Care for Waterproofs

Care Of Your Clothing

After a hard day on the hill, whether it’s summer or winter, it’s easy just to
throw your dirty kit in the bottom of the cupboard until next time it’s needed.
However, you really need to look after your kit if you want it to look after you.
It may seem like a pain in the arse to have to clean and sort your clothing and
boots but it’s far better you spend 30 minutes on it at home than to be sat out
in the cold as the water seeps into your clothing and the wind chill starts to
bite…

Waterproofs

Ignoring waxed garments like Barbour jackets, hillwalking waterproof jackets,
trousers and gaiters work in either one of two ways:

a.

These are often known as hard-shell layers and usually consist of a
porous membrane bonded to a protective outer layer which is treated
with a Durable Water Repellent (DWR) coating. The membrane has
tiny holes in it which are large enough to allow water vapour from your
sweat to exit but small enough to stop water droplets coming in. The
DWR causes rain to ‘bead’ – look at it on your own waterproof – and
run off without soaking into the outer layer. These types of waterproofs
are the most popular and come in many different ‘flavours’, weights
and varying levels of ‘robustness’.

b.

Fabrics like Paramo Analogy have two non-bonded layers: the inner
one pumps water away from the skin using a one-way capillary action,
this then passes out though the thinner face fabric which will have a
DWR coating to stop water coming back the other way. These kind of
garments tend to be warmer, heavier and more expensive but can be
repeated reproofed and repaired with a needle and thread, are often
more hardwearing and last longer than hard-shell membrane clothing.

When you come back from a hill day, wipe the mud and dirt off your
waterproofs using a sponge or cloth and some cold water – no soap! If they
are absolutely filthy, you need to wash them – dirt clogs the membrane or
face fabric so it doesn’t ‘breathe’ anymore. Whatever you do, DO NOT USE
A NORMAL WASHING DETERGENT LIKE DAZ, ARIEL, ETC! The reason
is that these will strip the DWR coating off your waterproofs straight away.
You’ll know the DWR coating is gone when water doesn’t bead on the surface
anymore and just soaks in – or ‘wets out’ as it’s usually known.

So, what do we do to clean and reproof our waterproofs? First of all, you can
either wash them in a washing machine or handwash in a bucket/sink/bath.
If you use a machine, take the detergent tray out first, wash it, wash the hole
in the machine it goes into and rinse it all through. Then run the machine

Membranes (Goretex, Event, Drypoint, Hyvent, Sympatex, etc).

Pumpliners

empty on a hot cycle to clear out any remaining detergent. You then have a
choice: either use a specially made soap like Nikwax Techwash or Granger’s,
use pure soap flakes (which I have always found difficult to get hold of) or,
buy some plain simple unperfumed soap and grate about 1/3 of a bar with a
cheese grater. Don’t use the grated soap in the washing machine, only for
handwashing or it will foam everywhere and your kitchen looks like an Ibiza
Club Night.

Once washed (use the temperature and wash cycle indicated on the label or,
if there isn’t one, usually a 30-40 degree standard wash will do), drip dry or
put in the tumble dryer on a warm setting – not hot. The warm tumble dryer
will actually help reactivate the DWR coating if there’s any left.

If the waterproof is wetting out, it’s time to put that DWR coating back on!
This is usually using a wash-in or a spray-on fluid like Nikwax or Grangers.
Again, you can either handwash or use a machine but take the same
precautions as before and get rid of any detergent still in the machine first.
You can drip dry the clothes afterwards but you’re better off with a warm
tumble dryer as this helps activate the DWR chemicals.

Boots

Get rid of as much dirt from the upper and sole of the boot as you can –
maybe wash them off under the tap or shower. Dry your boots naturally –
ie, not on the radiator! This damages the fabric or rubber, especially if the
boots are leather (it will crack and split). Take out the insoles, undo the laces
and open out the boots. Stick some scrunched-up newspaper in too to help
absorb water – change it regularly.

Once they are dry, use a stiff nylon scrubbing brush to get rid of mud and dirt
from the uppers and then either reproof using a leather conditioner or a boot
proofer from Grangers or Nikwax. Store them somewhere cool and dry.

Fleeces/Technical Layers/Softshells

Basically, wash sweat and dirt out of them so they don’t stink and still
wick sweat away from your body – they won’t if they’re dirty! Follow the
instructions on the label. If you have trousers/jackets which are water
repellent (softshell perhaps), you may need to wash and reproof them with
your waterproofs.

Summary

Basically, don’t just chuck everything in the washing machine. At very least,
wipe your waterproofs down with a wet cloth/sponge and cold water.

STUDENT ON THE WAY OUT TO THE PUB RAPID SUMMARY

Look after your kit if you want it to look after you.

Don’t wash your waterproofs with normal detergent. Use a pure soap and a
reproofing liquid.

Don’t dry your boots by the radiator. Brush the mud off your boots when its
dry. Use a reproofer every now and again.

Wash your fleeces, technical layers, etc, so that they don’t smell, they feel
nice, and they breathe properly.