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How to Wash a Hammock – Attractive Tips in 2024

After using your hammock for a full summer seasons, you might need to consider keeping it clean. Hammocks can get dirty because of coffee spills, dust, mud and other outdoor conditions. In as much as most hammocks are designed to be dirt resistant, it is great to spot dirt and clean them so that you can maintain the flawless look. The big question is how to wash a hammock. Well, cleaning a hammock is not a complicated task if you have the right information.

I made this guide to provide you with everything that you need to know about cleaning the hammock. You will learn how to clean the hammock, store it the right way and other hammock maintenance tips. Read on to find more details.

Ways of Washing a Hammock

You need to keep your hammock clean often if you spend more time outside. Maintaining your hammock clean is important because it improves the looks and prevents the buildup of dirt. On top of that, you will not have to deal with mildew growth or infestation of bugs when your hammock is clean.

So, how do you clean a hammock? What are the methods that you need to use? After using your eno hammock for some time the fabric will get dirty. You can either choose to wash your hammock by hand or using a machine. Let us have a closer look at each of these methods so that you can determine which one is tight for the type of hammock you have.

1. By Use of Machine

Is it possible to machine wash a hammock? This is probably the first question that you have in mind. Yes, it is possible to machine wash many hammocks.

Before you wash it, remove all the clips (carabiners). This is because they can easily damage the washing machine. We are aware that the hammock might be stained. Use baking soda solvent to act on the stains first and leave it to react for some good 5 minutes. Wipe out the paste from the hammock using a clean piece of cloth.

NB: Strictly do not use a washing machine with an agitator. Rather use hands.

Use cool water setting to clean. Hang it to dry.

You should also avoid using bleach on your hammock.

portable hammock stand.

2. Hand Washing

This is the second method that you can also choose to use to clean a hammock. Before you start the washing, remove the carabiners. 

Add a recommended detergent in your basins or tubs. Submerge your hammock in the water and leave it for some time for the detergent to react with the dirt and stains. In case there are tough stains it is advisable to add baking soda paste to remove them. Gently scrub the hammock and rinse it with cold water. Hang to dry in the open air. 

Whether you have the portable hammock or any other model, you can choose either of the two methods.

Step By Step Guide On How to Clean a Hammock

Most of the hammock in the market come along with some instructions on how to handle them. We are pretty sure that most of you don’t have them now. Worry no more we got you. The basic guidelines that follow are great and we recommend you to follow them to retain the quality of the hanging rope chair fabric. Make it clean and strong. This is an easy task to handle. We believe it is not worth lying on a dusty and stained hammock chair. 

You can wash a hammock in two ways. Statistics show that out of 10 people owning hammocks 6 use machine washing while four use hand washing methods to clean their chairs. This makes it worthy to bring it close to you the two methods. Some of the guidelines are similar to both methods include the following.

Step 1: Remove the Carabiners

Before washing a hammock either by hand or using a machine you must remove the hammock stand and the carabiners. They pose a risk to your washing machine when they are not removed. You might also lose them when washing using your hands. Ensure that you keep close track of the carabiners to avoid losing them.

Is your Hammock chair stained? If yes let's proceed to step 2.

Step 2: Add Baking Soda paste

Baking soda paste is made by mixing baking soda powder with water. 7.4ml baking soda and 1.2 ml water. The paste should have a medium level of thickness. If it is thicker than the required degree, add water, and if it becomes watery add more powder. So why use this paste? The paste is used in removing tough stains on the fabric of the hammock. 

  • Apply the paste on the stained areas only.
  • Leave the paste to dry over some time.
  • Agitate the fabric using hands or put it in a washing machine with no agitator.
  • If the stains dominate, add more paste and repeat the process. 

Step 3: Put your Hammock in the washing machine

This is for the largest percentage of Hammock owners who use a washing machine to clean the chairs. Using a Washing machine with an agitator is strictly prohibited. Apply a mild detergent into the washer. The use of bleaching chemicals and material softeners is also not allowed. They will interfere and lower the quality of the Fabric. Such occurrences will largely slash the lifespan and durability of the hammock chair.

Step 4: The settings

Here we are going to discuss the settings to plat around to get the task done. We have to maintain the quality of the fabric. For the Hammock sleeping pads, set the water to cool. Set and use the delicate cycle only. After cleaning it dry it in the open hanging lines.

Considering that 40% of Hammock owners use the traditional methods for cleaning hammocks we have to look at what the process entails. This method is used by people who also own washing machines with agitators leaving hand washing as the only option available. So after unclipping the carabiners as stated above as the first process;

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Step 5: Add a detergent in the tub

Use the recommended detergents only. Add 59 ml of the detergent into the tub. Ensure the outlet of the tab is closed so that the detergent does not go to waste. Again do not use cloth softeners and bleaching agents. They will do you no good. Fill the tub with cold water to a height of 3.8 cm. The height of the water is largely dependent on the size of the tub you are using.

Step 6: Submerge the Hammock chair

Take your hammock chair and submerge it in the tub until it is completely wet. Leave it for a few minutes. For the few minutes, the detergent reacts with the dirt and removes it from the fabric ensuring that you will have an easy time washing it. Gently scrub the hammock using your hands until you are satisfied.

What do we do if there are stains left after the dirt is washed?

  • Prepare baking soda paste (see instructions above)
  • Apply the paste directly on top of the stains
  • Leave it to act on the stressful stains
  • Remove the paste (which is a mixture of stains and paste) from the fabric
  • Agitate the Hammock chair 

Step 7: Rinse the Hammock

After washing the Hammock chair, rinse it using cold and clean water. Rinsing removes the detergents completely from the fabric.

Step 8: Hang to dry

Take your hammock outside and hang it to dry. Let the fresh air act on the hammock as well as sunlight.

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Step 9: Storage

If you are not going to use the Hammock the same day, return the carabiners to their positions and fold it. Store it in a cabinet or closet whichever works for you. Ensure the storage area is free from dust.

how to make a hammock stand

In the above step by step guidelines on how to wash a Hammock, there are some things that we have written off. These are the things that if you do them, sooner than later you shall be walking into a shop to buy a new hammock having destroyed the first. Why is the use of fabric softeners and bleaching chemicals prohibited?

Fabric softeners are prohibited because they degrade the quality of the hammock fabric. This lowers durability and therefore reduces the lifespan of the hammock chair. Sincerely speaking no one would love to hit the shops or the online trading platforms to buy a similar product. On the other hand, the bleaching chemicals slowly wear out the fabric rendering it useless after some time. 

How to Clean a Hammock Rope

As a Hammock owner ropes are part of your equipment. Do the ropes get dirty? This might be a question crossing your mind. The answer is yes. Both the hammock and the rope get dirty and deserve to be cleaned. Three methods can be used to wash a hammock hanging rope.

Top-load washing machine

After loosening the ropes from the Hammock form a daisy chain by tying them in daisy shape. Why is this so? Forming a daisy chain will help in preventing the rope from getting to the agitator. The agitator might destroy the rope or vice versa. Place the ropes inside the washer carefully. The settings to use should be the most gentle with cold water. Most ropes have nylon as a material used. Hot water will damage the nylon. The use of detergents is optional. Rinse and dry the ropes. 

Front-load washing machine

With this method of washing, it is recommended to place the rope in a pillow or cushion casing. Close the open end of the casing to ensure that the rope does not come out. Put the case inside the washer. Kindly set the washers’ settings to cool water and gentle cycle. Do not use the dryer to dry the rope lest you damage it.

Hand washing

Put water in a tub, cold water. Apply a suitable detergent into the water if you like. Soak it in the water and clean it. Flake using a clean dry towel repeatedly until it is clean. If you want the rope to dry faster, use a fan to blow of water particles from the rope.

The Do’s And Don’ts While Cleaning a Hammock

While cleaning the best rope hammocks there are rules of the thumb that must be followed to achieve the desired results. Likewise, there are dos and don’ts. To all our esteemed readers, the don’s must never be committed. This is because their consequences have a bad effect on your hammock chairs.

The Do’s

Always remember to remove the carabiners before you wash your hammock chairs. This should be done regardless of the method of washing the hammock that is employed. When setting the washing machine always ensure that you use cold water. The cleaning mode should be set to the most gentle. A tougher mode will destroy the fabric making the hammock.

Stains should be removed using baking soda or any other recommended chemical. Stains destroy the beauty of the hammock chairs. Ensure that the thickness of the paste formed is medium not too thick and not so dilute. In case it is dilute, add baking soda powder and if the vice versa happens add water. 

Rinsing is a very important role when washing the hammock. If the detergent is not rinsed it will form new stains. No one would love that. We recommend that you use clean and cold water to rinse the hammock chair. You will get the best cleaning results that help retain the beauty of your hammock chair. What else would you be interested in other than a clean and stainless hammock after every wash?

What method is the best for drying a hammock sleeping pad? Since using a washing machine dryer is prohibited you need to use other methods. The reason as to why the dryer is not recommended is that it may burn the hammock fabric. These will be covered below in-depth on the don'ts.

The Don’ts

best folding hammock

You must not do the things that will be listed here. These things here are going to destroy the quality of the hammock chairs as well as reduce its life span. 

Please do not put your hammock chair inside the washing machine before you remove the carabiners. Else you will have a destroyed machine. Do not use a washing machine with an agitator. If your machine has one it is recommended that you wash using your hands. 

The use of bleaching chemicals and fabric softeners is strictly prohibited. Bleaching agents and fabric softeners destroy the woven cotton threads and other materials used in making the hammock chairs. 

Hot water is not allowed. This is because hot water will damage the fabric. Because the fabric might have nylon the nylon will get damaged. This is what you should avoid always. Never make a mistake in the setting.

When it comes to drying the rope hammock never use the drying machine dryer. This is because the heat dissipated is too much and will destroy the hammock chair. 

How To Maintain Your Hammock

To last you long a hammock has to be maintained. What are the basics of maintaining a hammock chair? The first thing you need to know is to fix/hang your hammock properly. All carabiners, hooks, and ropes must be placed and attached properly. This will help avoid accidents as well as damaging the chairs. 

Another way that is very essential when it comes to maintaining a hammock chair is knowing how to lay on it properly. Maintaining the right posture and angle will help elongate the lifespan of the hammock chairs. Ensure that your weight has a perfect distribution. You can do this by laying on your back. When lying across the hammock, (only applies to the wide best hammock chair such as the double hammock chairs). Lie at the center to avoid exerting more pressure on one side and leaving the other. With these positioning skills, we assure you of a long term service of the hammock chair. 

Most of the hammock chairs as well as the best portable hammock stands are not waterproof. This means that it rained on the hammocks will get damaged. To avoid such situations it is good to always fold it and keep it safe after use. Avoid as much as possible having drinks since a spill of a drink causes stains that will stress you while washing. 

On a windy day, it is not advisable to use a hammock. The wind current will swing the chair strongly and might cause breakages. If your hammock chair has a stand the chair will be forced to tilt beyond the recommended angle which means that sooner than later your hammock will break down.  To avoid such, use your hammock on a cool day. 

Cleaning your hammock chair is another way of ensuring that it lasts long. There is no way we can talk about maintaining a hammock and miss the part on cleaning. To last longer always maintaining high cleanliness levels.

Final Verdict

Best folding Hammock chairs are a great source of pleasure and relaxation. The days when moods are somber, you need to escape from the world a little bit. A swinging hammock will be of great help. After prolonged use, the hammock will get dirty as well as stained maybe from the spilled juice or coffee. A dusty as well as a stained hammock chair will not satisfy you. Cleaning a hammock chair is an easy process. Follow all guidelines as stipulated above to get the best results. We hope that the review has been of great help to all of you.

William Jones
 

I launched this blog as a product reviewer and passionate blogger. Beside provide advance material, guiding you towards a better home and outdoors gears essentials reviews. I devote my maximum time creating research-based product recommended to you for an easy pick.

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