10-06-2023, 02:21 PM
A friend of mine makes active gear and told me a couple things that I've since verified elsewhere.
I'll start this off presuming you're aware of the different materials used for water resistant gear and breathability. You can have problems with the best products of you don't maintain the DWR.
Manufacturers had to switch to a different type of DWR for environmental reasons. The new version doesn't repel oils as well. So when, for example, your hands touch it, the oils stay and attract dirt. This is why you'll see a jacket stop repelling water. The repelling is all DWR, not the membrane (eg Gore Tex.)
When the fabric retains water, eventually it will soak through the membrane.
This is why gear needs to be washed regularly.
However, if you use regular detergent, it doesn't work well. It tends to mess with the DWR. So you want it use a tech detergent from a company line Nixwax or Gearaid.
But wait, there's more. Drying helps reactivate the DWR. While the instructions say hang dry or run through the dryer, the dryer does a MUCH better job.
And when all that fails and the gear still doesn't repel like it use to, then you can reapply DWR. Again, it does a lot better of you run it through the dryer rather than hang dry.
I'll start this off presuming you're aware of the different materials used for water resistant gear and breathability. You can have problems with the best products of you don't maintain the DWR.
Manufacturers had to switch to a different type of DWR for environmental reasons. The new version doesn't repel oils as well. So when, for example, your hands touch it, the oils stay and attract dirt. This is why you'll see a jacket stop repelling water. The repelling is all DWR, not the membrane (eg Gore Tex.)
When the fabric retains water, eventually it will soak through the membrane.
This is why gear needs to be washed regularly.
However, if you use regular detergent, it doesn't work well. It tends to mess with the DWR. So you want it use a tech detergent from a company line Nixwax or Gearaid.
But wait, there's more. Drying helps reactivate the DWR. While the instructions say hang dry or run through the dryer, the dryer does a MUCH better job.
And when all that fails and the gear still doesn't repel like it use to, then you can reapply DWR. Again, it does a lot better of you run it through the dryer rather than hang dry.