to be there and are specific to non-agitator, large front-load style, on delicate. Unfortunately, even following these instructions carefully can cause down migration and internal damage to the seams of your sleeping bag.  We recommend spot cleaning your bag before risking damage by fully washing the bag.  Hand washing in a tub would be the next best recommendation:

Washing

  1. Zip up the bag and turn it inside out
  2. Fill the tub with warm water (enough to cover the bag)
  3. Add in the recommended amount of the appropriate soap (we recommend checking out either Granger's down wash or Nikwax's Down Wash if you are washing a down bag)
  4. Gently massage the bag to force water/soap through it (be sure not to pick up the bag during this process, that will put too much strain on the seams) 
  5. After it seems the bag is clean, drain the tub and carefully squeeze out the water
  6. Turn bag right side out
  7. Refill the tub with clean water and knead the bag as before to rinse it free and work clean water throughout it
  8. Be sure you get all the suds out and once more carefully squeeze out the water 

 

Drying

  1. You can either air dry or tumble dry your bag on a delicate cycle with low or no heat
  2. If air drying, be sure to hang it delicately where it will get good ventilation and limited wind and sun
  3. When your bag is nearly dry, you will need to gently pull apart the clumps of feathers to ensure there are no major bunches of feathers all clumped together
  4.  If you are drying it in a dryer, be sure to use a large front-loading dryer and go low and slow, allowing at least 3-5 hours for it to dry (even longer if air drying)
  5. Once your bag is nearly dry, you can toss in a few clean tennis balls to help fluff up the down and break up any clumps that may have formed during this washing process (you can also break these apart with your hands afterwards but that is a bit more tedious)

* Be sure your bag is fully dry before storing or you do run the risk of mold or mildew forming!

 

You can also visit our blog:  

https://blog.kelty.com/how-to-clean-your-sleeping-bag/