How do you keep your ski jackets clean?

[ski diva]

Is there a cure for chairlift grease? And what do you do for general grime?

I don't wash my jacket all that much; I think it's better for the water proofing not to. But when I do, I use Tekwash to get rid of general ick, followed by the same company's water proofer to restore the water proofing properties the wash may diminish.

Anyone have any methods they'd like to share?

 

[geargrrl]

I've been working with technical fabrics for 15+ years, and as the state health code prohibits me working on non-laundered garments, I've learned a lot over the years....

Techwash, Nikwax or Grangers ( my favorite) are specifically formulated for waterproof breathables, with a toss in the dryer. You can use powdered detergent if you don't have the above, but not liquid

putting jackets in the dryer at a moderate temp will help to reactivate the DWR ( durable water repellency) but the DWR does need to be reapplied every so often, no matter what brand or how much you paid. If water is soaking through your jacket, it's time to reapply. You can also touch up with an iron to reactivate DWR.

A too hot dryer can cause all sorts of problems from delamination of the face membrane or seam tape, to actually melting zippers.

Grime - according to GORE, you can use Shout and other products on grease and grime. I've also used a mild Simple Green solution, but YMMV. If you've got a white coat with grease on it, don't expect perfection. The best way to prevent nasty grime at the collar and cuffs is regular launderings. We do our coats twice a season, and I retreat them in the spring before I put them away.


Wetting out (surface fabric soaking through in rain) is a sure sign that your DWR needs to be reapplied.

Soap flakes is no longer recommended. Some of us are old enough to remember that. Also, dry cleaning is not recommended but if you must do it ask for a clear rinse.

I run into people who think they'll damage it by washing it. You damage it more with a build up of grime, body oil, sweat, dirt and all the other fun stuff that accumulates with use. Ever seen a 15 year old parka that's never been washed? Ew. The DWR is going to wear off no matter what over time - it depends more on environmental conditions than laundering. In fact, not washing regularlywill cause something called "masking", which causes it to not perform properly

Do not use fabric softeners with technical fabrics. It clogs up the wicking properties and many coats have a wicking liner these days.

People will complain their goretex leaks in the rain. It's probably not leaking. More likely, condensation is building up on the inside. Goretex and similar fabrics are designed to work in cold, drier conditions; not wet humid one. Those billions of microscopic pores can only move so much vapor - if it's really wet out, or you are perspiring heavily, you are overtaxing the ability of the fabric to function and you will be wet.

Goretex and similar DO wear out.

Really good FAQ on washing this stuff here
https://www.grangersusa.com/faq.html

 

[ski diva]

WOW!!! Great stuff here.

Glad to see my regimen has been pretty good. Interesting about the Gore-Tex and condensation on the inside. I had no idea!

 

[Jilly]

I guess I've been doing pretty good too. I wash my suits about 2X during the season. And always put everything away clean. I've mentioned before of this product called Grime eater. I sent a light blue coat to the cleaners because I couldn't get the grease out with Shout. They couldn't get it either. So I talked to the local race moms and they mentioned this product. About $5/bottle, spray and go. Couldn't believe this stuff. Use it for any grease now.

geargirl, I know what your saying about not washing gear. I can't believe the people who are walking around in January with last March's lift tickets. Ugh!! You put that coat away in the summer without cleaning it. I set a day aside in early May to wash and hang up outside everything.

As of yet I haven't needed to add the Nikwax, but maybe this year I will to the light blue Phenix. It's getting old. I'll look for your Granger.

 

[itri]

GREAT info, geargrrl! I will confess that I don't wash my jackets as often as I should, but I also only get 10-15 days/year in, so they don't get quite as bad as others' probably do. I really should wash my jacket from last season, although it's not bad, so this info is wonderful. I'll have to see if I can find the products you recommended!

I have learned all about the wicking fabrics and fabric softener since I started working out regularly. Unfortunately, after I had already killed off the wicking properties of a few quite expensive dry-tec shirts. :mad: I actually wash all my workout gear separately from the rest of my laundry now, no softener, but I do use some vinegar to help with static.

 

[Consuela]

Thanks GearGrrl! That's good information! What products do you recommend using to reapply the waterproofing to jackets and pants?

What about gloves and mittens? Do you wash those on the same schedule?

Itri, didn't know about using vinegar to reduce static. That would be super cool to try. How much do you put in?

 

[ISki]

Has anyone ever washed a brightly colored ski jacket in their home machine? Did the color bleed & fade? That is my biggest concern, besides losing the waterproofing, that the color will fade.

 

[itri]

Itri, didn't know about using vinegar to reduce static. That would be super cool to try. How much do you put in?

It doesn't work as well as the chemical fabric softeners, but vinegar is a natural fabric softener and it definitely helps with stuff that you can't use fabric softener on. I use it with my cloth diapers because fabric softener interferes with their absorbency. I typically put about 1/4 cup or so in, I guess. I don't really measure. A little more or less depending on the size of the load...diapers probably get closer to half a cup since they're a big load, workout clothes maybe just a few tablespoons.

 

[geargrrl]

Thanks GearGrrl! That's good information! What products do you recommend using to reapply the waterproofing to jackets and pants?

What about gloves and mittens? Do you wash those on the same schedule?

Itri, didn't know about using vinegar to reduce static. That would be super cool to try. How much do you put in?

Granger's products are great, but if you can't find them, Nikwax works OK. Both companies make a full line of technical fabric care products, choose them according to label.

Gloves - ok, these I never wash. An machine will tear them up, and they would take forever to dry. Liners are the exception.


Regarding bleeding in the wash. If I had a coat that did this, I would be on the phone to customer service for warranty replacement in a heart beat. Bleeding means the fabric wasn't prepared properly during manufacture.

FWIW, we've got a family of ski patrollers so our gear sees hard use. I wash the jackets once a season, and at the end of the season not like every week or anything. This works for us.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

As always, sticky-worthy info from gg. Quick question: Granger's website (your link provided) recommends the spray-on for garments with liners that have wicking properties (as opposed to the wash-in/machine dry method). Do you concur?

As to brightly colored jackets mentioned by ISki -- cold water wash, and as previously mentioned by gg, if color runs, time to call mfr.

Some machines, specifically newer front loaders, have a ultra handwash cycle. I have washed wool sweaters in this cycle with success. This spring, the gloves all went in it, including those w/leather palms. They were air dried following. I'm pleased with the results, as DH and I are 2 pairs per day due to dampness.

Also was glad to read the info about Gore-Tex's inherent limitations in re: water vapor evaporation. This answers a long-standing question I've had about the material, in a shell that never was quite suitable for skiing due to interior moisture. Thanks for offering such great info and insight.

 

[bklyn]

Don't sit in the middle on the lift...
;)

 

[SnowHot]

Don't sit in the middle on the lift...
;)

Tis True!
When I took this pic, bklyn and I were kind enough to let Chris sit between us. Kind of us, huh?

 

[geargrrl]

As always, sticky-worthy info from gg. Quick question: Granger's website (your link provided) recommends the spray-on for garments with liners that have wicking properties (as opposed to the wash-in/machine dry method). Do you concur?

yep, the spray on is pain but I do agree...

 

[Consuela]

Has anyone ever washed a brightly colored ski jacket in their home machine? Did the color bleed & fade? That is my biggest concern, besides losing the waterproofing, that the color will fade.

I do wash my 12 year old ski jacket in my home washer machine and as you can see from the pic, I have been unable to get the color to fade..

PS. We are snow shoeing near Kirkwood here. That is the resort in the distance behind us.

 

[Shellski]

Chairlift grease is really hard to get out once it has soaked in so I try to prevent that by being on the lookout and rubbing it off with a handful of snow as soon as I get off the lift.

I only wash my outerwear twice a year, at the end of the season here and after an OS trip, but I am not wearing it for weeks at a time.

Although because I usually only keep outerwear for about 2-3 years before updating it, that isn't a lot of washes so I've never noticed any loss of fabric performance.

I wash the removable inners of gloves, but I've never washed glove outers, I've never needed to.

I just gentle machine wash and line dry.

 

[Jenny]

This is sort of on topic - what do you do about unidentified stains? I have lots of thin black lines on the left arm of my coat. And NOTHING has worked. The best guess I've come up with is that maybe it's from the edges of the skis, like maybe I was standing with them leaning against my arm or something. Any ideas?

 

[abc]

Although because I usually only keep outerwear for about 2-3 years before updating it, that isn't a lot of washes so I've never noticed any loss of fabric performance.

I'm in the same boat, albeit for a slightly different reason. I've only bought waterproof outwears start last season. So I don't have a lot of experience in washing them yet.

How did I manage to ski with non-waterproof outer wears? I've been asking myself all of this season. Then I realized, I don't usually ski when it's raining!

And when I finally did, skied when it was pouring buckets, even though I was wearing full waterproof outer wear, I did get wet! How? From the "connections" points: glove culfs, and collars.

But I didn't feel cold. How come, I wondered? For the simple fact my inner layers are all wicking materials: fleece + cycling jersey + smartwool. And the thing is, although the first drip of water feels cold, the subsequent ones, I didn't feel it any more.

Another simple fact, when it's raining, it can't be that cold! Or the precip would have come down as snow... Unless, of course, if you're skiing at Whistler where there's, what, 6000' of elevation and totally different climates top vs bottom, that is. But then, most people would have stay up high in the snow zone, out of the rain...

So, I've not find a compelling motivation to buy a Spider suite just yet...

One of the "drawback" of the new crop of high-tech jackets is they're pretty indestructable! So I can't "justify" a new one when the old one is still going strong after 10 years!!! Well, the fact they're also not cheap doesn't help. :( As Connie wrote, if it's between a season pass or a jacket, mmm...

 

[geargrrl]

Here's another tip I just remembered.

If you do a lot of hand wash, or buy special detergents like WIN, you might try baby shampoo instead. WIN is just reformulated detergent with something like Oxyclean already added to it. Woolite is a very harsh detergent that has a lot of conditioner added to it to "smooth" out the harshness. Baby shampoo is very effective, and costs much less.

 

[liquidfeet]

Do those little laundry dryer sheets that you throw into the dryer count as fabric softener?

If you dry your jacket, or your wicking layers of shirts and pant liners, can you throw them in the dryer with those sheets and still consider yourself NOT putting fabric softener on them?

 

[Robyn]

My understanding is no, those sheets will still affect the performance of your gear but I'd like to hear geargrrl's thoughts as well.