Follow these quick steps to keep your waterproofs doing as they should using Grangers performance cleaner/Grangers 2 in 1 cleaner & reproofer.
The durable water repellent coating is the garments first line of defence, allowing water to bead up and roll off rather than soaking into the garment, “wetting out”. Proper care and treatment can help restore the DWR treatment and its capabilities and increase the garments performance and longetivity.
Always read the care label on your garment before washing.
How to Clean your Waterproofs
- Firstly you will need to prepare the washing machine for your item, you will need to clean your washing machine of all detergents, bleaches, fabric softeners, and anything perfumed, as these have surfactants in, which are designed to attract water into clothing, which can then of course damage your waterproof item and affect performance, by stripping away the DWR coating. If you want to be extra prepared for your garment going into the machine, run a hot cycle with a few clean tea towels in, but no detergents!
- Once your washing machine is clean and ready, check all pockets and make sure all zips and velcro’s are fastened, and release any tension on any draw cords before putting it into the machine. Wash on a 30 degree cycle with a suitable cleaning aid, we recommend using Grangers performance 2 in 1 cleaner and waterproofer, as it will remove odour whilst maintaining the garments water repellency.
- How you dry your garment can impact on how your garments DWR coating is reactivated. Drying on a line/radiator is ok, but to get the best result, dry it in a tumble dryer for approximately 30-45 minutes on a low gentle cycle to reactivate the DWR treatment. (Tip: If you’ve no tumble dryer, dry your garment with a hairdryer or an iron on a low temperature) Then hang the items to air dry fully. Check to see if the garment has dried completely by dropping a few drops of water onto it, if they bead and roll off the garment, it is fully dried and ready to use, if the water soaks into the fabric just pop it back into the dryer for a little bit longer.
- If you didn’t use a 2 in 1 cleaner and proofer you will need to reproof your item once its clean (this process doesn’t need to be followed every time you wash your garment) This can be done with another wash using Grangers performance proofer, following the same steps as if you were washing your clothing.