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Posted by Bill S on February 26, 2008 at 6:47:12 pm EST
In reply to Cleaning an Older Down Bag posted by mmmthmtskier on December 15, 2007 at 5:21:37 am EST

Noticing Rocketman's comment and also Tom D's statement that could easily be misunderstood

Quote:

take it to a professional cleaner familiar with cleaning down bags.

I would repeat a very strong caution that the bag manufacturers and others have made:

DO NOT DRY CLEAN A SLEEPING BAG!

This goes for both synthetic and down bags. Many years ago, people used to do this, until it was realized that perclorethylene ("perc"), the most common fluid used by dry cleaners, (as well as carbon tetrachloride and trichlorethylene, predecessors to perc),and most other dry cleaning fluids are extremely toxic. There were a number of cases of people dying from perc in their bags. The recommendation was to let the freshly dry-cleaned bag air out for several days to allow all the vapors to escape (they never do completely evaporate - just smell the bag even after a week in the open air). Dry cleaners use other fluids these days and do make an effort to air the cleaned items. But sleeping inside a sleeping bag, especially on a cold night with it all snugged up around you, is risky. Breathing the fumes over time also is risky health-wise, since most cleaning fluids are known carcinogens (bit of trivia - heating perc sufficiently produces phosgene).

And there is the "minor" problem that dry cleaning fluids are solvents, intended to remove oil-based stains (like the body oils that get on your suit collar). Which means that, as Rocketman said, dry cleaning strips the oils from the down.

Use the products from Nikwax and McNett that are formulated especially for washing down bags and garments, and follow the directions. The older products (Ivory Snow soap flakes, Woolite, and a few others) still work, but the purpose-formulated down "soaps" work better. As I noted above and in previous threads on the topic, I sleep in my down bags (including my rather pricey Feathered Friends bags) frequently enough and spend enough time in my down parkas and down pants that I wash the bags and garments a couple times a year (especially after the month-long expeditions). I typically get 20-30 years use out of them (I'm still using my Lionel Terray down parka that I bought in 1964, though the 1995 Marmot 8000 meter jacket goes better in Antarctic temperatures - the 1975 EMS Expedition Parka is currently with my son in Wisconsin and has seen a lot of use this winter, he tells me).

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