been deliberating lately about a new waterproof as the last time i got really rained on in my altura mayhem i didnt stay completely dry. However ive decided rather than spunking £200 on a new jacket i wouldnt mind having a go at re-proofing the mayhem. I stay firmly indoors when its properly pissing down anyway!

any recommendations on what tackle to use??

The nikwax stuff is good. Any reproofing requires two washes. First wash a cleaner (specialist gore stuff or a gentle non bio liquid) to get the rubbish out. Normally at 30oC. Then a second wash (you dont have to dry in between) with a reproofer. Dont put more than two items for reproofing in the machine in one go and follow the instructions on the bottle. The Graingers stuff also have a good reputation.

Nikwax stuff – two treatments as above – has revived some of my jackets.
Probably not *for ever* – but long enough to stave off replacement for a bit.

^^^ agree with kcal. Eventually new jacket will call, but worth a few reproofing efforts normally first. I dont find it ever totally sorts slightly leaking seams.

so the wash stuff is better than the spray on?

Havent personally used the spray on ever apart from for tents. Think its easier to get a full even coverage with the wash in.

I’ve redone my Mayhem twice and it holds of the Scottish rain just fine

+1 for nikwax. My goretex active shell had been washed with normal detergent with other bike stuff and had really lost its waterproofing. The detergent particles block the pores in the fabric allowing moisture to pass through.
After using the Nikwax it really beads up and sheds water like when it was new.

plus a thread related PSA if you do their on-line quiz thing they send you a free sample!
Try before you buy!

http://nikwax.co.uk/en-gb/webquiz/index.php

Thought the wash in stuff coated the inside also and therefore the spray on was better?

The NIkwax products work very well. Tech Wash and Wash-in.

I’ve used the Granger’s ones as well. They’re fine.

Make sure your washing machine is clean (really clean) before using them. lingering detergent and fabric conditioner impair the results you could get.

Read the instructions.

Tumble dry the jacket after the wash-in waterproofing treatment if you can. if not, dry it on a radiator.

[edit] you don’t need to wash & reproof too often. You can get a pretty good result by rinsing the jacket in warm water to clean it and then tumble dry.

I tried the wash-in stuff and it was OK but didn’t last long so have just used the spray-on stuff since, seems just as effective to me and less hassle.

Fairly decent video on cleaning/re-proofing from Gore-Tex/Arcteryx:

[video]http://vimeo.com/53191284[/video]

I’ve had much better results with spray on rather than wash in: With the spray you can target those heavy wear areas.

so the wash stuff is better than the spray on?

Isn’t the wash in stuff for ‘3 layer’ jackets (where the outer, goretex layer and inner layer are bonded together) and the spray on for jackets where the inner is separate (like yours I think – does it have a mesh liner?)

I’ve used spray treatment on insulated jackets and cotton fabrics (like my M65) and wash in for my ski jacket

jaffejoffer – Member

so the wash stuff is better than the spray on?

Not in my experience.

An old jacket I re-proofed with a spray on stuff stayed waterproof for quite a while afterwards.

The wash-in Nikwax stuff didn’t seem to make any appreciable difference to the waterproofing of the jacket I used it on – and yes I cleaned the washing machine out as much as practically possible before using the Nikwax stuff.

My old Sprayway jacket from around 1995 is patched and scruffy and has been my best mountain biking and walking jacket for all those years keeping me dry on multi-day trips with torrential rain in Scotland and Canada’s west coast so I reckoned it owed me nothing and decided to soak it in Thompson’s Water Seal. It took a day for the carrier to dry off and it was a bit stiff for a while afterwards but the damned thing refuses to die; now, if anything, the “handle” of the jacket is softer than ever and the water keeps beading up on it almost as well as when new. I’m not sure what abuse I need to give it to kill it off and justify a new one!

That Thomsons Water Seal looks, and smells exactly like Graingers/Nikwax spray on.
I wouldn’t want it against the skin but definitely worth trying with a plant sprayer on the outside.

Tumble drying (if you can) after treatment really helps, some of the reproofers actually recommend it to activate the treatment. You may be able to get away with a wash then a tumble dry.

I tend to use pure soap flakes, much more economical than the dedicated ‘tech’ wash stuff. EDIT: Bargain!!!
I’ve used both nikwax and grangers over the years, prefer nikwax tbh but it has increased in price quite a bit…TISO want £8.50 a bottle! I used the tesco one recently (spray on) not had a chance to test in a downpour yet though.

As said above, some garments aren’t suitable for the wash-in reproofer, but even some with mesh liners are. Contact the manufacturer or check their website, most usually recommend a product.

I wash mine in this stuff. Tesco sell it as well.

Liquid soap

Then reproof with Nikwax wash in.

i find the spray on Nikwax stuff is the only stuff that actually re-proofs. All the wash in proofers i’ve ever used have never worked (Nikwax, Graingers others)

in fact, the last go at a wash in re-proofer ruined my softshell fox jacked (delaminated the materials)

i’d be interested to know what Gore use from teh factory as their out of the box treatment lasts ages and is way better than others

Cheers for the replies mates

Wilkos also sell liquid laundry soap.