I had a very old post, about washing your gear, but thought I'd make a new one. I used to wash and then hang dry my gear, this is all wrong. Klim, MotorFist, FXR you name it they all say to wash and then, yes, Machine Dry your gear. This applies to almost all of your gear. When in doubt check the manufactures website.
Here is what Gore-Tex has on their website:
Before laundering your garment, zip the front closure, pockets and pit zips completely, and fasten all flaps and straps. Be sure to follow the garment manufacturer's instructions to ensure high performance.
Wash Machine wash on a warm permanent press cycle (105º F/40º C) using a small amount of liquid detergent. Rinse twice, minimize spinning to reduce creasing. Do not use powder detergents or any products that contain fabric softeners, conditioners, stain removers or bleach as they will affect garment performance. Do not wash with heavily soiled clothing. Bleach Do not use chlorine bleach. Dry Line dry your garment, or tumble dry it on a warm, gentle cycle. Once it is dry, tumble dry your garment for 20 minutes to reactivate the durable water-repellent (DWR) treatment on the outer fabric. Iron If unable to tumble dry, iron the dry garment on gentle setting (warm, no steam) by placing a towel or cloth between the garment and the iron. This will help reactivate the DWR treatment on your garment's outer fabric. Dry Clean Gore recommends home laundering. If professional dry cleaning is necessary, request that the cleaner use clear distilled hydrocarbon solvent for rinsing and then spray DWR on the garment's outer fabric before drying. Follow garment manufacturer's instructions. Water Repellent Treatment When the factory applied treatment can no longer be reactivated, apply a new water-repellent treatment (available at local outdoor retailers) to the garment's outer fabric.
Here is what Klim has to say on their website:
Regular cleaning of your GORE-TEX(r) Outerwear is extremely important to maintain durable waterproofness and supreme breathability. The best rule of thumb as to when you should wash your gear is this: Wash your KLIM GORE-TEX(r) garment whenever the Durable Water Repellent (DWR) is no longer effective at beading water on the surface fabric or as soon as your gear looks and smells dirty.
While dirt, dust and other contaminants, as well as exhausted DWR, will have little affect on actual waterproofness and breathability, they can have a tremendous affect on comfort and all-weather performance.
Here's how to wash your gear properly:
Use a mild, liquid detergent and run an additional wash/rinse cycle without soap to ensure a complete rinse. Modern detergents contain surfactants that love water and make it wetter (the opposite of DWR's ambitions). You want to make sure all the detergent residue is out of your garment for maximum performance and solid DWR performance. We recommend liquid detergent because it has less surfactants than other types of detergent.
Drying with heat recharges the DWR on the fabric surface. After your GORE-TEX® item is completely dry, we recommend to put it back into the dryer for an extra twenty (20) minutes to guarantee that the DWR is re-activated.DWR is important! Without it, the surface fabric of your gear will "wet-out" faster. You'll still be dry on the inside (thanks to the GORE-TEX® membrane) but conductive heat loss and comfort can quickly make your day less enjoyable. Water conducts heat 23-times as fast as air. You want DWR to work as long as possible to keep the conductive heat loss to a minimum. DWR is not permanent and will wear off. Drying re-activates it many times but re-applying a DWR treatment is a big step in prolonging comfort.
After your gear is dry, spray it with water from a bottle or sprinkle some on with your hands. If it beads up and rolls off the gear, you're good-to-go. Go riding! If it soaks in quickly, it's time to re-apply. KLIM and GORE-TEX(r) recommend spray-on DWR treatments like Revivex. This type of DWR is heat-activated. You spray it on your garment's exterior after the wash cycle and toss it in the dryer like normal. Follow the instructions on the bottle. Wash-in DWR treatments are not recommended as they coat all surfaces with the DWR and can negatively affect comfort and performance.
Lint to Revivex Repellancy Spray
Here is what Gore-Tex has on their website:
Before laundering your garment, zip the front closure, pockets and pit zips completely, and fasten all flaps and straps. Be sure to follow the garment manufacturer's instructions to ensure high performance.
Wash Machine wash on a warm permanent press cycle (105º F/40º C) using a small amount of liquid detergent. Rinse twice, minimize spinning to reduce creasing. Do not use powder detergents or any products that contain fabric softeners, conditioners, stain removers or bleach as they will affect garment performance. Do not wash with heavily soiled clothing. Bleach Do not use chlorine bleach. Dry Line dry your garment, or tumble dry it on a warm, gentle cycle. Once it is dry, tumble dry your garment for 20 minutes to reactivate the durable water-repellent (DWR) treatment on the outer fabric. Iron If unable to tumble dry, iron the dry garment on gentle setting (warm, no steam) by placing a towel or cloth between the garment and the iron. This will help reactivate the DWR treatment on your garment's outer fabric. Dry Clean Gore recommends home laundering. If professional dry cleaning is necessary, request that the cleaner use clear distilled hydrocarbon solvent for rinsing and then spray DWR on the garment's outer fabric before drying. Follow garment manufacturer's instructions. Water Repellent Treatment When the factory applied treatment can no longer be reactivated, apply a new water-repellent treatment (available at local outdoor retailers) to the garment's outer fabric.
Here is what Klim has to say on their website:
Regular cleaning of your GORE-TEX(r) Outerwear is extremely important to maintain durable waterproofness and supreme breathability. The best rule of thumb as to when you should wash your gear is this: Wash your KLIM GORE-TEX(r) garment whenever the Durable Water Repellent (DWR) is no longer effective at beading water on the surface fabric or as soon as your gear looks and smells dirty.
While dirt, dust and other contaminants, as well as exhausted DWR, will have little affect on actual waterproofness and breathability, they can have a tremendous affect on comfort and all-weather performance.
Here's how to wash your gear properly:
Use a mild, liquid detergent and run an additional wash/rinse cycle without soap to ensure a complete rinse. Modern detergents contain surfactants that love water and make it wetter (the opposite of DWR's ambitions). You want to make sure all the detergent residue is out of your garment for maximum performance and solid DWR performance. We recommend liquid detergent because it has less surfactants than other types of detergent.
Drying with heat recharges the DWR on the fabric surface. After your GORE-TEX® item is completely dry, we recommend to put it back into the dryer for an extra twenty (20) minutes to guarantee that the DWR is re-activated.DWR is important! Without it, the surface fabric of your gear will "wet-out" faster. You'll still be dry on the inside (thanks to the GORE-TEX® membrane) but conductive heat loss and comfort can quickly make your day less enjoyable. Water conducts heat 23-times as fast as air. You want DWR to work as long as possible to keep the conductive heat loss to a minimum. DWR is not permanent and will wear off. Drying re-activates it many times but re-applying a DWR treatment is a big step in prolonging comfort.
After your gear is dry, spray it with water from a bottle or sprinkle some on with your hands. If it beads up and rolls off the gear, you're good-to-go. Go riding! If it soaks in quickly, it's time to re-apply. KLIM and GORE-TEX(r) recommend spray-on DWR treatments like Revivex. This type of DWR is heat-activated. You spray it on your garment's exterior after the wash cycle and toss it in the dryer like normal. Follow the instructions on the bottle. Wash-in DWR treatments are not recommended as they coat all surfaces with the DWR and can negatively affect comfort and performance.
Lint to Revivex Repellancy Spray
