Washing Gortex Regularly

[mechanicaldope]

Are there any issues with this? Use Nikwax Tech Wash and occasional Nikwax tx direct wash-in. Jacket gets a lot dirtier a lot more regularly when using for biking rather than walking. Apparently washing can help reactivate the waterproofing but is there such thing as too much washing?

Cheers.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Much of what you read or hear talks of washing to help keep the material working well but my experience is that while washing may help keep the material breathing, it strips the outer DWR and no amount of special washes or sprays will put it back ... anything like it was.

I try and wash my jackets as little as possible. If they're muddy, I'll either leave it to dry and brush it off or give it a quick wipe down with a damp cloth. It's one of the reasons why I'm liking the Outdry material because there's no DWR to wear off or knacker up.

[Ray Young]

I too try not to wash waterproof fabrics unless I have too. Once you have to start re treating them then your on a hiding to nothing as the new proofing you put on doesn't seem to last long. I had to give up on on day one of a three day ride because I hadn't realised that my goretex jacket which had been re proofed just four weeks earlier was now once again useless in the rain. After recommendations on here I also have gone the Outdry route.

[mechanicaldope]

Guess I will continue with my 'don't wash it till it stands up on its own' routine in that case. Thanks folks.

[voodoo_simon]

I’ve had more success with Grangers as the tumble drying (one of their products needs it) seems to work much better than just the wash in (like nikwax which is just a cool wash product)

[redefined_cycles]

I tend not to wash my gear (the higher working stuff) as thats what I was read many years ago and thats what many of the brand ambassadors do...

But when you do was in thech or whatever you are using to reproof with, dont forgrt that its the heat treatment that helps it all adhere better... so after reGrangering or Techwashing I will dry it out using the iron... Meant the allow the technology to seep into the fabric and work better (or something like that)... Will try finding article later but I reckon it does work...

Also dont forget to never use bio as its harsh on the fabric and strips the coating...

[Jimengan]

Hi folks, i don't post here too frequently because most people have a ton more experience and knowledge than me, but on this one i am going to stick my head above the parapet.
In my day to day job i am in charge of looking after over several hundred items of breathable out door clothing. In order to get any longevity out of them i have to keep up a frequent washing regime that starts less than a month from new and frequently as little as two weeks from out of the bag. The reason the washing starts so early is so that the DWR is topped up on a consistent basis, the factory coated DWR is far superior and once it starts to break down you cannot really bring it back. When we wash, we make sure there are no contaminants in the washing machine by cleaning out the tray and putting it through a boil wash whilst empty, we then wash the items at whatever their label says and then either spray on or wash in a DWR treatment. As a personal gripe it would be much easier if i had a dedicated washing machine but, you know, budget cuts. We don't tumble dry or iron but we do have a large drying room that is much cheaper to run, if it was my own, i might tumble dry it, but not always. On another note DWR was weakened some years ago to make it more environmentally acceptable, which means that it fails far more rapidly than it once did.
The other reason for washing is that human sweat and oils destroy the materials and laminates from the inside so a £300+ jacket last a couple of years rather than months.