I have an old Kata Lightri 312 DL which was stored in a garage for several years. It has some mildew I tried removing with disinfectant wipes.
Can I just throw it into a washing machine and let it air dry?
Normally I would've just thrown it away and purchased a new one, but this bag has been discontinued. It is the perfect bag for taking a camera on bike rides. Manfrotto purchased Kata, but unfortunately they didn't continue making this particular bag.
Might depend on the fabric. I have a cotton "canvas" bag which I believe has a water resistant ("proofing") coating. Some of these are waxed or oiled. Detergents could damage the coating. A synthetic bag might not be a concern. I'd think cold and gentle and air dry. If it has metal buckles or fittings, maybe put in a pillowcase and tie it off to avoid chipping the interior of the washer. Straps off if you can, to not get all wrapped up on the impeller, of, again, in a bag.
Depending on the material, dry cleaning might be an option. If you know of a reputable dry cleaner that would give you an honest assessment, it wouldn't hurt to ask.
Craig Gillette wrote:
Might depend on the fabric. I have a cotton "canvas" bag which I believe has a water resistant ("proofing") coating. Some of these are waxed or oiled. Detergents could damage the coating. A synthetic bag might not be a concern. I'd think cold and gentle and air dry. If it has metal buckles or fittings, maybe put in a pillowcase and tie it off to avoid chipping the interior of the washer. Straps off if you can, to not get all wrapped up on the impeller, of, again, in a bag.
Thanks! I think it's made of nylon (or whatever newer bags are made of). It's definitely synthetic!
LarryBeemer wrote:
Depending on the material, dry cleaning might be an option. If you know of a reputable dry cleaner that would give you an honest assessment, it wouldn't hurt to ask.
Desmolicious wrote:
Just throw it in the washer w plenty of soap cold cycle, then air dry it.
Don’t over think this! It is a mildewy old bag and will be totally fine.
As a person who has watched some expensive outdoor gear come apart in a regular washing machine (ever seen a Gore-Tex jacket on which all the seam tape came loose?), I’d probably first try spot cleaning with a brush and some soap rather than chucking it in the washer.
Of course, if it isn’t a treasure and its loss would not hurt, you can be a little less cautious.
gdanmitchell wrote:
As a person who has watched some expensive outdoor gear come apart in a regular washing machine (ever seen a Gore-Tex jacket on which all the seam tape came loose?), I’d probably first try spot cleaning with a brush and some soap rather than chucking it in the washer.
Of course, if it isn’t a treasure and its loss would not hurt, you can be a little less cautious.
I have read about that happening! I find it so bizarre that despite some gear (like Gore-tex) being made for outdoor use, it breaks apart in a washing machine! That's one of the concerns I have regarding this bag.
On a side note, several years ago I was shooting an outdoor, country-themed wedding. While I was busy taking pics of the bride & groom as they were on horses, I heard someone spraying something down with a water hose. They were spraying my LowePro Medium Format camera bag filled with my backup equipment! A wedding guest thought he was doing me a favor because a large dog had just urinated on it! The bag survived (so did my equipment). Amazingly it was dry inside despite all the hosing it got!
gdanmitchell wrote:
As a person who has watched some expensive outdoor gear come apart in a regular washing machine (ever seen a Gore-Tex jacket on which all the seam tape came loose?), I’d probably first try spot cleaning with a brush and some soap rather than chucking it in the washer.
Of course, if it isn’t a treasure and its loss would not hurt, you can be a little less cautious.
If it has mildew the bag needs to be tossed in the washer. I would not risk gear in one that has not had a deep clean.
I’d prefer to risk the bag being damaged than expose my gear to mildew from a bag that has not been sufficiently cleaned.
Put it in the washer, inside a cloth bag if the hardware is likely to damage the machine.
I had a Domke and it was never clean and free from a biological odor after washing. The solution was to dispose it and not buy any more bags composed of natural products like cotton or leather. Synthetic bags with a DWR fabric are much less likely to develop microbial growth.
Before I put it in the washing machine I would presoak the bag with white vinegar/distilled water. Then, I would use a brush and some bleach free detergent. Finally, I would put it in my dishwasher.
If that didn’t work as a last resort, throw it in the washing machine.
snegron7 wrote:
I have read about that happening! I find it so bizarre that despite some gear (like Gore-tex) being made for outdoor use, it breaks apart in a washing machine! That's one of the concerns I have regarding this bag.
One issue with the seam tape (and perhaps other outdoor gear components) is heat in the washer or dryer. Yes, you are _supposed_ to put Gore-Tex in the dryer. (I confess that this was a rather old Gore-Tex jacket, and I ended up with a newer and better one.)
Other recent outdoor products use adhesives where they would have used stitching in the past. I’ve had multiple problems with tents. In two cases, the little tabs that attach a tent fly to the poles (thus making the structure a lot more stable) turned out to be glued onto the fly, and they eventually simply came off under normal stress. (Both of these were REI tents.) In another case a serious The North Face mountaineering tent has a small window on the fly that came loose last year when the adhesive attaching it failed. (I faked a repair job on that one — the tent is too expensive to sacrifice.)
In the case of the mildew-suffering camera bag, I wonder if just washing it will be enough. Mildew is pretty obstinate stuff, often growing back after it is removed. At a minimum I would guess that eliminating it would take a very hot wash and perhaps even some kind of chemical anti-mildew treatment.
If it is an old bag,I suppose that there’s little to be lost by trying the washing machine — if it works it works. If it gets damaged, it probably isn’t a great loss. If the mildew comes back…
