I have a Gill eVent jacket that is about 4-5 years old and I have reproofed it fairly regularly over its life using grangers wash-in reproofer. I probably last did it about 3 months ago and has not been used in the wet since until this morning when it was chucking it down. The jacket did ok but did ‘soak’ in a bit of rain on the arms.

Is it possible that the reproofing has worn off from being stashed in my backpack constantly? or is it that after a time, the jacket doesn’t reproof as well as it used to? I had previously noticed that where my backpack rubs against the back of the jacket it doesn’t seem to want to reproof as well as other areas – is this normal?

ive also noticed that my eVent doesnt like being in contact with stuff, i.e. camelbak

mines much newer tho and a run over with a steam iron sorts it out

Is water soaking through, or is it the outer fabric absorbing water?

Try some new re-proofing agent?

What did you use to clean the garment before re-proofing it?

What did you use to clean the garment before re-proofing it?

I used a liquid detergent i think.

a run over with a steam iron sorts it out

iron – it should be fairly cool i guess and on the reverse?

Is water soaking through, or is it the outer fabric absorbing water?

soaking through to an extent – my shirt under my jacket got a touch wet

Never gonna be near as good when new…?

Try washing it in some Tech Wash – to remove the detergent – and then re-proofing.

Warm iron – on the facing material (outside) once re-proofed. That will help water bead-up and enhance breathability.

portlyone – Member
Never gonna be near as good when new…?

That too I guess. I reckon 4-5 years for my GoreTex and I’m hoping my new Event jacket will be the same.

Try washing it in some Tech Wash – to remove the detergent – and then re-proofing.

yup, using a pure soap is vital to keep waterproof jackets going.

eVent isn’t as hardy as Gore-tex, so there’s a good chance it’s just starting to die

To be fair, the washing instructions with the jacket did say to use liquid detergent with regular washing (at least my Wiggle eVent jacket did).

If you’re scared of the iron a hot hairdryer works well too

Because of the way that Event works you need to clean the jacket in a “normal” detergent first, then re-wash with pure soap (or techwash) before applying a waterproofing agent (spray on ones seem to work best for me anyway) and then apply heat (cool tumble dryer, iron over a tea towl, hair dryer etc.)

Should be almost as good as new once you’ve done that.

on the 1-3 heating scale on the iron, what level should I be ironing it at?

http://www.eventfabrics.com/care_and_maintenance.php

We also
recommend that you avoid ironing the garment but if you do use the steam setting
on no higher temperature than “warm”. At some temperatures, the heat from the
iron can have a rejuvenating effect on the DWR finish but there is a greater potential
for fabric damage if the iron is too hot.

Hmmm – interesting to read that as it goes against what I was previously told and the instructions on the re-proofing agents.

Use a tumble dryer? Less risky than using an iron, I would’ve thought.

Just make sure you don’t apply to much heat. Thankfully it was old, but I ruined a goretex jacket by accidentally using a hot tumble dryer, and the seam tape shrunk.

If you’re scared of the iron a hot hairdryer works well too

Ooh that’s a really good tip.

I totally cleaned out the detergents drawer and gave the washer a short hot wash (without anything in) to make sure it was clean of ‘detergent build up’ before re-proofing.

Rab event jackets suggest frequent washing with normal detergent.