Washing M90 and synthetic insulation

I would wash after construction to test stitching. Agitator or front loading machine? If front loader then go ahead.

I've washed my bivy made with M80 and have not noticed a difference in DWR.

Thanks for the info Ken. It's a front loader.

Did you use normal soap when you washed your bivy? And should I just use normal soap when I wash my sleeping bag?

having blown apart a bag (or two), i suspect that most of the damage is caused by the spin cycle, where because of the high rpm, lots of pressure develops behind membranes that can't let water thru fast enough … and stuff bursts.

i hand wash the bags (down) now, let them drain for a day or so, and then tumble dry.
they come out fantastic.

cheers,
v.

Hot dryers shrink synthetic insulations so you lose loft and length. A short tumble of a few minutes on warm after hang drying works for me.

I used baby laundry soap.

Good advice from David and Peter.

Hi Cesar

> should I just use normal soap when I wash my sleeping bag?
Whatever you do, do not use washing machine powder. That stuff leaves so much rubbish behind! And it ruins any DWR treatment.
I would recommend Atsko Sports Wash for any critical outdoors gear. Zero residue!

Cheers

Cool, thanks everyone for the good tips.

Roger, you raise an interesting point about removing DWR treatment. What if I want to remove it to make it more breathable? This summer bag will either be used in a bivy or in a tent, so no need for water resistance really. And in the winter it will be used as a bag liner, so again breath-ability is key.

But then again, I don't want to mess up the fabric. I won't be washing the insulation before I sew it, of course! But considering doing a pre-wash of the M90.

I'll be getting the bags sewn probably this coming weekend, so would like to dial in the final details before then.

Hi Cesar

Removing the DWR would be difficult, and I do not think it would alter the breathability of M90 at all. I simply would not worry about it.

Cheers

There's a lot of chatter about DWR and breathability but it seems like ill informed talk for these light nylons. Most of these nylons, like m90, are calendared to make them down proof (and it also increases wind/water resistance). Once the round threads are hot ironed flat by the calendaring process you can't undo that, so no amount of washing will dramatically increase the breathability.