Washing your 300-quid waterproof shell jacket just once in
ordinary, commercially available detergent or washing powder could
compromise its performance for ever - that's the worrying news from a
set of laboratory tests at Leeds University.
We're just back from a concentrated press event up in Langdale,
where one of the participating companies was outdoor boot and
clothing care specialist, Grangers.
On top of some very interesting new products - more soon on those -
they also dropped the bombshell that wetting agents used in washing
liquids and powders are impossible to remove from garments without,
erm, boiling in solvents.
Until now it's been thought that the wetting agents in detergents
could be removed by a couple of rinse cycles, enabling you to restore
the water-repellant surface properties with an aftermarket
treatment.
Wash once and spoil the water repellancy for ever...
Now it seems that that isn't the case. The chemicals in question
are designed to help water to penetrate the fabric, which is the last
thing you need with a waterproof jacket or pant, so washing your
shell just once could permanently compromise the DWR - the treatment
that makes water bead and run off the surface. Even repeated rinsing
and re-washing and treating with appropriate products still won't be
able to restore the finish to factory levels.
What you should do...
Pretty clearly, you shouldn't wash any garment with a DWR finish
in commercial detergents. Instead. Instead use either pure soap
flakes - Lux isn't made any more, but there are still some on the
shelves - or a specialist outdoor clothing cleaner, which won't
contain the damaging chemicals.
Follow the instructions to the letter, but - and this is important
- make a special effort to avoid contamination with even the smallest
speck of conventional detergent. That means cleaning out the
detergent drawer with water, checking under the drawer for deposits
of crusted detergent there, then run the empty machine on a rinse
cycle to clean out its passages. Only then should you use the
technical cleaner following the manufacturer's instructions.
Once it's dry, iron or tumble dry to heat and reactivate the DWR
treatment and, if necessary, treat the garment again with an
aftermarket product from the likes of Grangers - which is approved by
WL Gore - or Nikwax.
The future...
In the light of this new information, we reckon it's time for
manufacturers to carry clear warnings on their garments. Cleaning
with the right technical cleaners will improve the performance of
your waterproofs, using the wrong stuff - it seems - could damage it
on a permanent basis... Worrying stuff.
Chris McSweeny
