How to Care for Your Hammock

Enjoying the great outdoors means some natural wear and tear will happen to our gear, and as part of the fun, it gets dirty too! We want to make sure you get the most out of your hammock – and caring for it is easy. Follow these tips to extend your hammy’s lifespan and even help you grow more attached to your favorite piece of gear.

If your hammock gets dirty, salty, stained, someone spilled a beer, dumped a plate of spaghetti….you get it; you can wash it!

There are 2 ways.

-The first is in the washing machine – yes it’s washing machine safe! Take off the carabiners so they won’t clunk around, use a small amount of mild detergent (optional) and wash on a gentle cycle. Always air dry, they are NOT dryer safe.

-The second way to wash is to hose it down. Lay it open across a “soft” surface, such as grass, free from anything that may puncture or scratch it on the ground. Hose that baby down and even use a scrub brush for stains. Hang it up to air dry, out of the sun. Which leads me to my next point…

Keep it out of the sun. This is a big one, because we know it is so tempting to leave your hammock in your favorite spot, especially if you often use it at home. It can tolerate some sun of course, but it should never be left out in sunlight for extended periods of time – depending on the intensity of the sun in your area. For example, in Thailand best to not leave it up for more than a week or so in this sun. Your hammock should be kept in the shade. Sun will fade the color and compromise the integrity of the material, weakening the fibers, and it will become very prone to rips and tears. The sun is strong and will deteriorate any material it comes in contact with, so treat your hammock like your skin, and keep it in the shade to get the longest life out of it.

Hang it correctly! It’s tempting to get funky and creative with hanging, and we do encourage creative hang time. But don’t put too much strain on your hammock – meaning don’t string it up on points that are too far away from each other. This can put a lot of tension on the fabric, and with the added weight of bodies, it will certainly stretch and weaken the material over time. Refer to our “How to Hang” video for a guideline. Hook the carabiners into the loops provided on the straps for the most stable, secure hang. This will help the straps last longer too, distributing the weight evenly.

Sometimes, fabric can rip. While our largest hammock can carry up to 600 pounds of weight, the risks of having a lightweight and packable material is that it can tear when punctured. While it IS repairable, we’ve made it easy for you to keep it off the ground to begin with. To avoid snags in nature, clip the hammock to a strap before you take it out of the sack – then whip it out and clip it to the other end in one swift motion. This signature hammock pouch keeps it off the ground at all times, giving you a clean and fast hang, and a really impressive move for your friends. Packing it up is just as easy – leave it clipped to one strap while you stuff it in the sack, then unclip from your strap once it’s all packed in. Make sure you don’t hang it too low; scratching it on the ground when you sit is a sure way to rip your hammock. Always beware of branches or thorns around you. If a rip does happen, you can sew a patch in the fabric by hand or machine, but you must be extra careful with it from then on since the overall resilience has been compromised.

Happy Hanging, All!

 Written by Julia Akins