weather clothes

[Melalvai]

Thanks for the input. I've been afraid to wash the goretex at all, but I will rinse it gently now that I know. And I'll look into the waterproofing.

[evangundy]

How timely - the Gore rep was in last week leading a clinic for us and this was one of the topics we covered.

Don't be afraid to wash and dry your GoreTex. It needs washing and a warm dryer to reactivate the DWR coating. Here is a link to the care instructions directly on the GoreTex website.
http://www.gore-tex.com/remote/Satel...g-instructions

If you have washed it enough to need to renew the DWR, do not use a wash-in type - that ruins the breathability of GoreTex. Use a spray on for the outside only (NikWax is one brand but there are many others that work as well - I use Camp Dry).

Give it a try and let us know if you like the results of the wash/dry :-)
Edna

[BikeShopGirl]

All great answers to the Gore-Tex and wool questions..

[mizzbananie]

regarding taking care of your merino... if you can find it (try a yarn store or a place that sells spinning fiber), buy a wool wash product called euculan. it restores the lanolin in the garment to a small degree (you won't smell like a sheep) and keeps the fiber supple. Also, clean wool repels critters.. they like dirty, smelly stuff. best way to wash is to put your garment in a room temp basin of water/euculan and let it soak for 15 or 20 minutes. gently squeeze out excess water. you could then put it in a top loader and spin it, or you could wrap it in a towel and step on it. garment should be damp. lay flat to dry.

this treatment will extend the life of your garment...

[Melalvai]

I'll look for euculan.
We had a wet/icy day yesterday, and my goretex held up! Putting it through the dryer restored its water-proof!

[malkin]

Kookaburra makes a woolwash too.
Some people like the smell better than Euculan.

Lanolin is great stuff. Every winter when my hands go over the sandpaper edge I make it a point to knit something from nice greasy wool.