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Waterproof Garment Care Birmingham AL

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Here at Dry Clean City of Vestavia Hills, we post garment care tips to help keep our customers informed about the best ways to care for their clothing & household items.

Today we are posting our recommended care information for technical outerwear. These outerwear garments require special care in order for them to work efficiently and the way they were intended to work.

Tech Outerwear

Waterproof Jackets & Pants are seam sealed to prevent water from entering through the seams. They are also designed to be breathable so that moisture from your body’s activity does not form perspiration condensation inside the waterproof garment and cause your clothing to become wet from this condensation. Most technical jackets & pants will have a breathable waterproof liner such as Goretex to prevent water from entering the garment if it were to permeate the water repellent shell. The Goretex liner also allows moisture, (perspiration), from your body to escape so the outerwear garment does not become wet inside from condensation. A waterproof liner such as Goretex is designed to not allow water to permeate, but allow air to pass. Basically water molecules are larger than air molecules and the water molecules cannot permeate the liner because they are too large.

We do not recommend dry cleaning any waterproof or water repellent outerwear because it may cause the sealed seams of a water proof garment to fail. Dry cleaning also will alter the waterproofing properties of technical outerwear. We recommend washing these technical outerwear garments as per the manufacture’s care label.

Below we have listed some information from Nickwax Waterproofing. (They are the leader in high performance cleaning and waterproofing products for technical outerwear).

Durable Water Repellency (DWR)

What exactly is DWR?

Durable Water Repellency (DWR) is an invisible water-repellent finish applied to the outer fabric of most outdoor clothing and equipment. It prevents the fabric from absorbing water by making water bead up on the surface and roll off. Maintenance of the DWR with one of our cleaning products is vital to allow the fabric to breathe.

Can I machine wash my jacket?

Most waterproof breathable jackets are machine washable but always read the care label first. Nikwax supports the use of machine washing with its products to provide fast, effective and even application.

What should I do if my jacket or gear is leaking?

Many people think their jacket or gear is leaking when the problem is often caused by perspiration condensing because the jacket isn’t breathing properly. This may be because the DWR finish has worn off or is masked by dirt. Nikwax recommends you clean with Tech Wash and then use the appropriate proofing products to replenish the water repellency to get maximum performance from your gear. With Nikwax there’s no need to tumble dry to activate the water-repellency.

Breathability and Wicking

What exactly is breathability and why is it so important when outdoors?

The more you exercise, the hotter you get and the more you sweat. As the sweat evaporates it cools you down. Breathable garments allow the sweat vapor to escape, keeping you comfortable. If the sweat vapor is allowed to build up in your clothing, it becomes damp. Once you stop exercising, the damp clothing draws heat away causing your body to cool down very quickly. This can be dangerous in cold weather. It is important to maintain the breathability of your outdoor clothing.

What exactly is wicking and why is it so important when outdoors?

Wicking is about moving sweat away from the skin. Any moisture that can be made to evaporate quickly and away from the skin will keep you cool and comfortable. Technically, there are many different types of wicking fabrics to choose from.

Nikwax Products

What are the advantages to using Nikwax TX.Direct wash-in instead of TX.Direct spray-on?

By immersing a garment in a wash-in treatment you apply a complete and even coating of the active ingredients to all the fibers, zips and threads. The treatment finds its way to the back of zips and pocket flaps, behind velcro tabs – all the places that are easy to miss with spray-on treatments. You do not miss any part. Clothing that is PU coated can be coated with a Nikwax waterproofing treatment by using our TX.Direct spray-on product to the outside of the garment only. This product means you can target specific areas of the jacket that need waterproofing anytime, anywhere.
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Clothing Care Tips