Can anyone tell me why the care instructions for Gore products on labels and the Gore Bike Wear website don’t specify specialist cleaning and reproofing products?

because you don’t really need them.
certainly you don’t need anything more than non-detergent soap flakes though if you want to you cen easily get products such as Grangers 30deg cleaner and reproofer or Nikwak Tech wash and TX proofer.

Which Gore fabric? There are many and they will have different requirements.

If your link is related to the jacket you want to clean then:

Rinse out your detergent draw if you use that for your normal load. Some people also recommend giving the washing machine a full cycle empty at its highest temperature to clean out any detergent residue.

Wash at 30 with either soap flakes or liquid soap (Nikwax Techwash or dri-pak liquid soap which is much cheaper)

Wait till it’s dry and see if water still beads off it. If it doesn’t then give it a spray with something like Grangers XT proofer, wait till it’s dry and it should bead water off it again.

As to why Gore don’t put the care instructions on the garment, I’m pretty certain that they do put them on the Gore swing tag that’s normally attached when new.

I was referring to Gore Tex Paclite and Windstopper. Not sure about the shop tags – certainly the washing instruction taps sewn into the garments don’t mention it.

dan1980 have some Nikwax stuff (£££!) but thanks for the tip re Dri Pak.

Interestingly their website says they don’t recommend wash-in products.

Will try the Grangers Proofer Combo.

Cynically, I suspect the whole thing is a bit of a cross-sell opportunity for retailers 🙂

I have used the grangers wash and proof combi stuff in the washing machine followed by a low-heat tumble dry on my paclite stuff and it has worked fine.

Cynically, I suspect the whole thing is a bit of a cross-sell opportunity for retailers

Well, if it is, retailers are pretty poor at taking advantage of it. Gore is pretty poor at explaining how to care for its technical fabric, probably because it doesn’t want people to think it’s a faff.

All you really need to know is that breathable waterproof fabrics work best when clean. Normal detergents – Persil etc – contain all sorts of additive and agents that compromise the performance of the fabric. They do this because out of the factory, the face of the fabric is treated with a DWR (Durable Water Repellent) treatment, which is what makes water bead and run off.

The additives in normal detergents – and dirt and body oils etc – mask the DWR and stop it working, so the face of the fabric just soaks up rain, which stops the fabric breathing -> you get wet from the inside.

Sometimes just washing with pure soap is enough to sort it. Sometimes even if the fabric stops beading, heat treatment – a cool iron or maybe tumble drier at a low setting – is enough to revive it. Sometimes you need to re-apply a proofing agent.

If the fabric has a separate mesh liner, use a spray on the outside. If it’s a single layer of material, use a wash in.

There’s a nice vid about it on the Grangers web site as well:

[video]http://vimeo.com/37650561[/video]

I have their windstopper gloves and a jacket and they get stuffed in on a quick 30 minute wash with a bit of persil without issue. Not too sure if this is right or wrong but it’s never done them any harm.

Paclite and Windstopper are two different membranes and they have different care requirements. Windstopper can be washed in anything really, although I often use a DWR (like Nikwax/Grangers) to apply some water resistance.

For Paclite (and other types of GoreTex) washing in soap flakes is your best bet – and an occasional re-proof with a DWR will help breathability.

It seems to me that the current ‘universal’ advice for most of the membranes is to wash is a liquid detergent first, then wash with soap, then proof with DWR.

the detergent kills the greases and oils that affect how the membrane works, and the soap then removes any detergent residue that would stop the DWR working.

TurnerGuy – Member
It seems to me that the current ‘universal’ advice for most of the membranes is to wash is a liquid detergent first, then wash with soap, then proof with DWR.

the detergent kills the greases and oils that affect how the membrane works, and the soap then removes any detergent residue that would stop the DWR working.
IIRC, the soap isn’t powerful enough to remove the detergent residue and you’d need one of the tech cleaners that Nikwax or Grangers do. I’d be keen to see links suggesting detergents though.

Pure soap flakes are an excellent cleaner and will remove detergents
If you feel the tech wash it has the same silky feel as pure soap, so I presume it’s the same ingredient?

I see liquid detergent suggested several times when discussing Event – there was a post from some girl at Rab on some forum but I am not sure that I can find it again. Liquid detergent is also suggested on the Rab site itself:

http://rab.uk.com/love-your-rab/event-care.html

that is also on the eVent site.

eVent care instructions do emphasise regular cleaning – much more so than for GoreTex.

Also from the Rab website:

Detergents and machine-washing in general gradually degrade the Durable Water Repellent (DWR) treatment on fabrics.

I washed grangers into my north face jacket, only to find the jacket says no tumble dry. Needless to say the jacket came out less waterproof than before it went in as there was no tumble drying. Am I missing something here?

faz – all my Altura stuff says same thing – I find air drying on a hanger works ok

I washed grangers into my north face jacket, only to find the jacket says no tumble dry. Needless to say the jacket came out less waterproof than before it went in as there was no tumble drying. Am I missing something here?

Most of the aftermarket re-proofers – the Grangers ‘2 in 1’ stuff is an exception – don’t need heat-treating these days, though they may work slightly better if you do heat them. If the label allows, iron it, but avoid water-resistant zips and reflective as you melt one and spoil the other.

Tumble drying is iffy anyway. It tends to abrade the surface of the fabric – hello fluffy residue – and if the thermostat is faulty, you could melt parts of your jacket.

If you can’t iron it, then redo it with a treatment that doesn’t need heat activation – Nikwax TX11 stuff works well ime, even just with air-drying.

Thanks for all the feedback.

What about Windstopper Active Shell? Does this need reproofing?

Windstopper Active Shell is not waterproof to start with. However, adding a DWR will provide some water repellancy.

GORE-TEX Active Shell is the waterproof version. Bloody Gore haven’t half confused things with the names!

Windstopper Active Shell is not waterproof to start with.

If you want to split hairs, the membrane is, but the seams aren’t. Using a proofer will stop the face fabric soaking up water as quickly.