Altura Wet Weather Gear

AndyOgy
AndyOgy Posts: 579
edited March 2009 in Commuting chat
I've got the usual Altura Night Vision water-proof kit and it's a bit smelly from a winter of commuting. Do I just wash it in the machine like anything else or do I need to use a special detergent to maintain it's waterproofness? I'm sure that there would have been instructions with the gear but they would appear to have been recycled.

Comments

  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    Usual recommendation is low temp machine wash with non-bio detergent and no fabric softener (watch out if you are using detergent and softener in one type product).

    The fabric treatments renew the water repellent finish, but do not, in themselves, make the jacket waterproof. If it leaks already, this won't fix it, it is down to the fabric construction (usually laminated - the laminate can break down or separate, letting in the water) and taped seams.

    Where the water repellent finish is important is in terms of maintaining breathability, they make water bead up and run off the surface, without it the fabric gets "wetted out" (continuous film of water), which prevents the jacket breathing. The end result can be you are wetter inside but this will be due to sweat rather than a leak. However, some shops like to insist that all wet inside such jackets is sweat, in reality (in my experience of several) the laminates do fail quite frequently.

    If you want to replenish the repellent finish, wash in products designed for Gore-Tex, such as Grangers or Nikwax are fine - just don't expect magic.

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