Washing and re-impregnating

GORE-TEX and DOWN

The Mountain Studio philosophy is that taking care and repairing worn or damaged garments is the best investment you can to - for your wallet and for the planet.

It does not only extend the life of the garments but also helps in reducing the environmental footprint by decreasing the need for manufacturing new items.  

To ensure the functionality of your technical garment you need to wash and re-proof them. Dirt, sweat, salt etc. clog up the material and eventually water-repellency, breathability, and insulation ability will be reduced.

All our garments have care labels, and it is important to follow these instructions to get the most out of your garments and to ensure that the warranty stays valid. With most of our garments the instructions are quite straight forward and easy to follow.

But to help you out we have made some more detailed instructions on how to wash and take care of our Gore-Tex® and down garments. 

 

Gore-Tex® garments

Start with checking the wash instructions on your garment’s care label. Emptying all pockets, closing all zippers and Velcro’s, and turning it inside out is the first step.  

Choose a gentle wash program, with low temperature and a low spin cycle. Use a technical liquid detergent, as a powder detergents or fabric softeners might damage the fabric or membrane. One such product is NikWax® Tech Wash which also reactivates the DWR – Durable Water Repellency – treatment. The DWR is a treatment applied to all waterproof fabrics to reduce the surface tension so that waterdrops more easily roll off.

Wash together with other technical garments without overloading the washing machine. Avoid washing with heavily soiled garments. Do not use fabric softener.

Hang-dry your garment unless you plan to add or restore the water -repellency – DWR -  of the outer fabric. Remember that the waterproof/breathable membrane of your shell will not be affected or start to leak by wear or washing but the water repellency treatment of the outer surface fabric will eventually wear down and the garment might feel damp and cold.

Should you decide your garment needs a re-proofing - normally needed after 4-5 washes – you should either wash it immediately again with a water-repellent impregnation liquid or use a re-impregnation spray. We recommend the NiKWax® TX products for these steps. Remember to re-wash or spray your products directly after washing while they are still wet. 

A gentle tumble-drying of your garment will be preferable but hang-drying in a warm place will also do the job.

 

Down garments

Just like your shells, your down garments need to be washed and re-proofed. Dirt, sweat, salt, oil etc. clog up the material and eventually water-repellency, breathability, and not the least the insulation ability will be reduced. Remember that a thin down garment worn while active probably will be more affected by sweat than a heavy down parka, and thus need washing more often. 

Start with checking the wash instructions on your garment’s care label. Emptying all pockets, closing all zippers and turning it inside out is the first step.  

Choose the gentlest wash program, with low temperature and a low spin cycle – many machines even have a down program. We recommend using a specialized down liquid detergent such as NikWax® Down Wash which is gentle to the natural oils of the down and feathers.

Wash separately or together with other down garments without overloading the washing machine. Avoid washing with heavily soiled garments. Do not use fabric softener or powder detergents.

Hang-dry your garment unless you plan to add or restore the water repellency – DWR - of the outer fabric. Should you decide your garment needs a re-proofing  - normally needed after 4-5 washes – you should either wash it again with a  water repellent impregnation liquid made for down products or use a similar re-impregnation spray. We recommend the NiKWax® Down Wash products for these steps. Remember to re-wash or spray your products directly after washing while they are still wet.

Drying a down jacket will always take time, do not try to force it with excessive heat. Chose a low heat setting with low spinning on your dryer. Take the garment out every now and then to pull the down clumps apart and redistribute the down by hand and by shaking it.

The outer fabric will dry much faster than the down so don’t activate auto stop on your machine. Some people prefer to throw in a couple of tennis balls or specialized dryer balls in the dryer, but they are not essential to the process.