Our hiking, trekking, or outdoor backpack has to endure quite a lot on a tour. Rain, sunlight, mud, dust, sweat, and the occasional spilled snack often take a heavy toll on it after just a short time. By washing your outdoor backpack regularly, you care for the material and thus extend the life of your important companion.
But how do you clean a backpack properly? Can you wash an outdoor backpack in the washing machine? Do you need a special detergent for cleaning? And what about using a tumble dryer?
In this guide, we have compiled the most important facts and tips for properly washing, drying, and waterproofing your backpack. So that your trusty companion will soon shine like new again.
How often should an outdoor backpack be washed?
If you use your backpack frequently, regular cleaning is all the more important. It is not just dust, mud, and moisture that take a heavy toll on large and small backpacks over time. Sweat, sunscreen residue, or contamination from leaking water bottles and food containers will soon make it smell questionable as well.
In principle, it is worth giving your backpack a thorough deep cleaning at least once a year. Depending on the degree of dirt, however, more or less elaborate cleaning measures are usually sufficient. Also, note that regular basic care will save you a lot of work, making the rather laborious task of washing a backpack the exception.
Should you wash a backpack in the washing machine?
To put it briefly: No, under no circumstances! Because when it comes to an outdoor or hiking backpack, we can only strongly advise against washing it in a washing machine.
The reason: The mechanical abrasion is absolutely harmful to the backpack material and its coating. The insides of outdoor backpacks in particular are often coated with polyurethane (PU). This makes them waterproof up to a certain level of moisture. In addition, some backpacks have a special exterior impregnation that is attacked by the washing process in the washing machine. But it is not just the PU layer that suffers: the mechanical stress that acts on the backpack in the machine can also cause small components such as plastic buckles or zippers to break. It does not matter whether you use a delicate detergent or wash the backpack on a cold cycle. And there is another disadvantage: the combination of detergent residue, sweat, and UV radiation even promotes the faster decomposition of the materials.
To wash a backpack correctly, there is no way around hand washing.
How can a backpack be cleaned correctly?
The method of cleaning the backpack depends, of course, primarily on how much it was put to the test during the tour. We therefore distinguish between basic cleaning and cleaning for light or heavy dirt. Experience shows that more thorough cleaning measures become necessary after intensive one-day tours or multi-day tours through nature and the wilderness.
Basic backpack cleaning:
Empty the backpack completely after every tour. Shake it out vigorously if necessary. Check the backpack for stains and dirt. If it is dried mud or light dust, this can be easily removed with a hand brush.
Backpack cleaning for light dirt:
By shaking and vacuuming the backpack, you remove all dirt such as small stones, sand, needles, and other loose debris. Use a microfiber cloth, sponge cloth, or a simple damp cloth to wipe out the inside of the backpack completely.
If the outside is dirty, you can decide whether to brush it off dry or give it a more thorough cleaning. To remove dust and similar light dirt, it is usually enough to rinse the outside of the backpack briefly with lukewarm water in the bathtub or shower. You can clean the back padding as well as the shoulder and hip straps with a mild dish soap. Wet them well and then squeeze them out several times like a sponge. Repeat this until no more detergent foam comes out.
Backpack cleaning for heavy dirt / intensive cleaning:
- Preparation: For this more detailed cleaning, the outdoor backpack is intensively soaked in water and washed thoroughly by hand. First, carefully brush off any coarse, dry dirt.
- Soaking: Place the dirty backpack in the bathtub or a washbasin and rinse it with lukewarm water. Add a mild dish soap or a special detergent and let the backpack soak for at least 15 minutes. Never use regular or chlorine-based detergent, as these can attack and destroy the PU layer.
- Washing: Remove the dirt with a brush. Stubborn stains can be rubbed with curd soap and left to soak in for a while. Don't forget to wash the shoulder straps, hip straps, and back padding thoroughly and squeeze them out well in the water several times. Zippers can be cleaned well with an old toothbrush.
- Rinsing: Let the wash water drain and rinse the backpack thoroughly with warm water. Ensure that all detergent residue is removed and that the padding is also squeezed out well.
Let the backpack dry properly
It is extremely important that you let your backpack dry well. Otherwise, unpleasant odors, mildew spots, or mold will occur very quickly. As already mentioned, drying in a tumble dryer is strictly taboo. Instead, air drying is the way to go. For this, it is best to hang the backpack upside down outdoors or over the shower/bathtub. Ensure that the still-damp backpack is well-ventilated from all sides. If your outdoor backpack consists of many small pockets, it is worth stuffing them with absorbent cloths or newspaper for about an hour. We advise against direct, intense sunlight as well as drying with a hairdryer or on a turned-up radiator. Because here, too, there is a risk that the material will be unnecessarily strained and become porous as a result.
Backpack care and waterproofing after cleaning
Following the backpack wash, you can perform a few care measures. Treat the zippers with some silicone spray or rub them with a bit of wax. Then open and close the zipper a few times and the compartments should (once again) open smoothly. You should also keep Velcro fasteners clean so that they close well. You can clean the fasteners perfectly with a toothbrush.
From time to time, it is a good idea to waterproof the outside of the backpack with a suitable care product. Water will bead off more easily this way, and dirt will not settle as quickly. As a result, the backpack needs to be washed less often, which also protects the material. However, note: People with sensitive skin sometimes suffer from skin irritation upon contact with waterproofing agents. If you would rather avoid them, you can of course also use waterproof dry bags and rain covers for the backpack.
First Aid: What to do about spilled liquids in the backpack?
A leaking water bottle, hastily packed provisions, or an overturned soup plate not only cause a mess in the moment but can also quickly turn into a stubborn stain. Here is our small guide on how to quickly remove spilled liquids and prevent worse:
- Dry immediately: React as quickly as possible and absorb as much as you can with a cloth, old T-shirt, or similar. Wipe the backpack well and insert some textile or tissue paper so that it can absorb the residual moisture even better.
- Cleaning on the same day: Soak the backpack on the same day. Improvise with a little soap and water if necessary. A thorough backpack cleaning takes place afterward, for example, when you are back home. For longer tours, it is worth taking a textile detergent with you, with which you can also soak the backpack on the go.
- Let it dry: Here, too, it is important to let the backpack dry out well after cleaning. Stuff it with newspaper if necessary.
Clean your outdoor backpack properly: The most important points at a glance
Here is a summary of the most important points for cleaning your backpack correctly:
- Absolutely refrain from cleaning in the washing machine!
- Always wash your outdoor backpack by hand.
- Rinse the backpack thoroughly after washing.
- Dirt can be removed dry with a hand brush or pre-treated with curd soap.
- Let the backpack dry in a well-ventilated place without intense sunlight.
- Use a toothbrush to clean zippers and Velcro fasteners.
- Renew the waterproofing from time to time or use waterproof dry bags and rain covers.
