Moe Ghoul
New member
Outergear gets washed at end of season, never used any of the waterproofing stuff. Occasionally, a pant shell gets grody and gets a midseason wash. Otherwise, if it doesn't stand up on its own, its clean. 
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How often do you wash tech gear? How often do you re-waterproof?
- Thread starter severine
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RootDKJ
New member
I'd like to re-waterproof some stuff but now I'm thoroughly confused as what to do....:blink:
cbcbd
New member
The standard Nikwax way would be to wash your stuff with Tech-Wash (if Gore-tex or similar) and then spray it with TX-Direct spray. That combo does work well when I've done it although I haven't tried anything different yet. For softshells you can use their Softshell wash-in waterproofing... I have a bottle but haven't used it yet.
I used the spray on stuff once and didn't have really good results with it. The first time out with the jacket after washing and treatment the water didn't bead up at all. What have your experiences been?
Moe Ghoul
New member
I can count on one hand the number of days where rain/snow was an issue in the past few seasons. My experience is most of the outer water resistance gear holds up for a few years, then it gets replaced with new gear. The older stuff gets worn on sunny days. I'm guessing there's prolly some kinda spray on water repellant as well.
mattchuck2
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Never and Never . . .
I don't think my ski stuff stinks, it's just a mixture of Fire Smoke, Weed (not mine of course), Sweat, Nachos and Beer . . .
Smells like Winter to me!
I don't think my ski stuff stinks, it's just a mixture of Fire Smoke, Weed (not mine of course), Sweat, Nachos and Beer . . .
Smells like Winter to me!
As am I. I just wash the jacket every so often. Let me rephrase that. My wife washes after she says: "That thing needs to get washed! Look at the collar!"
RootDKJ
New member
+1....but I have trained her well on not putting any ski clothing in the dryer. Everything gets line dried...
GrilledSteezeSandwich
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Outergear gets washed at end of season, never used any of the waterproofing stuff. Occasionally, a pant shell gets grody and gets a midseason wash. Otherwise, if it doesn't stand up on its own, its clean.
Times two..or when my ski jacket starts smelling like BO
Do they use regular detergent? Supposedly regular detergent is not good for Gore-Tex like materials, it clogs up the pores or something...
Asking me what's used in the laundry machine is like asking my wife what type of oil I use in the vehicles. :lol:
It's a big jug and smells like laundry.
Her response to the oil question would be similar: "It's in a bunch of bottles".
Seriously though, I'd imagine it's regular ol' detergent. I'm sporting an older North Face Scot "I left the last T off because it's silent" Schmidt Steep Tech. I'm sure the Water Proofing left the garmet around the time MTV stopped playing videos.
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I thought I heard once that it's better to use powder detergent than liquid detergent. Not sure why that would be. Anyway, I just wash my gear in regular old liquid All. Unless you're skiing in pouring rain all day, there's a bit of overthinking that I think you can get caught up in with this stuff.
Trekchick
Active member
You're a big pig.I was just teasing.
For waterproofing, I use camp dry. Not sure if I'm supposed to, but that's what I do.
severine
New member
I looked on the labels for my tech gear and they all said to use powdered detergent (which I don't normally with our front-loader). Tech Wash is supposed to be safe for tech gear; no optical brighteners added and it's supposed to wash out residue-free. I use my hardshell as a rain jacket so it's important to me that it remains waterproof.
RootDKJ
New member
Two years ago, I got stuck on the Skye Peak lift out of Bear for over 1/2 hour in the pouring rain. I'll ski in the rain up to a the point where I'd turn my windsheild washers on in the car.
It's not that hard to go out and buy some tech wash to wash the stuff in. IIRC, it has more to do with the breath ability of the material (so that your sweat can get out), than the waterproofness. I pay good money for my outer layers, it's worth it to me to spend a few dollars extra once a year to ensure they continue to preform.
And yes, when I do ski in the rain or wet snow storms I like to stay dry...
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Fair enough. I just don't think that not using such products is going to immediately zap all waterproofness from your gear, but I guess it's probably a good idea to use them. I'm just lazy. :lol:
o3jeff
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I try to buy dark colored stuff so you won't see when its dirty. If it starts to smell spray some Fabreeze on it:lol:;-)
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That's the smell I've been detecting mountain biking with you all summer. I couldn't out my finger on it.
cbcbd
New member
Lol, ok... I'll be honest... I've washed my jacket once and sprayed it once
That one time that I did the water was beading up so I dunno... I think it's time for me to wash my goretex stuff again just to refresh my memory of the thing working Similar threads
