How to properly wash your outerwear – jackets and pants

Anyone who has bought any light coloured outerwear will know how easily it gets dirty.

It might look super nice in the shop, bit white pants are not going to stay that way for long.

I used to own a bright orange Foursquare jacket, and although I did a pretty good job of keeping it clean, in spring it didn’t last too long without getting some stains on it.

Because the materials of jackets are made to resist water on the outside, and allow breathability (ie sweat) out, you can’t wash them like normal clothes and still keep them breathable and water resistant.

If you wash your outerwear with normal detergent, it leaves behind a residue that is hydrophilic, which means it is more likely to attract and absorb water. Not at all what you want for something you are going to wear in the snow.

The easiest way to clean your gear is using Tech Wash, which is made my Nikwax.

If you have some stubborn stains, you can use Tech Wash on it directly, to try and loosen it before the real wash. I had a couple of bad looking stains from the lift towers dripping oil/grease on my jacket, and doing this helped clean them right up.

Basically, all you need to do is make sure that your washing machine doesn’t have any built up detergent in the dispenser, then put in up to 2 pieces of clothing, and add between 100 to 150ml of Tech Wash and run a cycle that the tag on your outerwear recommends.

If you have a really warm jacket that has a down filling, use the Down Wash version instead.