Your hammock takes great care of you, now it’s time to return the favor. If you don’t know how to wash a hammock, you’ll probably throw it in the washing machine and make several mistakes along the way.
If you took our advice and bought one of these hammocks, chances are it’ll survive the abuse – but why risk it?
Most hammocks will come with some care instructions, but there are some basic guidelines to follow. Besides, who still has the instructions?
Use these simple tips to know how to clean a hammock, keeping the colors bright and the fabric strong, instead of taking a nap in the dust and dirt collected over many months. Don’t fret too much though, it’s easy to keep your hammock clean and fresh throughout its lifetime.
- Hand Wash – Using hammock soap only you can actually do hand wash. Just fill your bathtub, or a kiddie pool with cool water and about a quart of mild detergent or buy some Hammock Soap and use a soft bristle brush. Use your hands to wash it and scrub away the dirt from your hammock. Then empty the water from the tub and refill with water to rinse off the excess soap repeat this step as important. When clean just hang dry.
- Machine Wash – There are hammocks that can be washed in a washing machine. What one needs to do is just add a little of a dose of mild washing detergent and wash it in the gentle cycle.
General Guidelines on How to Wash a Hammock
Removing Biners
Make sure you don’t wash the biners. Remove them and set them to the side. One thing that you should always do is to keep a severe track, though, so when your hammock is clean and dry you can get right back to hammocking.
Washing the Hammock Gently
Add just a little dose of a gentle detergent, if you have a washing machine, Wash your hammock alone in the washing machine with nothing else. This will get it the cleanest as your hammock will have enough room to shake off the dirt in the machine. There is no need to add any additional cleaning agents or fabric softeners. What one needs to do is wash and rinse it on a delicate cycle in a front-loading washer dipped in cool water.
If you don’t have a washing machine, then pour on some soapy water or gentle detergent and scrub away with your hands, spread the hammock on some deck or maybe on a concrete surface and soak it thoroughly with a garden hose. It is not recommended using any brushes as they will compromise the integrity of the hammock materials.
Dry Your Hammock
The general notion is that drying your hammock is very tedious and down-winding job. But what you need to know is that hammocks are easy to dry, especially on a sunny breezy day if possible so you can air dry your hammock outside and guess what it is a simple process.
You will need to air dry the hammock, regardless if you do your drying indoors or outdoors. There is a reason why they always come out smelly and why it is recommended to air dry them.
It won’t take longer than thirty minutes for your hammock to completely dry when drying outside in the fresh air.
Use clothespins and clip your hammock to the drying line. Sometimes the hammocks become too heavy and in order to make it light, you want to clip it from different lengths.
A strong rope that you can tie between two trees or poles, as you need to get a proper length. Having a tightening mechanism of some sort is a good idea.
Buying tighteners is a good choice as they attach to the line and make it easy to take up any slack without having to untie and retie the rope. Be sure hammock won’t brush the ground that’s why to hang your line high enough so.
The best way to keep your hammock in good shape for many years is to protect it from the dangers of hot and cold weather. Make sure not to keep your hammock in or near humid or salty air, with damp equipment or clothing, or near corrosive chemicals. The simple reason behind all this is that nobody wants to have a bad or funky smell in it.
Wash the Carabiners
In any hammock aficionado’s gear assortment, carabiners play an important role Be sure to keep them regularly inspected and maintained just to enhance your safety,
By blowing dust and dirt from the hinge area, clean the carabiner gates. In cases, if notice a sticky gate over it, wash it in warm, soapy water, rinse it thoroughly and let it dry.
Use or Store Your Hammock
You can put your hammock to use, once your carabiners and hammock are dry and take care of. before you decide to store hammock, make sure that it is completely dry before use.
Keep your hammock stored away during the winter to avoid damage. During the summer, keep it out of direct sunlight for long periods of time and when not in use. This will help the fabric maintain its strong colors.
They will not last long if you store your carabiners in salty air or humid, with clothing or damp equipment, or near corrosive chemicals.
Conclusion
With these guidelines on how to wash a hammock, you surely won’t make mistakes in washing hammock. The best part is that the hammock will look new always. There won’t be any defects in color, texture or fiber.