Nikwax Products/Reproofing Garments

[harveymt]

I need to get some new waterproofing for my boots. I had the Nikwax Fabric and Leather Proofer.  I was going to get the Cleaning Gel this time too.

I see they also do a product Tech Wash for cleaning and then TX Direct Wash In for re-proofing. Has anybody used these?

What do people use for re-proofing their gear? I have yet to wash my waterproof jacket since I got it a few months ago.  I have washed my gaiters a load of times just with detergent so I presume I've worn off the proofing?

How often do people re-proof their boots?

[Ed]

Hello Harvey,

I'll share my two pennies here, your mileage may vary but I've found the following.

Tech Wash is expensive - and is essentially liquid soap heavily diluted with some nice "technical" smelling fragrance added.

I use dripak liquid soap flakes - it's a great deal cheaper and just as gentle on the jacket.

I use this for cleaning all my outdoor gear, including the coats and waterproofs.

For proofing jackets I use the TX-direct spray.
My rationale for this is that DWR belongs on the surface of the jacket and nowhere else. You don't want DWR on your lining or mesh, or anywhere but the very outer surface of your jacket.

There is the worry of missing bits, but just use it twice as often and you'll not miss the same bits twice so you're always covered.

I re-dwr my jacket after every second wash. Some might see this as excessive, but my jacket only wets out after literally hours of rain - it does pretty well.


For proofing / washing your boots - forget the wee sponge on bottles. It takes quite a bit of vigour to properly clean the outside of a pair of boots, and that wee sponge head will tear off long before you've finished the bottle of liquid. Also, the cleaning gel is essentially soap.

Take a dishwashing sponge with a rough edge and soak it in your liquid soap, use it instead. Not only will you lather the entire boot in a few strokes - but it'll be cheaper. It takes a good few minutes to lather up the boot with those wee footwear gel bottles.

The sponge-on bottle for the re-proofer is a touch more tolerable because you're doing that with the boot still damp and you don't need to scour, but I wind up using the spray anyway, because it's quicker and easier to apply. Just make sure none gets inside the boot

My boots get thoroughly washed and re-proofed after every walk where they get muddied.
Very rarely, when I go for a dry walk where the boots just get a little dusty - they just get a rinse.

Re-DWRing your boots is very worthwhile because the more water beads off your boot, the less the goretex needs to deal with.

[twentyclicks]

Aragorn, cheers for the tip about the DriPak liquid soap flakes. Is there anywhere stocks it locally? I must check some of the supermarkets for similar products, but remember drawing a blank before.

Even ordering online, £5 delivered is nearly half the price of TechWash.
I see one eBay seller doing 6 bottles for 11.73 and 7.50 economy shipping... works out £3.20 a bottle if we want to do an NI-Wild bulk order?

[Ed]

Aragorn, cheers for the tip about the DriPak liquid soap flakes. Is there anywhere stocks it locally? I must check some of the supermarkets for similar products, but remember drawing a blank before.

Even ordering online, £5 delivered is nearly half the price of TechWash.
I see one eBay seller doing 6 bottles for 11.73 and 7.50 economy shipping... works out £3.20 a bottle if we want to do an NI-Wild bulk order?

I buy off ebay too, the official Dripak distributor.

Though if we're gonna go bulk, these guys are the way to go

http://www.naturalselection.biz/clean-natural-liquid-soap-flakes

It's the same 7 odd postage whether you buy 6 bottles or 66 :-) We could really scale down the cost on a bulk order with this lot, but we'd have to rip the absolute hole out of it to make it cheaper overall, as the main product charge is £3 per bottle.

[harveymt]

Just so I'm clear here, correct me if I'm wrong and hopefully you can answer the questions!

Is Dripak then essentially a very mild form of detergent compared to what you would wash normal clothes in?

The things I have to wash are waterproof jacket, windproof jacket, walking trousers, gaiters and boots.

The trousers make no claims about waterproofness and are of a quick dry material so I think I can just wash them normally.

With the windproof jacket, I'm not sure about waterproofness, I think it has a little. I could wash it in the dripak liquid soap and then nikwax it to waterproof?

The gaiters need washed every time I'm out.  Wash in the dripak then waterproof.  I could probably do this in the sink if I've nothing else to wash.

Waterproof jacket would be the same, wash in dripak then waterproof.

The TX Direct Wash In is the same product as the spray on? Only one will go in machine and waterproof everything in garment and the other just sprayed on outside?

Can the dripak be used for boots too? Or am I better getting the Nikwax Footwear Cleaning Gel?

Is the TX Direct Spray On the same as the Fabric And Leather Proofer? Can the TX Direct Spray be used on boots?

Cheers in advance.

[harveymt]

Any opinions on the Granger products? The superpruf seems to do the same job as the TX direct though is silicone based.  Bikedock and Tiso stock it.  Looks about the same price though comes in a 250ml aerosol.

http://www.grangers.co.uk/product.cfm?cat=12&productid=7

Are there any other brands to consider or do they all do the same job?

[whoRya]

I use Peter Storm wax on my leather boots, interestingly the small print says the wax is made by Grangers.  It would be interesting to compare prices with Grangers branded wax.

[Ed]

Just so I'm clear here, correct me if I'm wrong and hopefully you can answer the questions!

Is Dripak then essentially a very mild form of detergent compared to what you would wash normal clothes in?

Yep - well its not detergent, its just pure soap, very mild - and every bit as mild as any wash sold as "technical". It'll definitely not damage your kit

The things I have to wash are waterproof jacket, windproof jacket, walking trousers, gaiters and boots.

The trousers make no claims about waterproofness and are of a quick dry material so I think I can just wash them normally.

With the windproof jacket, I'm not sure about waterproofness, I think it has a little. I could wash it in the dripak liquid soap and then nikwax it to waterproof?

Yeah that sounds fine. I even wash my fleeces in the dripak. proofing the windproof jacket will make the water bead up more, and increase its resistance, but it won't make it fully waterproof.

The gaiters need washed every time I'm out.  Wash in the dripak then waterproof.  I could probably do this in the sink if I've nothing else to wash.

Waterproof jacket would be the same, wash in dripak then waterproof.

The TX Direct Wash In is the same product as the spray on? Only one will go in machine and waterproof everything in garment and the other just sprayed on outside?

I'm not sure how the wash in works, it must have some sort of added ingredient to ensure it only binds to existing DWR - otherwise itd cause beading on your liners and make the coat less efficient. I avoid wash in treatments in case this winds up happening.

Can the dripak be used for boots too? Or am I better getting the Nikwax Footwear Cleaning Gel?

Absolutely! Infact I use nothing else for my boots. The cleaning gel dispenses very slowly, whereas with a sponge soaked in dripak you can lather the entire boot in a few seconds. I've used my current boots heavily both in the hills and about town for over a year now. They look almost new.

Is the TX Direct Spray On the same as the Fabric And Leather Proofer? Can the TX Direct Spray be used on boots?

Cheers in advance.

This I'm not 100% on. I've used the spray on for mine and never had any issues. Infact my boots are very resistant to wetting out. There is a separate spray on specifically for boots, but I'm not sure if the ingredients are any different.

[harveymt]

I was in Yorkgate yesterday at the cinema and had a look in the Home Bargains store.  I noticed they had these liquid soda crystals also made by Dri-Pak.  I couldn't see the liquid soap flakes mentioned. I didn't have time to ask but if someone was in there again they could maybe ask if they stock the soap flakes or could they stock them.

[Oisín]

I've seen soda crystals before. We sell them in the shop I work.

These the ones your talking about?




I'm not sure what they would be like for garments as the picture doesn't give much away. Can anybody add anything to this?

[twentyclicks]

Definitely do NOT use 'soda' crystals on your gear. More for cleaning drains. It's also a water softener so you need less soap/detergent, but I think there would be risk of white marks/deposits on the clothes without a lot of rinses. Lots of other interesting stuff on the wiki.

* edit - may have been a little melodramatic at first. Looked it up rather than what I thought, but still wouldn't use it. It's not a soap anyway.

I've seen soda crystals before. We sell them in the shop I work.

These the ones your talking about?




I'm not sure what they would be like for garments as the picture doesn't give much away. Can anybody add anything to this?

[Oisín]

I had a feeling like that. But I didn't want it to be true, because if it wasn't then I had stumbled upon a cheap means of washing coats, that is seriously easy to obtain (because I work there anyway.) 

[harveymt]

They're the ones. Soda is usually very corrosive so I wouldn't use it.

It was more the fact that it's made by the same manufacturer, Dri-Pak, as the soap flakes. If you're getting the soda in you might be able to order the liquid soap flakes also?

[Oisín]

I'll have to have a talk with the boss and see if our suppliers stock it. I'll let everyone know.

[Mourneman]

I recently tech washed & reproved my jacket,the following day out it held the rain out for about three hours,after speaking to one of the guys in Cotswolds he reckons any jacket is good for around three years from the time of purchase ,after this the fibres began to break down & reproofing it is fruitless .