washing down

[MuddyWaters]

Since I decided to wash a 20F down quilt today, thought Id take some pictures for the folks that are either scared to wash their gear, or dont believe the difference it makes. I wouldnt have taken this quilt in 30F conditions in the shape it was in.

This 20F quilt had about 20 nights on it. 900 fp Downtek. Mixture of cool and warmer weather. Note that this is a quilt which simply lays on top of me as needed, not used in dirt. Not slept on.

Tub washed with Downwash. Rinsed 5 times in clean tub, wring out completely and spin in washer to remove all water between rinses.

The dirty water:

37488


Before and after laying on bed:

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Before and after in storage bin:

37490



downwash:
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put in tub with hot water and soap:
37492

Work air out and water in"
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Work water and soap thru well, let soak, then squeeze out against tub wall.
You are trying to wash down INSIDE nearly watertight bag, not just outside of bag.
It takes time and a lot of effort

37494

rolling bag up works to get water and air out. Never twist
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squeeze water out
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spin all water out in washer, use wet towels for counterbalance
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Rinse in full tubs of cold clear water MANY times.
You get very little fresh water inside bag because its nearly watertight.
diluting the residual soap takes time and multiple rinses
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Dry in dryer on low with a few tennis balls.
Done

[rocketsocks]

Good job muddy waters!

[FreeGoldRush]

Down takes that much of a beating after just 20 nights? Yikes.

[saltysack]

I see where you got your trail name......damn Muddy your dirty![emoji51]


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[colorado_rob]

Excellent little primer on washing bags. My one small tweek is that i was told by my latest bag's manufacture (katabatic gear) to not use tennis balls or anything else in dryer, but i bet it's no big deal either way.

[C-shell]

you've inspired me to give this a try. Have a quilt with the same specs that I used for 5 1/2 months on the trail last year (with a liner). going to give this a try after Christmas. Thanks so much for the detailed info and pics.

[Lyle]

If I were getting a bag that dirty in just 20 nights, I would DEFINITELY start using a liner. I do and I go many times that many nights before I notice any problem and need to wash a bag. Good demonstration, though. :)

One small criticism, if I may: You say in the summary of the process at the beginning of your post to wring out, then dry. You do later state that you should squeeze the water out and not to twist, which is 100% correct.

My concern is that just using the term "wring" will plant that idea into a nube's brain and it may cause them problems when they go to wash their bag from memory.

If you have the ability, it might be helpful to tweak that first part a bit.

[MuddyWaters]

prodding my brain a bit more, think I actually had 28 nights on this one.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Wow, that's a big difference in loft!

I wash my 3 season bag about once a year. I like your idea of using the washer spin cycle to remove the water after squeezing dry, I may try that next time.

[Hikingjim]

Thanks for posting this. Always find it a pain to do. I'll try the spin cycle to speed things up


Excellent little primer on washing bags. My one small tweek is that i was told by my latest bag's manufacture (katabatic gear) to not use tennis balls or anything else in dryer, but i bet it's no big deal either way.

WM and other manufacturers always used to suggest tennis balls, etc, and I have never had an issue in the past. Possibly some of the new thin fabrics might wear more. To be safe, I just used tennis balls for the last little bit of drying time when drying my newer quilt because it does seem much more fragile than my older bags. UL trade-offs I guess!

[rocketsocks]

Wow, that's a big difference in loft!

I wash my 3 season bag about once a year. I like your idea of using the washer spin cycle to remove the water after squeezing dry, I may try that next time....and using wet towels to oppose load while on spin...Pro Tip!

[atraildreamer]

Go to a laundromat and wash the quilt in the largest front loading washing machine available. The typical top loader can ruin the inner baffles on a down item.

Ditto on the dryer. Use the largest dryer available, on low heat for a couple of hours. Then take the quilt home and spread it out on the bed and finish it by air drying.

[Don H]

I sent a Feathered Friends bag back to FF for washing and it seemed like it had far less insulating value afterwards.

I now always use a Cocoon silk liner and avoid washing the bag.

[saltysack]

Not sure why a liner is any better than a sleep only base layer at keeping bag/quilt clean...


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[colorado_rob]

Go to a laundromat and wash the quilt in the largest front loading washing machine available. The typical top loader can ruin the inner baffles on a down item.Agree! Definitely don't wash bags in top loaders. However, you can safely spin dry in a top loader, there is no agitation involved, just load carefully and counter balance with a wet towel, great tip rocket!

Tub washing works great though, as per MW's tutorial. My latest bag (a double EE quilt arrived this morning, merry Christmas to us!) says no machine washing of any kind only tub washing. I do believe my home dryer, at least, is fine for bags, on low heat. I've tub washed bags a dozen times over the last 10 years and dried in my own dryer, they all are fine (about 5 different bags). It takes a long time to dry, and a longer time to properly rinse when tub washing (when you think you've rinsed plenty of times, rinse a few more times, then rinse a few more times).

[MuddyWaters]

Ive tried machines...they suck IMO.

Unless you like seeing your balloon of a sleeping bag, full of air, floating in one spot still full of air while the machine tries to agitate. Have to re-rinse by hand even after running multiple rinse cycles on a machine because after drying lofted poorly and still smelled like soap.

IMO...dont waste time or money trying to wash down in a machine. It will do a poor job and still leave soap in the down.

not to mention, contamination with soap and fabric softener from previous users being a real issue. Any contaminants in the down reduce its loft.

[rocketsocks]

Ive tried machines...they suck IMO.

Unless you like seeing your balloon of a sleeping bag, full of air, floating in one spot still full of air while the machine tries to agitate. Have to re-rinse by hand even after running multiple rinse cycles on a machine because after drying lofted poorly and still smelled like soap.

IMO...dont waste time or money trying to wash down in a machine. It will do a poor job and still leave soap in the down.

not to mention, contamination with soap and fabric softener from previous users being a real issue. Any contaminants in the down reduce its loft.I used my top loader as a vessel so to speak a didn't use the agitator cycle just the fill and rinse and spin. Just dunked it by hand for about ten mins....beats bending over a bath tub anyway.

[Don H]

Not sure why a liner is any better than a sleep only base layer at keeping bag/quilt clean...


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Don't think anyone said one was better than the other. The point is to keep your dirty body from transferring oils and dirt to the bag.

[handlebar]

A trick to have less air bubbles when placing the bag in the soapy downwash water in the tub, is to stuff it in a small stuff sack and compress as much air as possible out of it, then pull it out into the wash water. I like the idea of using the spin cycle to get the rinse water out. That will also help me keep in shape as washer is in basement and tub is on 2nd floor.

[clusterone]

Thanks Muddy! Your post gave me the confidence to give this a shot. Just ordered some downwash.

[rocketsocks]

A trick to have less air bubbles when placing the bag in the soapy downwash water in the tub, is to stuff it in a small stuff sack and compress as much air as possible out of it, then pull it out into the wash water. I like the idea of using the spin cycle to get the rinse water out. That will also help me keep in shape as washer is in basement and tub is on 2nd floor.now that's a good trick! Thanks.

[MuddyWaters]

Its very educational to totally submerge good DWR down bag in nylon stuffsak for several minutes.

Then pull it out, bone dry.