Cleaning Tips for White Ski Pants

[Peppermint]

Hi,

I have a pair of white ski pants that are around 10 years old. I think I have only washed them maybe 5 times in total since they are only worn around 5-8 days per year. Over the years they have started to turn yellow and am wondering how to get them white again without messing with the waterproofness of the fabric. In the photo below, my daughter is on the left with the pants and when compared to her friend on the right, they don't look white anymore.
Does anyone out there have any tips to get them white again?

 

[geargrrl]

1. regarding waterproof, search my posts for how to best rewaterproof pants. Correct washing will improve waterproofing, not degrade it.
2. Discoloration is either grime or age. Ski wear should be washed every season. Synthetic fabrics do react with the environment and degrade over time so there may be nothing to be done about yellowing but try a wash.

 

[Peppermint]

Thanks @geargrrl . I just re-read many of your posts. A couple of questions:
If I don't have powdered laundry detergent, should I go buy some or is the liquid OK to use? I have Persil liquid detergent.
Do you still like Grangers the best? I wanted to buy a kit with the wash and the other product to restore the DWR but the kit is hard to find after doing a quick online search. Most retailers like REI only have the combo product that washes and restores at the same time. How do you feel about the combo product?
Here is the link: https://www.rei.com/product/218883/grangers-wash-repel-clothing-2-in-1-wash

 

[geargrrl]

Any detergent is fine. I don't think I specify powder.
I haven't tried the combo products. Grangers, Nikwax, it's all the same function. For my triple wash method a combo product won't work. I'd see if the pants whiten up with a wash before going to the trouble and expense of rewaterproofing.

 

[mustski]

It might be just the picture but, to me, they don't look yellowed. They just look more of an ivory white than a snow white. I actually prefer an ivory white.

 

[TiffAlt]

I dislike combo products - don't think they work. What I'd do:

- Wash as normal, extra rinses - this is to get any leftover DWR stuff off
- Make a mixture of oxyclean + dawn detergent and cake onto garment for a couple of hours
- Rinse this out well and if possible, hang to dry in sun with any leftover stains exposed to the sun
- Wash with tech wash to re-apply the DWR.

Notes:
The mixture of oxyclean + dawn gets a lot of tough stains out including grease.
The sun is the best bleach ever.
The tech wash like Nikwax after doesn't clean, it just re-applies the DWR finish

 

[TiffAlt]

It might be just the picture but, to me, they don't look yellowed. They just look more of an ivory white than a snow white. I actually prefer an ivory white.

We have a lot of the same preferences. Colors, bindings, haha!