Choosing a sleeping bag liner and keeping it clean is a much better choice than camping with our sleeping bag only. Cleaning the bag liner will be easier and save hours of cleaning a sleeping bag. Since washing a sleeping bag takes so long and increases the wear, it’s recommended to use a liner.
The fill in a sleeping bag gets dirty with oils and sweat from our skin. Over time this breaks down the fill inside the bag, harming its loftiness, reducing its efficiency. If you look at the detailed article I wrote about how to clean a sleeping bag here; you’ll find cleaning the liner instead of the bag will save hours.
How to Wash Your Silk Sleeping Bag Liner
Hand washing your silk sleeping bag liner is a preferred method to avoid any rips or damage. It’s also going to be most time-consuming than throwing it in the washer machine, but it’s worth it. You can use your bathtub or a container that’s big enough to hold the liner.
- Clean bathtub or container to remove any soap scum or small pebbles.
- Fill the container with cool water. Hot water will damage and shrink the natural silk fibers in our liner.
- Turn your sleeping bag liner inside out to remove any small pebbles in it.
- Briefly soak the liner in a detergent in cool water. Be sure to select a detergent designed for hand-washing silk, follow the instructions on the label, and soak for a maximum of 5 minutes.
- Place the liner in a weak solution of water and white vinegar to rinse it and remove any residual detergent.
- Rinse with clean cold water to finish the washing process.
- Lightly squeeze the excess water from the liner. Do not wring silk, as this will damage the fibers.
- Place the liner flat on a towel and roll it up to remove as much moisture as possible.
- Finally, let the liner dry flat on something clean.
Why Should I Use a Sleeping Bag Liner
A sleeping bag liner has many benefits. Adding warmth, protecting you from nasty bedding if you’re traveling, but most of all, they help keep your sleeping bag clean. The best way to take care of your sleeping bag is to wash it as few as times as possible.
It’s a bit of a chore to wash sleeping bags and shouldn’t be done every time after we camp or go backpacking. It’s much easier to clean a liner than an entire sleeping bag. If you don’t like the feel of a sleeping bag, your liner can feel gentler on your skin.
If you are in a hot and humid environment, you can sleep in your liner and skip the sleeping bag altogether.
Everyone sleeps differently, but when compared to other sleeping bag liners, silk prevents getting tangled up with what your wearing, which seems to be a common problem with fleece liners. Silk can be prone to tears, but if treated right, it can be durable. Another great benefit of silk is that it’s easy to clean and maintain.
Sleeping Bag Liner Silk vs. Other Material
Silk is one of the most comfortable and lightest sleeping bag liner materials. You can choose the liner shape, same as your sleeping bag, rectangle, or mommy shaped. We have a few different options for material.
Synthetic Liners
Synthetic liners can be light, and they have a bit of a range between light and cool or heavy and warm. A thicker liner can add 20 degrees to your sleeping bag. Be careful about manufacturers’ claims of adding warmth to your sleeping bag, and the thermal liner rating can be misleading.
Cotton Liners
Cotton liners will be bulkier and not as compact. They are great for traveling but not great for backpacking. The problem with cotton sleeping bag liners is that they don’t wick away the moisture well.
Fleece Liners
Fleece liners will add warmth to your bag, but they tend to tangle up when moving around in your sleeping bag. If you enjoy the feel of fleece, it will be nice sleeping in it.
Recommended Sleeping Bag Liners
The Browint Silk Sleeping Bag Liner is 100% Natural Mulberry Silk. What makes Mulberry Silk is Different from other kinds of silk. Mulberry silk is the highest quality silk available for purchase today. The unique thing about Mulberry silk is how it is produced.
Mulberry silk has its history in China, where local farmers grow Mulberry trees and harvest the leaves for silkworms to feed on. The resulting cocoons are spun into raw silk fibers. Mulberry silk is also recommended for sleeping bag liners because it’s more durable than common silk, such as Habotai silk.
I like this liner because it comes in a large size, so you won’t feel constrained while sleeping. The XL is 87”x43” while it’s about 9 inches wider than a standard liner. This is nice on hot summer nights, where I flip off my sleeping bag altogether. Check the current price of the Browint silk sleeping bag Liner on Amazon here.
The Friendly Swede has a non-silk sleeping bag liner that, from everything I read, feels like silk. Truth be told, it’s polyester with some silk textures. Unlike the Browint liner, The Friendly Swede has a zipper that goes all the way down.
It’s also machine washable, but I’d still recommend hand washing to prevent rips. If you already have or are on the fence about silk liners, this is the best alternative I’ve found keeping the feel of silk, with synthetic durability.
Check out the current price and all the colors of The Friendly Swede sleeping bag liner here.
Silk is a luxurious and natural protein fabric, extremely soft and smooth. I hope you found these cleaning and care tips useful. If you have any cleaning tips or have a preferred sleeping bag liner material, please let me know and leave a comment below!
FAQ – Cleaning a Silk Sleeping Bag Liner
What’s the Best Way to Wash a Silk Sleeping Bag Liner?
Hand washing your silk sleeping bag liner is a preferred method to avoid any rips or damage. It’s also going to be most time-consuming than throwing it in the washer machine, but it’s worth it. You can use your bathtub or a container that’s big enough to hold the liner.
How Long Should I Soak a Silk Sleeping Bag Liner?
Briefly soak the liner in a detergent in cool water. Be sure to select a detergent designed for hand-washing silk, follow the instructions on the label, and soak for a maximum of 5 minutes.
How Often Do You Wash a Silk Sleeping Bag Liner?
Once you get back from camping. Use the preferred hand washing method.
Can You Put a Silk Sleeping Bag Liner in the Washing Machine?
You can with the correct detergent but, the preferred method is hand washing. You’ll get the most life from the liner this way.
