Well stuff happens but just wondered what effect if any this will have on the trousers and if the situation is recoverable - perhaps by some of that wash in stuff?

Don't panic, Mike!! Get some pure soap flakes. Clean out the soap dispenser on the washing machine and rinse through the washing machine (stuff a couple of towels in and set it on a wash with no soap powder or anything). Then wash your Terras in the washing machine using the pure soap flakes.

Then wash in Tech wash or whatever it is you've got that cost so much!. I also wash my Terras in TX-direct to give the rain resistance a bit more oomph.

How come so many of the blokes on here have this exact same experience?

The problem with using a detergent is that it conatins wetting agents which let water penetrate the weave more easily to help wash dirt out.  That means that in turn rainwater will penetrate a little more easily too, but that's not the same as "your trousers will soak up water like a sponge" or "your trousers are ruined".

In future wash in pure soap if you find they're not quite as good in the driech as you remember, but I suspect most outdoor trousers are actually washed in detergents and people still get stuff done in them...  Once you've washed in pure soap next time then a wash-in proofer like TX-10 will make them a little less prone to  soaking up water and washing in pure soap after that will help maintain the proofing.  But note that wash-in proofers like that will help in light showers of short duration and not much more.  Long term and/or heavy rain you need proper waterproofs to stay dry, and short showers that get you a little wet aren't actually much of a problem if the trews dry out in a few minutes anyway.

 Exec. summary: don't worry about it.

Pete. 

I wash mine like that anyway....

I didnt realise you were supposed to take washing precautions. I mean they are a pair of outdoor trousers, mine are likely to get a wash twice a week or so.

Have I buggered mine too.

I dont think so the care labels says - special product blah blah blah  wash at 40 degrees dont use bleech or fabric softener....

it then goes on to say that after a while (lots of washes) you may want to use nikwax TX direct etc...

 read your label Rob - it's all there.

phew - they day has been saved.

Thanks - I have to say that was my wife's view - just wash them with the rest of the stuff! 

I have to say having worn them in damp/drizzly conditions prior to the 'event', water repellancy was not a feature I noted.

I now use Montane stuff, and have got Terra pants, light pants and featherlites which after first wear then washed in non-bio stuff which was a bummer.  Retrieved, maybe, by cold soap-free quick wash, then a Tech-Wash.  

I've just worn the pants for 17 days on the Pennine Way, without washing them - brilliant kit, though I agree with Pete that the rain resistance is limited and they dry really quickly.

I wouldn't carry special wash stuff on a long trek, just sort it out again when I got home.

Metric Kate wrote (see)

........... Then wash your Terras in the washing machine using the pure soap flakes.

Then wash in Tech wash or whatever it is you've got that cost so much!. I also wash my Terras in TX-direct to give the rain resistance a bit more oomph.

mine just get washed. no buggering about with things like tech wash, soap and waterproofing which quickly wears off.

are they supposed to be water resistant then? they're only trousers. they get wet and then dry very quickly.

I have to agree entirely with Parky - its just a pair of trousers.