How to take care of your down Sleeping bag

Owning a high-quality down sleeping bag can be a game-changer for outdoor enthusiasts. It provides unparalleled warmth, comfort, and durability for a minimum weight and pack size. To ensure that your bag lasts for years to come, proper care and timely repairs are essential. In this article, we will guide you through the best practices for caring for and repairing your down sleeping bag, allowing you to maximize its lifespan and performance. 

The most effective way to preserve the properties of your down sleeping bag for as long as possible is to follow these 3 basic rules:

1. Keep your sleeping bag clean and dry. Preserving the cleanliness of a down sleeping bag is important for its longevity and effectiveness. While washing a sleeping bag can help remove dirt and odor, and restore its loft, it is true that the process can also impact the product's lifespan. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Use a sleeping bag liner or sleep in clean clothes. Over time, sweat, oil produced naturally by the skin and dirt can affect a sleeping bag’s insulation power. Using a sleeping bag liner or wearing long, clean clothes at night, like a merino base layer, are great ways to protect it. These tips also increase the temperature rating of your sleep system.

• Remove sunscreen and cover your hair. For the same reason, we recommend wiping sunscreen off your skin, which may otherwise enter in contact with the sleeping bag. If you do not sleep in a liner equipped with a hood, wearing a clean hat or head bandana protects your sleeping bag from greasy hair.

• Protect it from dirt and water. All your down sleeping bag wants is the safety of its waterproof compression stuff sack or a shelter and a sleeping pad. If you decide to sleep without shelter, make sure the weather conditions are favorable, as your sleeping bag does not like water! The durable water repellency (DWR) treatment on the shell of your bag will protect it against a small amount of water, but heavier rain will make the down clump, drastically affecting the thermal insulation it provides. Even if a washing cycle would revive your sleeping bag, you don’t want to be stuck in the wilderness with insufficient protection against the cold!

• Air it out daily. During multiday tours, try to air it daily to remove the moisture naturally released by your body during the night. 30 minutes in the sun is more than enough.

2. Be gentle with your down sleeping bag. Your down bag requires tender love  on the trails. Even if, like every BACH product, your sleeping bag is built to last, its lightweight fabric is not as strong as the 1000 denier Cordura used on the BACH Specialist backpack. Keep it away from sharp objects and sparks from the campfire. When stored in your pack, keep it protected by using the stuff sack. 

3. Take your down sleeping bag out of the stuff sack 30 minutes before going to sleep. The down of your sleeping bag requires a bit of time to get its loft back after been compressed in the stuff sack. 

How to store a down sleeping bag

After each trip, air it out in a warm and dry place. Use the storage bag it comes with to store your sleeping bag uncompressed at home (if you don’t have a storage bag, a king-size pillowcase will do the trick). This will preserve the loft of the down in the long term. Make sure not to store it with the mesh part facing the floor, so that your sleeping bag can breathe and is protected from dust. 

How to wash a down sleeping bag

Regular washing is crucial to maintain the loft and insulation of your down sleeping bag. How often you need to clean it depends on how you are using it. We recommend washing it at least once a year, preferably before an extended storage period, i.e. at the end of the season. For the best results, we recommend taking your bag to a professional laundry. You can also reach out to your closest BACH Care & Repair Center to get it washed by our team. If you want to do it by yourself, you have 2 options – spot cleaning or washing it in the washing machine, followed by proper drying. Here are a few tips on how to do it correctly.

How to clean a down sleeping bag 

Cleaning small stains and spots of dirt on your down sleeping bag is easy. Simply apply a small amount of gentle soap solution with a soft cloth to the affected area, patting instead of rubbing it to prevent damage.

How to hand-wash a down sleeping bag 

Do not hand-wash your down sleeping bag if you want to preserve its properties! If there was an incident and your down sleeping bag got covered in mud or some other liquid, its water-repellent fabric should still be strong enough to not let the dirt through, so try to dry it out and get it washed properly as soon as you get the chance.

How to wash a down sleeping bag in a washing machine 

When washing your down sleeping bag in a washing machine, use a front-loading machine on a gentle cycle (e.g. hand-wash on max. 30°C), and a down-specific cleaner. Avoid using regular laundry detergent as it can damage the down's natural oils. Close all fastenings to avoid damaging the fabric during the washing process. Refer to the care instruction label located inside your sleeping bag to find out more about the settings to use on your washing machine.

How to dry a down sleeping bag

Properly drying your washed down sleeping bag is vital to prevent clumping and mildew. Use a large tumble dryer on a low heat with 3 clean tennis balls or dryer balls. This helps fluff the down and restore its loft. Every hour or so, take your bag out of the dryer and shake it a bit. Continue the drying process until the down is completely dry. This can take several hours.

How to restore water repellency (DWR)

After a while, the durable water repellency (DWR) of your sleeping bag will wear off. You can reactivate it through heating: tumble dry it on a warm, gentle cycle or iron it very carefully (no steaming, with a warm but not hot setting). If you need to restore your DWR, you can do so by using dedicated DWR restoring products that can be purchased in your local outdoor shop or online. The DWR finish helps preserve your bag by keeping it cleaner.

How to fix a hole in a sleeping bag

If you get a tear in the fabric of your down or synthetic sleeping bag, do not panic, it is not ruined! For small holes, you can use gear-repair tape or sew up the hole by hand (with the needle and thread that you carry with you in your repair kit). In an emergency, duct tape also works, but beware that it can cause even more damage when you peel it off. For bigger holes, consider having your sleeping bag professionally repaired. To do so, you should always reach out first to your dealer, for the products purchased here to the closest BACH Care & Repair Center or simply search for a good local tailor.

How to fix a broken zipper on a sleeping bag

The zippers that equip high-quality sleeping bags like ours are always sized to withstand all your wild outdoor adventures. Nevertheless, if the zipper does break, your best option is to contact the manufacturer directly. If only the slider is broken, you can buy a new one in the same size and simply replace it yourself  . If you own one of our BACH sleeping bags and the zipper breaks, please reach out first to your dealer or the closest BACH Care & Repair Center or search for a skilled local tailor to get it properly repaired.

How to repair a leaking down sleeping bag

Shedding a small amount of down from your sleeping bag is completely normal, and occasionally, a feather may escape through the fabric or seam – especially when the bag is new. Pull the protruding feathers back inside from the opposite side and the little holes will close back up. However, if you notice a significant increase in feather loss, you can get in touch with your dealer or the BACH team or search for a skilled local tailor. If you encounter any other problem with your BACH sleeping bags, please reach out to your closest BACH Care & Repair Center.   Our experts will analyze the problem to find the appropriate solution.