Marmot is a dependable camping brand that offers sleeping brands for every type of weather imaginable. No matter what adventure you’re planning.
Marmot has an option for budgets of every size and customers of every shape. That being said, your Marmot sleeping bag will take care of you as long as you take care of it.
Follow these easy steps for washing a Marmot sleeping bag so that you can keep your sleeping bag clean and well maintained for years of epic adventures to come!
Steps for Washing A Marmot Down Sleeping Bag
Down sleeping bags are most preferable for cold but dry climates, as getting a down sleeping bag wet will collapse the down insulation and remove its heating properties. Marmot offers a wide variety of down options, but they should be treated with great care.
Hand washing a down sleeping bag is the gentlest and safest option if you don’t want to bother with special down soaps or worry about your particular machine’s settings being too rough on your Marmot bag’s fabric.
To hand-wash your down bag, just fill a bathtub with lukewarm water. This will provide a gentle cleansing effect without providing too much heat that damages the material. Use a gentle detergent, but avoid standard detergents that can ruin the down covering’s natural oils.
Let your bag soap in the soapy solution for an hour.
Next, drain the tub and refill it with clean, lukewarm water. Gently press on your bag to help remove dirt and grime, but don’t be too rough. This can warp the material. Repeat this process until your Marmot bag is clean enough for your satisfaction and detergent suds have stopped coming out of the bag.
Lay the bag out to dry, in sunlight or partial shade if you want the color to last as long as possible. You can put it into a front-loading dryer and tumble dry it on low, but natural drying is usually the most gentle option for a Marmot sleeping bag.
Because down sleeping bags provide warmth due to the tiny air pockets created between the feathers, you will want to take your somewhat dry sleeping bag and manually part the packed in feathers. You can also gently fluff the sleeping bag like one would any other feather-based pillow, but please beware of straining the fabric.
Finally, store your Marmot down sleeping bag in a loose manner to prevent further clumping of the feathers inside the bag to ensure optimal performance when you need it again!
Steps for Washing A Synthetic Marmot Sleeping Bag
Marmot sleeping bags that are filled with synthetic insulation are often easier to clean and maintain as their lining provides insulation even after getting wet. Synthetic lined bags can be washed using the bathtub method discussed above, but you won’t have to worry when choosing the proper settings as long as you have access to a front-loading washing machine.
Simply load the Marmot bag inside-out with all of the zippers unfastened. Use a gentle or even a down fabric washing aid and be sure to select a gentle wash cycle where the water temperature will not rise above forty degrees Celsius to avoid warping to the bag or damaging the lining.
As you remove your bag from the washing machine, it’s very important to squeeze as much water out of it as possible to keep it from damaging the shape of the bag. You can be more aggressive with wringing the water out than a down sleeping bag because you don’t have to worry about the insulation being ruined by clumping up as much.
Then tumble dry your sleeping bag after you have spread it properly throughout the drum to ensure maximum heat coverage. Do not use dryer sheets as this can damage some Marmot materials.
Finally, after the dryer cycle, simply allow your synthetic Marmot bag to air dry in an extended position for a day or two before rolling it up for storage.
What to Avoid When Washing Your Sleeping Bag
The following should never be done when going through the cleaning process for a Marmot sleeping bag.
- Dry cleaning
- Dryer sheets
- Storing before it’s dry
Dry cleaning your sleeping bag has a higher chance of harsh cleaning chemicals damaging the bag’s fabric materials.
Using dryer sheets or softeners when washing can cause the insulating materials in the bag to stick together and ruin its breathability level.
If you don’t let the sleeping bag dry out completely before rolling it up and storing it, the damp parts can cause issues with mold.
How Often Should You Wash a Marmot Sleeping Bag?
If you use your sleeping bag frequently, it should be washed every couple of months at a minimum. For those people who only use it once or twice a year, frequent cleaning isn’t recommended unless it becomes noticeably dirty.
Washing your Marmot sleeping bag too often can lead to the materials wearing down and not lasting as long as they normally would.
