Follow the care instructions below to help maintain the high quality and extend the life of your down or synthetic Therm-a-Rest® sleeping bag.
Hydrophobic Down Care Instructions:
All hydrophobic down treatments wash out over time, and washing is hard on all down. Extend the life of your bag by spot cleaning with a damp sponge, and only machine washing when necessary.
Washing
Hand wash or machine wash in a large capacity, front loading washing machine, using 3 oz. of Nikwax® Down Wash™. Select cold water and a gentle/delicate cycle with two rinses. We recommend an additional spin cycle as well to extract as much water as possible before drying.
DO NOT dry clean. DO NOT bleach. DO NOT iron.
Drying
Hang dry your bag whenever possible. This can be a long process (24-48 hours or more), but this is by far the best way to get the longest life from your down. Use a well-ventilated, low-humidity environment. Hand-tease or shake out your bag gently to break-up down clumps, and flip it often to help speed the process.
If you need to dry your bag faster, tumble dry in a large dryer on low heat. As your bag gets drier, it will begin to loft and can actually fill the dryer chamber, preventing it from tumbling. This can cause hot spots and even melt the bag's shell, so check it often for overheating and visually inspect frequently to make sure it's tumbling. When you check it, feel for clumps of wet down and either shake the bag gently or hand-tease the clumps apart to redistribute down. Throwing in 3-5 tennis balls can help agitate the bag, breaking up those wet down clusters to speed dry times.
Nikwax® Hydrophobic Down Treatment and Re-Treatment
Use Nikwax® Down Proof™ to restore your down's hydrophobic properties. Specially formulated to renew the Nikwax Hydrophobic Down treatment, it can also be used to provide improved water-resistance to any down bag. Follow directions on the bottle.
Storage
The less time your sleeping bag is compressed, the longer it will serve you by maintaining the loft necessary to keep you warm. Store your sleeping bag loose, in a cool, dry place. If you must store it in a bag, use the extended storage sack it came in, or something even larger. Never use a waterproof bag for long-term storage.
Eraloft™ Insulation Care Instructions:
Washing
Hand wash or machine wash in large-capacity, front loading washing machine. Use a mild, non-detergent soap. Select cold water and a gentle cycle with two rinses.
DO NOT dry clean. DO NOT bleach. DO NOT iron.
Drying
Hang dry your bag whenever possible. This can be a long process (24-48 hours), but this is by far the best way to get the longest life from your bag. Use a well-ventilated, low-humidity environment. Unzip fully and flip it often to help speed the process.
If you need to dry your bag faster, tumble dry in a large dryer on low heat. As your bag gets drier, it will begin to loft and can actually fill the dryer chamber, preventing it from tumbling. This can cause hot spots and even melt the bag's shell, so check it often for overheating and visually inspect frequently to make sure it's tumbling.
Storage
The less time your sleeping bag is compressed, the longer it will serve you by maintaining the loft necessary to keep you warm. Store your sleeping bag loose, in a cool, dry place. If you must store it in a bag, use the extended storage sack it came in, or something even larger. Never use a waterproof bag for long-term storage.
