Top quality outdoor equipment is tough! Nevertheless the high level functionality can only be maintained with careful and suitable cleaning care. Here we have six top tips to keep your garments at top standard even under the hardest conditions and on how to restore impregnation to full level.
The instructions for washing and cleaning of the garments should be observed in order to maintain their quality for as long as possible. Moreover, especially for water-resistant and active breathing clothing there are some special care tricks:
1. Heavy dirt impairs the garment functions: For this reason they should be cleaned regularly. Function garments, under normal use and with corresponding dirt level should be cleaned about four times a year.
2. Before washing, the zip fasteners and Velcro fasteners should be closed. This ensures that such parts that are already subject to wear and tear are not subject to an additional wear factor.
3. When washing you should always choose a special non-perfumed washing agent for practical outdoor garments and which leaves no traces. Please do not use too much detergent. Exceptions are garments with a non-porous PU membrane, which should be washed with customary detergents.
4. Function clothing is washed at 30°C in the gentle wash procedure. In order to remove all traces of detergent, a thorough rinsing process is essential. In principle you should not put your garments in a spin drier.
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5. The upper fabric of hard-shell clothing also has a water and dirt repellent finish. This function is also supported by the membrane. Impregnation has a grid-form molecular structure which is “shifted” during washing and for this reason, after every wash, this should be revived by heat – in a drying room, with a hairdryer or through ironing under a cloth.
6. With time, the impregnation also washes out or is simply worn off through wearing and so after a few washes impregnation should be renewed – for example with the use of a spray. The fact that the fabric is no longer fully impregnated can be seen when droplets on the surface no longer pearl off but the jacket instead soaks up the water and feels damp.
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