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I have a bunch of dirty hard-shell pants and jackets. Are these safe to put in the washer and dryer? If not, how should I clean them?

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Do the pants and jackets have care tags on the inseam? – mendota Jan 24 '12 at 20:59
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Don't use fabric conditioner – Qwerky Jan 27 '12 at 10:51

4 Answers

up vote 10 down vote accepted

When washing rain coats and fleeces I use Nikwax tech wash and reproofer (millets link), on the bottle these say reconmended for Goretex so I assume it's the same. In general with waterproof clothing do not use normal washing powders as these remove the waterproof coating.

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Nikwax Techwash is the best. Additionally don't ruin your expensive jacket by putting it in the dryer, the heating elements can actually melt the stitching and cause pre-mature failure of your jacket. I have had some foul weather gear for almost 10 years by being careful, and not using the dryer. Just air dry them. Follow up with a good hydrophobic spray-on coating to keep the water beading up well after to give the coat to your kids. – Dangeranger Jan 26 '12 at 2:47
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@Dangeranger: I can't remember the brand, but one reproofer I used actually recommended tumble drying. I consulted my local shop and some friends and they confirmed that for reproofing Gore-Tex can be dried in a tumble drier (However, only with the right reproofer). The results were good and the jacket still works. – Henrik Hansen Mar 12 '12 at 7:25
@HenrikHansen I have seen this recommendation sometimes as well. My advice is what I do with my own gear because from my experience many driers have poor heat control. Many a $400 shell has been damaged by an old appliance, so I advocate caution. – Dangeranger Mar 26 '12 at 3:58
up vote 5 down vote

As long as you are washing with a front-loader, then putting in your water-proofs and washing on a low temperature with reproofer (instructions should be on the bottle) will get your get clean and waterproof.

Top-loaders batter the hell out of your clothes, and can damage the waterproofing.

Also - do not but them in a dryer... hang them out (you probably want to do this over a bath if you can't do it outside)

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up vote 5 down vote

I trust Arc'teryx: http://www.arcteryx.com/product-care.aspx?EN There's a video to take you through the whole process.

And you actually DO want to use the dryer because the heat reactivates the durable water repellant (DWR). DWR is the actual substance/layer that does the water repelling.

You can also follow the instructions recommended on the actual GoreTex site: https://www.gore-tex.com/remote/Satellite/content/care-center/washing-instructions

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up vote 3 down vote

In my experience, machines and gore-tex don't play well together. And, despite the optimistic fountain-of-youth promises found on most re-proofing solutions (Nikwax), I've never met one that worked.

Your safest bet for washing dirty gear is to hand-wash it in water only and hang-dry. It might not return to that day-glo yellow it was when you bought it - but hey, its a dirty world out there.

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I've had pretty good experience washing my jacket (hard-shell, GT Pro Shell). I can't remember the brand and it wasn't exactly like new, but it could feel and see the difference. – Henrik Hansen Mar 12 '12 at 7:21

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