[Closed] Washing waterproof jackets

yes, it'll kill the waterproofing.

not completely, with the first wash, but after a few few for sure.

Use graingers or niki wax

To be fair not washing kills them too as it blocks the pores

Should be OK, but you might lose some of the DWR coating if it has it.

Rinse the machine on a short hot run (no powder)
Use some plain soap or tech wash type stuff.
Then spray with Nikwax or similar whilst wet and let it dry.

That's what I do - it doesn't seem to affect the waterproofing although if it's old sometimes the seams become loose.

My experience is washing with NON-BIO liquid or better yet Nikwax Techwash will clean it up without affecting the waterproofing (won't improve it either).

That said, you should probably then re-apply the water repellent finish to the jacket (the DWR) otherwise any rain or spray will just soak into the outer fabric and stop the jacket breathing, so you'll get just as wet from the inside instead!

Nikwax do a wash in product or a spray, I've had mixed results with both.

Edit: too slow, pretty much what everyone said above!

Waitrose now do a washing liquid specifically for waterproofs which is much cheaper than the outdoor brands and seems to work as well

I wash my stuff at 30° gentle cycle with non bio, water still beads off my DWR after a few washes.

Nikwax tech wash

Pure soap flakes if you can get them (seem to be less and less in supermarkets), otherwise tech-wash.

Don't try using a little bit of pure soap grated - I ended up with a kitchen full of foam - at least the kitchen floor was clean once finished clearing it up.

Halo sports wash on a very gentle 30° wash. Really important - hold the spin, don't force water through the membrane.

Hang to drip dry. As mine is eVent, when it's almost dry, chuck it in the dryer to finish off.

When dry, give it a quick go under the tap to check water still beads, if not, then wash-in nikwax.

Halo sports wash on a very gentle 30° wash.

I've been intending to ask for months now if Halo can be used to wash waterproofs.

I've always washed GoreTex with normal detergent and then tumble dried on low - the memnbrane seems to be very robust as when I used to do lots of mountaineering and teaching my kit was getting washed at least once a week for weeks on end.

With non Goretex and anything which uses DWR as the main method of waterproofness, I'm much more suspect. Plus modern DWRs are no longer anywhere near as robust as the first generation ones as they realised the early DWRs were indestructible chemicals which leached into the environment and will stay there for 1000s of years.

Do not use regular detergent. Nikwax tech wash or if you are skint soap flakes. You should find it more waterproof and more breathable than before you cleaned it. Washing it removes the grime that stops it breathing properly.

As said Nikwax tech wash or supermarket Silk & Delicates Handwash or similar. Also for breathable items I don't get why you'd use wash in reproofing. Surely your going to restrict the breathability by waterproofing the inside? I always use the spray on Nikwax stuff.

as others have said tech wash / soap flakes, but then wash it a second time with nikwax TX-driect wash in to reproof and tumble dry according to garment label (you get a better reproofing by tumble drying than drip drying due to the heat)

Cool thanks for all your help guys!

Washing your jacket will be fine.
I use nikwax detergent and then nikwax waterproofer.

The really important bit is to make sure that your washing machine is completely free of regular detergent BEFORE you attempt to wash and re-proof the jacket.

Regular detergent contains chemicals which inhibit the waterproofing treatment.

First step is to ensure that your washing machine is free of regular detergent.

Wash your towels and bedding in at close to boiling temperatures.
Keep doing this until the soap suds have been completely washed out.
Some clear vinegar in this wash cycle can help remove any detergent.

Once your washing machine is clear of detergent, you can then wash and proof your jacket, as per nikwax or grangers instructions.

Once dried, any water should ‘bead’ off the jacket.

Hope that helps:)

I have a theory of biking kit, which is that if I can't just throw it in the washing machine like normal, and have it still work, it's shite. Doesn't matter how good it is on the bike, it needs to be lived with

So I have a Madison Zenith and an ancient Altura Attack jacket (one lightweight, one heavyweight basically) and both have been through the washing machine (cold, with normal washing powder, no fabric softener, but no pre-wash purge or anything) loads of times and still work great. I did kill a similar Altura jacket but that was from a hot wash.

Do they work as good as new? Doubt it, but they still do the job I want.

Thing is that as discussed above some jackets are naturally waterproof, while others use coatings. The former are much more robust, though ironically are more likely to stop being breathable when dirty.

I'll quite often just wash with no detergent as well.

Comes out almost as clean

With non Goretex and anything which uses DWR as the main method of waterproofness

Nothing uses DWR as the main method of waterproofness apart from maybe Paramo. It's just a surface treatment that coats the fibres of the outer fabric with some sort of hydrophobic compound - usually a fluoro chemical - which encourages water to bead and run off rather than soaking into the fabric.

Most waterproof technologies use a membrane or coating that's bonded to the fabrics of the garment - usually as the middle of a sort of sandwich - all the DWR does is stop the outer, face fabric from wetting out and compromising breathability.

The obvious exception is Paramo, which relies on the DWR rather more, but in terms of hydrostatic head, arguably isn't technically waterproof anyway.