Cat urinated all over my new sleeping bag

[action potential]

First post!

I just got a new north face -20 down bag, and was storing it out of the bag to keep it fluffy, and a cat literally peed all over the thing multiple times. I found out weeks later when the smell made me gag to death, so here I am wondering what to do. How can I clean this thing without ruining the bag more than it already is. Sorry for the weird first post, but winter is coming and thats when we start our season!

[Gaiter]

i don't know what to tell you about your sleeping bag situation, look at the tags and see what the cleaning instructions are, that would be the first place to start.

But on the bright side WELCOME to whiteblaze!!!

[Sly]

Oh man that soaps! I'd call north face or one of the other sleeping bag companies. Feather Friends will clean them, not sure about a north face though.

[Jim Adams]

if the manufacturer wont clean it maybe try some woolite and gentle cycle.don't know what to tell you. had to clean cat barf in my bag a few times when other hikers fed Ziggy mac and cheese (he loved the cheese, his stomach hated the butter!) but that didn't soak in like piss would. good luck.

geek

[ShakeyLeggs]

I had the same thing happen a few years ago. I never did get the smell out of it. I tried everything. I still have the cat and he does at times have bad aim. Will never get to my gear as I keep it locked away from him. I reciently found this product and it seems to work. I got rid of the bag before I found this stuff


http://www.zeroodorpet.com/?gclid=CI...FQ-ZHgod_jLIJw

[RAT]

Sorry but that bag is history

I would the cat.

RAT

[Just Jeff]

Forget the bag - what're you doing about the CAT?!

[Gaiter]

has your cat been fixed yet?

[copythat]

i haven't had any cats since i started buying sleeping bags ... but i did have a cat pee in my motorcycle helmet once.

time for a new helmet!

[highway]

They can be washed. Feathered Friends site and customer service will tell you how. They did my FF bag that smelled bag from excessive use for $35. call. perhaps if you make it humerous eough, they'll do yours, too. Mine came back like it was new and they even repaired a panel with a hole and refilled it with down.

[highway]

Feathered Friends:
http://www.featheredfriends.com/

FF washing instructions:

NEVER,NEVER DRY CLEAN!

Machine Washing
With down jackets or the Rock Wren liner bag, machine washing at home is possible. Use Down Suds or Thunder Down in any machine. Use no bleach or fabric softeners. Apply the soap directly to stained or heavily soiled areas. Soak for 15 to 60 minutes, then run through a normal cycle on gentle, with cold water. PTFE-laminate items will have to be positioned nylon-side out in order to spin properly. It is important to have the load balanced. When it is finished, if you can squeeze out suds, rinse again. For larger bags, use a font loading machine, preferably a double or triple load commercial machine in a Laundromat. Again, soak if possible. Plan on running through two complete cycles, the second time without soap to thoroughly rinse all suds out of the bag.

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Hand Washing
Hand Washing is the safest of all. It would be difficult to damage a bag in hand washing. However, it does require considerable time and effort. Use a large tub or bathtub. Soak for up to an hour, but not longer. You will have to work at getting all the down submerged, since the weave of our nylon is so tight that it traps air. Gently knead the bag from one end to the other, to ensure that all the down is thoroughly exposed to the soap. Rinse several times in cold water, then wring out all the excess water.

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Drying
Once the bag is cleaned, it is time to dry it. Wring all excess water out of the bag. Use care when moving as soaked sleeping bag, as the down weighing against the baffles is at its heaviest. It is safe to put a PTFE-laminate bag into a large commercial dryer set on permanent press or air fluff. The danger is too much heat. If you feel the shell is getting hot, either select a lower temperature or air dry the bag.
During washing, the down will collect in clumps. Periodically during the drying process (at the end of each drying cycle or every few hours if air drying) it is important to go through the entire bag and pull apart these down clumps, distributing the down more or less evenly through the bag. This only takes a few seconds, and will ensure that the down dries quickly and evenly.
Feathered Friends sleeping bags are tougher than you might expect. The tricot baffling we use is nearly as strong as the nylon shell; and we use stronger but more time consuming tuck-stitch construction. Problems in washing nearly always come from the shell catching in the machinery or seams raveling out. You should not have the latter problem with a Feathered Friends bag. To guard against snags, monitor the wash closely.
Washing a sleeping bag is a somewhat time-consuming, though not particularly difficult process. It is the most important element in bag longevity. With regular washing, you can expect many years of service from your Feathered Friends sleeping bag.

Customer service Link:
http://www.featheredfriends.com/cust...cust_main.aspx

I still would call them and plead to see if they can do it. They are set up for it. It will take you hours of effort, but, you might prefer it.

Good Luck! (but not with the cat

[MOWGLI]

First post!

I just got a new north face -20 down bag, and was storing it out of the bag to keep it fluffy, and a cat literally peed all over the thing multiple times. I found out weeks later when the smell made me gag to death, so here I am wondering what to do. How can I clean this thing without ruining the bag more than it already is. Sorry for the weird first post, but winter is coming and thats when we start our season!

To the best of my knowledge, North Face will clean and re-stuff your bag for very reasonable rates. Suggest you contact them and discuss.

[StarLyte]

If your cat is urinating on the bag, the cat is probably urinating on many others things. And when your friends come over, the cat will urinate on their things too, especially if they smell another cat. Aren't they wonderful.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

To the best of my knowledge, North Face will clean and re-stuff your bag for very reasonable rates. Suggest you contact them and discuss.

Edited to add - Mowg posted while I was writing and his suggestion is the best IMO.

Granny dino is in the house with stain and odor removing info from homemakers. What I'm about to say is what is recommended to get the odor out of wool and synthetic carpets.

Does anyone know if you can use Oxy-Clean and vinegar on down? I ask because oxy-clean breaks down the molecular structure of cat urine stain which removes most of both the stain and odor. Vinegar breaks down the molecular structure of the 'glue' that holds the scent-producing uric acid crystals. Since cat urine is used to mark territory, mother nature (not our wonderful Sue ) has provided cats with a particularly strong bonding agent for the uric acid crystals which is why it is so hard to remove the odor.

Since these stains have set in, you will likely need to allow it to soak overnight each time. Use vinegar in the first wash and oxy-clean in the second wash. Then clean and dry the bag as you normally would. Highway has given you the information on how to do this. Personally, I've always done it a bathtub, as a machine seems too rough for the delicate baffles.

A word of caution about cats - once a cat has marked a spot, it will likely be able to smell it again no matter what you do. Cats re-mark their spots over and over.... the bag needs to be stored where the cat cannot possible get to it or you will likely be doing this again.

[fiddlehead]

my cat did the same on my van a few years back on the carpet and it really stank. I sprayed a combination of vinegar and water on it and it took the smell away. You may want to try that. It is a real bummer. good luck.

[Appalachian Tater]

You need to use a cleaner with enzymes to remove the odor completely. Remember, you're going to be sleeping in it.
Consider letting it soak for a while in the enzyme cleaner, say, in the bathtub.

[Lone Wolf]

First post!

I just got a new north face -20 down bag, and was storing it out of the bag to keep it fluffy, and a cat literally peed all over the thing multiple times. I found out weeks later when the smell made me gag to death, so here I am wondering what to do. How can I clean this thing without ruining the bag more than it already is. Sorry for the weird first post, but winter is coming and thats when we start our season!

First kill the SOB then get a new bag. Problem solved.

[John B]

I've washed my Western Mountaineering bag twice before (ultralite, 20-degree down). It is not an easy task, and you should certainly plan on it taking a couple of hours.

The instructions from Feathered Friends provided in the earlier post are right on the mark. You can buy down-safe soap at most gear suppliers.

There are several points that I want to emphasize. First, it will be a pain to get all of the air out of the bag. Be patient and try to be thorough. Letting it soak for an hour or so is the key to getting it clean.

Second, rinsing must be done with patience. The bag will weigh a ton, and IF YOU ARE NOT CAREFUL, it wouldn't surprise me at all if the stitching breaks from the weight of the water and wet down. Do not try to pick it up before you squeeze out as much of the water as possible. Rinse/repeat several times to get all of the soap out.

Have a sturdy plastic basket nearby to put the wet bag in. Even with as much water as possible squeezed out, it will still be very heavy, and caution should be used to avoid splitting out the stitching. Feathered Friends is not kidding when they say that wet down clumps. It does and it's a pain in the ass to dry. I strongly recommend going to a laundry and using the largest dryer you can find. Use 'low' or 'no' heat. Plan on being there for a couple of hours.

The best way that I know to break up down clumps is by putting a dozen tennis balls in the dryer with the bag. When they toss around in there, hitting against the bag will, over time, break up the clumps. If after an hour or so you still feel clumps, that means the bag is NOT DRY. Keep going.

Retreat bag with water repellant. Nikiwax makes a great product -- spray it on, put in dryer for 15 min., etc.

Good luck. And I'd kill the cat.

[the goat]

yet another point in the long list of reasons of why not to get a cat.

[Lone Wolf]

I actually have two cats and love them dearly.