Help! Cleaning Textile Jacket

[Chobblington]

Hi,

I've had a textile motorcycle jacket for about 6 months now and never cleaned it and it has turned from a bright cream colour to a rather dull almost brown colour!

I looked on the care label and it states not to machine wash, not to dry clean and not to use detergents or soaps or warm water. Can someone please tell me how the hell I am supposed to remove oil marks and other stains in cold water without any cleaning products etc? I tried soaking it and scrubbing it and that did bugger all.

How do you guys and gals wash your gear and does it state the same thing on your label?

Any suggestions or help will be much appreciated!

Cheers,

Chob

[yorkie_chris]

That nikwax soap and treatment

[cb1000rsteve]

+1. Buy nik wax tech wash cleaner and wash in waterproof. My jackets been fine and has a similar care label. Not sure on waterproof ness as i have a over suit to make sure. I'm not messing round with my next textile jacket. Goretex all the way.

[barwel1992]

i use a hard brush to get the fly's off and nik wax soap to clean it with

[_Stretchie_]

That nikwax soap and treatment

+2 for this.

Wash the jacket and trousers in:

Nikwax - Tech Wash first and then in

Nikwax - TX. Direct wash in



I can only say that now as I have both containers infront of me and mine are getting put in the wash tomorrow

[tigersaw]

I used the nikwax techwash treatment too. It didn't clean it, it didn't waterproof it but it smelled much nicer.
The washing machine ragged the jacket a bit in a couple of places, so I'd advise using the care wash selection - not sure if I did or not

[gruntygiggles]

+2 for this.

Wash the jacket and trousers in:

Nikwax - Tech Wash first and then in

Nikwax - TX. Direct wash in



I can only say that now as I have both containers infront of me and mine are getting put in the wash tomorrow

+3 for this....used it before and works a treat!

[dizzyblonde]

TX spray works a treat. Been using it for three years, as I still haven't got round to using the Nikwax tech wash...come on its simple!, chuck each of the containers in washer drawer as per instructions, set off washing machine, come back to clean jacket!!

Will give a tip, when using the TX spray do it on a damp jacket, and not over do it...either way it works :-)

Never ever ever ever ever use a detergent washing powder, or you will ruin the textiles.

[-Ralph-]

I looked on the care label and it states not to machine wash

He may not want to put it in the washing machine. I do with mine with Nixwax wash in, but I don't remember what my care label actaully says. It's up to the OP I guess.

[Fruity-ya-ya]

He may not want to put it in the washing machine. I do with mine with Nixwax wash in, but I don't remember what my care label actaully says. It's up to the OP I guess.

I put mine on a normal wash and touch wood haven't had a problem yet. I did buy a can of waterproofing spray just in case but to date have only had to use it on my textile jeans. The crotch had always leaked but the spray stopped it.

[boot]

From knowledge and experience, most garments that suggest no to machine was, are either because the detergent will not wash out of the fabric properly, the spin cycle may cause stress to and/or cause the surface of the fabric to pill, and in the case of waterproofs, detergents and fabric conditioners can cause physical damage to actual fabric.

Personal preference for oil, is to mix some original (green) swarfega with a little water.
1. Gently rub in to oil, fasten all zips, turn inside out and then place the garment in the machine. If the lining is very lightweight, tie up a bed sheet around garment to help minimise the risk of damage to the lining when in the machine.
2. Wash through with just water (no detergent) on a cool 30deg or less wash.
Don't let it spin out.
3. Once cycle is finished, check to see if stains have gone, if not, repeat. Adding a little ecover delicate detergent the second time.
4. When clean, add some Nikwax wash-in (I usually use polar proof, but suspect that it's all the same stuff in different bottles), and give another run through.
5. Squeeze bulk of water out and lie flat somewhere that will drain until worst of the water has drained. This prevents the weight of the water mis-shaping and/or damaging the garment.
6. Hang or lie in a very warm place to dry - the heat obviously helps it to dry, but also helps with the performance of the Nikwax.

I'm not guaranteeing that this won't damage you jacket, but I've never had issues using this approach for any garments I own, that are dry-clean only, no-clean (i.e. clean with damp cloth), goretex lined, whatever. Don't forget about it a leave in the washing machine any longer than necessary.

[-Ralph-]

From knowledge and experience, most garments that suggest no to machine was, are either because the detergent will not wash out of the fabric properly, the spin cycle may cause stress to and/or cause the surface of the fabric to pill, and in the case of waterproofs, detergents and fabric conditioners can cause physical damage to actual fabric.

Personal preference for oil, is to mix some original (green) swarfega with a little water.
1. Gently rub in to oil, fasten all zips, turn inside out and then place the garment in the machine. If the lining is very lightweight, tie up a bed sheet around garment to help minimise the risk of damage to the lining when in the machine.
2. Wash through with just water (no detergent) on a cool 30deg or less wash.
Don't let it spin out.
3. Once cycle is finished, check to see if stains have gone, if not, repeat. Adding a little ecover delicate detergent the second time.
4. When clean, add some Nikwax wash-in (I usually use polar proof, but suspect that it's all the same stuff in different bottles), and give another run through.
5. Squeeze bulk of water out and lie flat somewhere that will drain until worst of the water has drained. This prevents the weight of the water mis-shaping and/or damaging the garment.
6. Hang or lie in a very warm place to dry - the heat obviously helps it to dry, but also helps with the performance of the Nikwax.

I'm not guaranteeing that this won't damage you jacket, but I've never had issues using this approach for any garments I own, that are dry-clean only, no-clean (i.e. clean with damp cloth), goretex lined, whatever. Don't forget about it a leave in the washing machine any longer than necessary.

Nice post :thumbsup:

Reckon you should ask the mods to sticky that in the Gear section.

[TheRamJam]

I have got the HG GoreTex Journey Textile suit

Usually wash it every 3-4 months depending on its usage. I normally just bung it in the machine on a 30 handwash delicate cycle.

Hang up to dry and then spray the TX Direct Spray on

Never had any problems with this technique so far :)

[Chobblington]

Thanks for all the replies. I bought some of the Nikwax stuff and am gonna have a go in a bit. Will let you know the results!

[Lozzo]

My clothing expert (someone who's worked on the design and testing of bike kit) always told me that Goretex and other waterproofing membranes need regular washing to keep the membrane waterproof and breatheable. He recommended using a cheap non-bio washing powder and a 30 deg wash cycle followed by a warm tumble dry until the garment was damp, then hang it out to dry fully naturally. The outer garment should easily be able to physically withstand being put in a washing machine, if it can't then I don't want to be out riding in it so I wouldn't even consider buying it. It does make life easier if the armour is removed from the garment first

I've used this technique for at least the last 10 years on all my textile kit, which I tend to use more than leathers, and my old Gericke Voyager 3 jacket and trousers lasted 8 years without leaking or fading. I've done both my newish Held jackets and the Held trousers a couple of times and they are still like new after 2 years/10,000 miles each.

I don't bother using Nikwax or similar waterproofing treatments because my textiles have waterproofing membranes that work very well, but I can see the point if you don't like the outer garment getting wet or don't have somewhere to hang it where it will dry overnight or while working. I have been told that some waterproofing treatments gum up in the seams and collect grit, which wears away at the stitching thread and makes the seams weaker.

The simplest way of making sure you don't get discoloured kit is to buy good old honest black stuff that doesn't pander to fashion. Black is the one true colour for all things motorcycle related

[yorkie_chris]

Only advantage I see to TX direct treatment is it delays the outer from getting saturated. I have halvarssons Korax jacket and it is still fine after years and 10s of 1000s, but the outer bit holding a gallon of water is heavy!

[yorkie_chris]

Black is the one true colour for all things motorcycle related

Hear hear

[dizzyblonde]

Hear hear

fibber you love wearing ghey coloured leathers:p

I only have black biking gear:cool:. Halvarrsons, bought at the same time as YCs jacket, difference being is mine gets regular TX direct treatment, its only after three years since buying that it really does need to be bunged in a washer. Granted its not worn as much as his though.

[I'm_a_Newbie]

Use Nixwax Tech Wash in machine on low temp low spin speed. Hang to dryon coat hanger but when just damp spray on Nixwax Spray-On liberally, then leave to fully dry.

When the jacket is dry, tumble dry it. The Spray-On does not work effectively until you do this.

Tim

[Lozzo]

Only advantage I see to TX direct treatment is it delays the outer from getting saturated. I have halvarssons Korax jacket and it is still fine after years and 10s of 1000s, but the outer bit holding a gallon of water is heavy!

I really rate Halvarssons bike kit, it's a shame the Korax is no longer made as it was a brilliant jacket for the cost. Somne gaments do get very heavy once the outer shell is saturated, and can take a long time to dry out. That's when treatments like Nikwax sprays can be useful, but I don't bother.

[dizzyblonde]

I really rate Halvarssons bike kit, it's a shame the Korax is no longer made as it was a brilliant jacket for the cost. .

So was the price Chris paid for it. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get the all singing all dancing Graffitti one that I bought for the price I paid. We'v both certainly had our moneys worth for sure in the three years we've owned them, Chris more so, as he lives in it, but mine will last for a fair few years yet:p

[yorkie_chris]

I really rate Halvarssons bike kit, it's a shame the Korax is no longer made as it was a brilliant jacket for the cost. Somne gaments do get very heavy once the outer shell is saturated, and can take a long time to dry out. That's when treatments like Nikwax sprays can be useful, but I don't bother.

Didn't know they'd stopped making it :(

I don't know what mileage my bike is on as my clocks are F'd, but last I saw it was over 65k, probably about 55 of those in that jacket and I would buy another tomorrow.

[dizzyblonde]

Didn't know they'd stopped making it :(

.

Thats cause they made it a few years ago, and unlike you, update with nice new(better not sure) things in replacement:p

[yorkie_chris]

If new one is as good or better I will have one :)

[Lozzo]

It's Halvarssons ffs, they don't make any bad jackets.