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This line, buried deep in the article, is what completely boggles my mind: > We tell customers to wash their outerwear, regardless of whether it has PFAS or no
by blahedo 3y ago
This line, buried deep in the article, is what completely boggles my mind:
> We tell customers to wash their outerwear, regardless of whether it has PFAS or not, after every three to five significant uses and to re-waterproof every three to five washes.
Their outerwear? So we're not talking about inner layers here. All of them? Every three to five uses?? I have jackets and coats that are decades old, in active (seasonal) use for the whole time, that I have never washed. Is this unusual? How would you even wash them? For some of them, it seems like just throwing them in a washing machine would damage the surface layers, make the lining lumpy, shrink them, or do some other problematic thing to them.
- Log_out_ 3y agoReminds me of the washing recommendations for the Kevlar trousers of wood workers. Like, 3-5 washes and the fibers are shot, better to stink of pine sap, then to pain on mine sap.
- davidbanham 3y agoThe Kevlar in chainsaw chaps and motorcycle clothing is rapidly damaged by fabric softener. Wash them only with pure soap and they’ll last just fine.
- ragazzina 3y ago>Is this unusual? Do you ever go to a restaurant? Or eat while wearing your jacket?
- davidbanham 3y agoWash gore tex with a specific product like nikwax tech wash, or just use pure soap flakes. I wash mine around once a snow season. Or sooner if I’ve gone on a really dirty summer hike. If the pores of the fabric get clogged with dirt it doesn’t repel water as well. Wash the jacket, then give it a gentle tumble dry. This warms and reflows the DWR coating. If it isn’t beading and shedding water after this, consider re-applying a DWR. I like nikwax, I find it effective and it’s less horrible than the aerosol ones.