I like to share my gear — I dole it out like sweet. I’ve loads of it and am at all times giddy about spreading the love.
After which this occurs. And all of the sudden, I’ve to discover ways to take away mould from my outside gear. I permit the hate to circulate freely and lean into the darkish facet.
Which is what you’ll have to get mould out of a sleeping bag; that, and a little bit little bit of chemistry. Learn on to be taught from my anger-fueled foray into eradicating mould from a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and extra.
I used to be packing for the airport, on the brink of spend a stable 4 days sleeping within the desert, after I grabbed my outdated devoted sleeping bag setup. For some cause, I made a decision to tug it out and take a peek to verify all of the elements and items had been accounted for, together with my pad, pillow, and inflation sack.
Professional tip: By no means belief that folks put issues again the place they discovered them. It should depart you lacking the elements you possible want most.
That’s when a cloud of mould smacked me within the face with a light-weight however violent power. The complete sleeping bag, pad, pillow, and stuff sack had been a speckled roll of mould.
After my mind dove into the archives to determine who I used to be going to need to beat with a shovel for packing away my gear moist, I fought off the intuition to throw it out and as a substitute determined to try to save this sleep system. So far as gear goes, it actually does imply so much to me.
However how do you do away with mould on a down sleeping bag? The web is rife with opinions starting from, “Don’t hassle, simply throw it out,” to “MORE BORAX!”
Come together with me on the journey I embarked upon to save lots of my favourite sleep system from the ravages of mould.
WARNING: I’m violating all of the care directions and proposals of my sleeping bag’s producer. I’m additionally taking a danger by selecting to deal with and probably cuddle with mould spores. You could completely destroy your sleeping bag following these strategies. You could wreck your washer. You’ll positively harm your delight. Proceed at your individual danger. You may have been warned.
Learn how to Clear Mould From a Sleeping Bag
To preface, this gear tragedy didn’t simply befall my favourite sleeping bag however a complete sleep system I’d constructed up and invested in.
This isn’t even my greatest sleeping bag. Heck, it isn’t my warmest or most comfy. It’s an important sleeping bag and pad, however not my greatest one. It’s greater than that to me — it’s sentimental.
That is the primary buy my accomplice and I purchased collectively. We each ordered a full Large Agnes sleep system in order that we may journey collectively.
It was cash I didn’t need to spend on the time, however I spent it anyway.
Right here’s what I used to be making an attempt to save lots of:
Step 1: Cry
Take your time.
Step 2: Determine If Your Moldy Gear Is Too Far Gone
That is a kind of very important steps. Is your bag too far gone? Is coping with mould one thing you’re prepared to danger? Do you’ve gotten issues about even being across the bag in an try to reserve it? Will you ever really feel comfy respiratory the air poofed out of your bag once more?
And, importantly, is your bag down or artificial?
Mould is just not a joke. Relying on the kind of mould, you possibly can danger coping with some critical well being implications.
My rule with mould has nearly at all times been: Toss it! This isn’t simply because my well being is essential to me. Let’s be trustworthy; I’ve made way more detrimental well being selections than twiddling with a little bit of fungus.
Nevertheless, I don’t try this mildewy moldy odor. Nope. It doesn’t matter how faint it’s. I hate that odor and refuse to cuddle up with it.
That being stated, if you happen to’re going to finish up tossing the factor anyway and have the fundamental provides, time, and willingness to strive, you actually don’t have anything to lose.
Step 3: Collect Mould-Wrecking Provides
First issues first: There are numerous guides with thorough directions about washing sleeping luggage. That is a kind of duties I assume you, as a sleeping bag proprietor, possible don’t do practically typically sufficient. I do know I don’t.
Artificial luggage are simpler to take care of. Simply wash them. Then dry them.
Down sleeping luggage, however, provide a bit extra of a washing battle.
My favourite little rundown of how you can correctly care on your down bag occurs to be the unbelievable “Learn how to Wash a Down Sleeping Bag” information by GearJunkie’s personal Sean McCoy.
It consists of ideas and tips for utilizing the right washing medium, like Nikwax Down Wash Direct, and ensuring you’re utilizing the precise washer and drying strategies.
These are helpful classes for on a regular basis life. However as soon as mould seems, we’re past that.
There are a great deal of on-line boards and threads discussing if and how one can get mould out of a down bag. Put together for the haphazard journey I selected.
Private Protecting Gear & Chemical substances
We’re coping with mould, so perhaps masks up and seize a pair of gloves. Past that, I went with some on-line ideas I discovered: borax, laundry booster, laundry cleaning soap, and vinegar.
Except for that, I utilized my fanciest broom stir stick and a pair of rubber boots.
Let’s do that!
Step 4: Start With a Soak
Right here’s what I did:
- Fill your bathtub with the most popular water your little water heater can muster.
- Whereas it fills, dump an irrational quantity of borax, laundry cleaning soap, laundry booster, and vinegar within the water. I used a full cup of laundry cleaning soap and simply shook the containers of laundry booster and borax till the water took on a hazy look. For the vinegar, I went with the entire 16-ounce bottle.
- Add your sleeping bag and all of the equipment. Don’t neglect issues like your stuff sack. That little bugger is a mould holder now.
- Seize your stirring stick. Mine was a brush. Yours is perhaps a baseball bat or a hockey stick. We don’t decide.
- Stir that stew and squish all of the supplies till the air escapes and your gear is submerged.
- Let it simmer. I left mine in a single day, about 12 hours.
The following morning, what you’ll possible discover is a little bit of disgrace and loads of heavy materials.
That is gross. I knew it will be gross, however I used to be unprepared for this degree of filth. The water appeared to maneuver as if it had gained some degree of consciousness. I used to be disgusted. You in all probability will probably be, too.
At this stage, it’s time to empty the monsters and get to work.
Step 5: Squish Out the Nasty Water
Getting the water out of the sleeping bag is more durable than you would possibly suppose. I selected the stomp and squish methodology.
Get your favourite pair of rubber boots. I extremely suggest the Huk Rogue Wave Boots, however hear, any pair of Muck boots or XtraTuf boots will do. Now, climb into your tub and begin squishing. This takes a substantial quantity of effort and warning. I’m not saying that I fell as soon as, however I’m additionally not not saying that. Watch out.
When you get sufficient water out of the factor you could raise it, I like to recommend slopping that pet right into a tote or laundry basket for the switch instantly into your washer.
Step 6: Rinse, Spin, and Drain Cycle
Don’t put your bag right into a top-loading machine with an agitator. It’s known as an agitator as a result of it can agitate your bag into items. That is a kind of do as I say, not as I do moments. For those who don’t have one, it’s best to in all probability haul your bag to a laundromat.
In case your washer is a entrance loader and has settings that permit it to spin and drain out the water with out going via a full cycle, try this first. That approach, you’re getting all that moldy water whipped away earlier than getting down to wash enterprise.
If not, oh effectively. Simply wash the dang factor. Plop your drenched bag, pad, pillow, stuff sack, and every other treasures you could have had included into your machine and go.
Load your washer up with all of the fixings: laundry cleaning soap, borax, laundry booster, and vinegar. I’ve learn that Pine-Sol removes mildew smells, however I haven’t taken that “piney recent” leap but.
Set that cycle to “extremely heavy soil” wash, most rinse, or most no matter different possibility you’ve gotten. This isn’t the time to tread evenly.
Step 7: Dry
Standard knowledge tells us to hold our sleeping bag within the nice vast yonder to dry within the pristine mountain air. Bolder knowledge tells us to place it within the dryer on a low/light warmth setting with tennis balls.
I slopped my bag instantly into the dryer and set it to medium since I had no concept whether or not this was going to work or not, and I didn’t have time to attend round and be light.
Now, we wait.
Verdict
Nicely, right here we’re. I’ll admit I’m cautiously stunned with the end result.
The sleeping pad appears and smells higher now than it did after I purchased it. It’s an absolute keeper.
The inflatable pillow? Nicely, it’s nonetheless dingy. You possibly can nonetheless see the place the mould was, and it doesn’t odor practically as recent. It was a $20 buy that’s now headed for wherever however my head. It’s headed for burial.
The sleeping bag? The jury remains to be out. It appears good, however it smells … off. It doesn’t odor unhealthy. I’m positive it smells higher than it did earlier than the mould incident, however it smells like laundry left within the washer just some days too lengthy after which rewashed, however not effectively sufficient.
It has that mildewy essence of a swimsuit that lived in a grocery bag within the backseat of a automobile for every week earlier than being washed and reworn to a waterpark with actually good scorching canine (hypothetically talking). It isn’t sturdy, however it’s there, and I hate it.
I’ll be soaking this pet in Pine-Sol and making each try and do away with the odor, however for now, I don’t know if this will probably be profitable.
Did I save the bag? Certain. Do I need to sleep in it? Not likely.
HUGE UPDATE
A Pine-Sol soak in a bucket in a single day and a further wash/dry introduced full success! My sleeping bag smells so clear. There appears to be no lingering aroma of mould or mildew, and I consider she’s been saved! There’s positively a little bit of fluff loss, however it’s a small value to pay.
WE DID IT.
I feel this unlucky turd is formally polished.
Bonus Step 9: Determine the Perp, Take Correct Motion
Now that you simply’ve both saved your bag or wasted helpful time and assets solely to fail, it’s time to make sure this by no means occurs once more.
I haven’t been ready to determine who the final one that used my sleeping bag was. I’ve narrowed it all the way down to ladies and kids as a result of dimension constraints of the bag. It may very well be certainly one of my very own offspring or probably a member of my accomplice’s household.
Regardless, I’m at present researching whether or not or not the leftover borax will assist me cover the proof as soon as I do determine them. (For authorized causes, it is a joke.)