Cleaning Gortex Parka?

M

maury

Joined
Sep 24, 2000
Messages
606
I need to clean my Gortex parka - first time since I got it last year. My wife's idea, not mine...... Can anyone advise best way? That is, is it worth paying the extra charge my local cleaner wants to dry clean it, or is there a safe way to machine wash it?

Also, do I need to do anything special to maintain the water repelent properties - a spray or something after it is washed or dry cleaned?

Thanks!
 
I've had Gore-Tex stuff for many years and have always heard that washing it by hand (or machine gently) is the recommended way. I also heard that just regular machine wash is fine. My wife finds great used Gore-Tex ski pants and stuff for the kids at second hand stores and has washed them like normal clothes in the washer, and they came out great and work great, and have for years. The pointy is that it's not that sensitive to damage. I personally would go with the Nikwax and follow their instructions. I've heard good recommendations for Nikwax stuff. I don't think you need any spray or anything additional for Gore-tex. I've used Gore-Tex ski pants for years and to me this is the real test of it's performance. You are constantly sitting in puddles of water e.g. on the chair lift, and no water has ever past to my butt. Plus they get abused. I've never done anything special to my Gore-Tex ski pants, and they've always worked.
 
I use Nikwax Tech Wash. Even if the label says machine washable, I always hand-wash my Goretex jacket. I don't trust any mechanical washer to be gentle enough. If you can't find any Tech Wash, I've found that Woolite will suffice. For DWR restoration, Revivex works best for me. I use a full 5 oz. bottle per jacket. I spray the stuff onto a freshly-washed wet jacket. When I'm satisfied that the jacket is covered in Revivex, I take the jacket off the hanger and then put it back in the wash basin and pour the rest of the Revivex on the jacket, ensuring that it soaks in the stuff. I then put the jacket in the drier with a medium setting for about 40 minutes. Works for me. :)
 
Thanks for all the info!

I tried Nixwax Tech Wash this morning and the parka looks great. Rain is forcast for may area tomorrow, so that'll be the true test. Meanwhile your help is - as always - much appreciated!
 
Looks like I'll try Nikwax TX-Direct again. I applied Revivex on both my wife's jacket and mine a few days ago. It's raining here today and water was beading off my wife's jacket nicely and wasn't beading off at all on mine. Ugh!
 
Scratch the Revivex and go with what Skyline and Eager recommend. I washed my jacket with Nikwax Tech Wash and then applied Nikwax TX-Direct last night, just in time for rain today. My jacket shed water like it was new.
 
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