Re-charging Goretex Raingear

[prov1900]

Does anyone know how to re-charge Goretex raingear? Meaning, after a while, the stuff becomes no longer waterproof and was wondering, outside of buying the wrong stuff in the first place, if there was a way to re-charge or re-new it.

[ccarlson]

Never wash gortex clothing in liquid detergent. Always use powder detergent.

Follow the label if different but the standard gortex procedure is to:

Wash in powder detergent

Dry in dryer

then iron the garment

The heating process of the dryer and iron help to re fresh the gortex pores and such.

You may also want to spray the clothes with a goretex approved spray but I never do and never have leaks. Others may suggest differently on the spray.

I had a pair of pants that were giving me problems and I called gortex themselves years ago to see what the problem was. I did this system and they are still waterproof (wherever they are not worn through) 15 years later. I also treat all my new gortex products this way as it is the same diretions on the tags.

ccarlson

[ewirz]

I used to work for The North Face and sold GoreTex gear. The GoreTex lining will always be waterproof. The top or surface layer may loose it's water repellency and start to absorb water. If you are getting wet underneath the garment, you probably have a hole in the GoreTex layer. To restore the water repellency of the surface layer, use a GoreTex "approved" treatment. Sprays work ok. The best are the washes. Look for the water based liquid treatments like NikWax(water based water replant, I know sounds weird, but works). All you do is send it through a gentle cycle in a machine. Stop it at the soak cycle for a half hour or so. This will restore the water repellency, and cleans the garment. Let it air dry, dryers can damage the GoreTex with repeated drying. Usually twice a season is sufficient.

My 2 cents

ERW

[ccarlson]

I'm sure each clothing line that uses gore tex has their own guidelines that they want you to follow. After reading your post I wanted to make sure I hadn't posted anything incorrect that may damage someones clothing. Here is what their web site says about caring for gore tex outerwear. I note that they include liquid detergent is acceptable but no fabric softeners. Also, they have reversed the order of ironing and then tumble dry.

ccarlson

GORE-TEX® OUTERWEAR

WASH

Machine-wash warm (104° F/40° C). Powder or liquid detergent. No fabric softener.

DRY CLEAN

Follow manufacturer's instructions. If professionally dry-cleaned, request clear distilled solvent rinse and spray repellent.

IRON

Steam-iron warm.

BLEACH

No chlorine bleach.

DRY

Tumble-dry warm.

WATER REPELLENT TREATMENT

Gore recommends applying a topical water repellency restorative for outdoor fabrics, available at your local outdoor retailer. We do not recommend wash-in treatments.

STAIN REMOVAL

Use pre-wash treatment such as Shout or Spray 'n Wash. Follow the pre-wash manufacturer's instructions. Rinse well.

[ewirz]

I stand (or sit) corrected. Thx cc

[loebs93]

I use products by Nikwax. There is a Tech Wash that is detergent free that I use to clean my Gore-Tex (or any other waterproof/breathable materials) that works great. Then I have used a variety of sprays or other wash-ins to restore the water-repellent finish. Nikwax TX-Direct Spray-On and Nikwax TX-Direct 2.0 Wash-In are both nice and effective products that work very well.

Do a search on REI's HSOforum for Nikwax and that will show you a good variety of products that can be found at almost any outdoors store.

[hovermn]

I completely agree with loebs93. All I've used is Nikwax Tech wash and have had great results. My North Face Goretex jacket and pants are nearly 10 years old and still looks nearly brand new! I wash my tech gear with tech wash about twice a year and recharge the shell with soft shell proof (but used to be called something else) once a year. Great stuff. Worth the money and a small price to pay to keep your expensive gear going strong

[jigginjerk]

Thanks for the info guys! Was just thinking about how to correctly clean my gear. Most informational site on the web!