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Rejuvenate Breathable Rain Jacket

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Wash it Cleaning reactivates the DWR molecules trapped in the fabric's weave. Subject your jacket to the wear and tear of laundering only when it gets dirty and follow the tag's instructions. Typically, that means washing on the gentle cycle with a mild powder detergent such as Dreft or Ultra Ivory Snow (or a soap formulated for outerwear, such as Nikwax Tech Wash), followed by medium-hot drying. Don't use liquid detergents or ones with fabric softeners; these can leave residues that affect DWR performance.



»Iron it The day will come when washing won't renew the beading action. When that day arrives, run a warm iron (set on low steam) over your jacket. The heat reactivates any remaining DWR molecules throughout the fabric.



»Re-treat it If cleaning and ironing don't do the job, apply a new coating. You have two options: spray-on or wash-in. If your jacket has a wicking liner, go for a spray (such as Nikwax TX Direct Spray-On or McNett Revivex). If not, a wash-in (such as Grangers Wash-In Waterproofing or Nikwax TX Direct) is best; it's easier to use and coats the fabric more evenly.



other ideas here



https://www.google.com/search?q=rejuvenate+breathable+rain+jacket&oq=rejuvenate+breathable+rain+jacket&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i61&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8


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Is there a way to rejuvenate breathable rain jackets?

 

The only treatment that should be done to breathable rainwear is to renew the Durable Water Repellency (DWR) coating.

What happens is that the Durable Water Repellency (DWR) coating on the exterior fabric of the breathable rainwear or waders gets dirty or scuffed, which impedes the chemical structures that causes water to bead up.

Why does a breathable fabric need water repellency? Because when a gortex garment is coated with water, the water vapor that passes through the Gortex membrane is trapped from escaping to the outside air. So the garment cannot breath. The garment acts just like a solid sheet of plastic and your perspiration is trapped and condenses on the inside of the garment and on your clothing. This is a phenomenon called "wet out".

Read what Gortex says.

https://www.gore-tex.com/restoring-water-repellency

"Machine washing then drying your garment is the most effective way to restore the water repellency of your jackets and other outwear. Follow the wash instructions for your product, then line dry your garment, or tumble dry it on a warm, gentle cycle…….When the factory applied treatment can no longer be reactivated by washing and drying, apply a new water-repellent treatment—available as a pump-spray or a wash-in product. Following spray application, tumble dry your garment for 20 minutes.

Here is a primer on how to care for breathable garments by REI.

Rainwear: Durable Water Repellent (DWR) Care

"Often they can be revived by a washing and a few minutes of tumbling in a clothes dryer set on low or medium heat."

I use Nikwax TX.Direct. It has performed well for me. The product you use to wash your waders is important. It should be a powder and not a liquid, and it should be unscented. That is to prevent any detergent residues that would interfere with the DWR application or seal the Gortex pores. I use Ivory Snow unscented powder. Alternatively, you can use a residue free product like Sport-Wash.

To use the Nikwax TX.Direct, wash your wader or rainwear and rinse well. Hang it up outside and allow the water to drip off. While still damp, spray the wader or garment with Nikwax TX.Direct and cover all areas. Then put in your dryer and dry on the "Permanent Press Low Heat Cycle." Although some instructions say that the dryer can be set on a medium heat, I play it safe and use the "Permanent Press Low Heat Cycle."

Put the suspenders of waders into a sock to protect them while the DWR sets.

Follow the manufacturer's direction if you use another DWR.

The way a DWR works is to form molecular chains which project outward from the fabric surface. This causes the water to "bead" on the surface because of the surface tension of water. This is the same way that a lotus leaf repels water.

3.jpg

image_3983-Lotus-Leaf.jpg

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Long time user of a product called 303 Fabric Guard. For many, many years we used it on our marine canvas (Sunbrella biminis and dodgers) and these spend seven or eight months out in the weather.

 

Then one year I got the bright idea to (re)treat a windbreaker I have that wasn't as rainproof as it had been. Worked great!

 

I have also used it on Tilly hats but never tried with GoreTex.

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Long time user of a product called 303 Fabric Guard. For many, many years we used it on our marine canvas (Sunbrella biminis and dodgers) and these spend seven or eight months out in the weather.

 

Then one year I got the bright idea to (re)treat a windbreaker I have that wasn't as rainproof as it had been. Worked great!

 

I have also used it on Tilly hats but never tried with GoreTex.

 

This product sounds like a silcone water repellant coating. It will not renew the DWR and allow the jacket to breath. It will coat the jacket and make it less breathable.

 

Unless I am mistaken, the OP's problems is not that water gets through the jacket, it is that the jacket does not let water vapor get out of the jacket.

 

Like Flytire wrote, the solution is to renew the DWR. The DWR elevates the water drops off the surface and allows the vapor to pass through the Gortex membrane.

 

Without a functioning DWR, the water vapor from sweat cannot get out of the fabric and the water vapor recondenses as sweat on the inside of the jacket.

 

http://www.nikwax.com/usblog/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/jacket_sandwich_nodwr_color1.jpg

 

With a functioning DWR, the water vapor moves through the jacket.

 

https://www.marmot.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-MarmotSharedLibrary/default/dw62221cb3/images/extension-pages/transpiration-process.jpg

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I little off topic ... sort of.

 

Maybe it's because I've never bought "top dollar" wet weather gear. Some of what I own (I.E. Frogg Toggs rainsuit) is supposed to be breathable material.

Yet, I can honestly say, I've never notice "breathable" material actually being any different than "NON-breathable" material. If I'm sweating, I sweat, no matter what I am wearing ... and it's gets everything I have on wet. Maybe I produce too much sweat, and the evaporation can't keep up, no matter the material.

 

What ever the reason ... breathable means nothing to me. If it keeps the colder-than-skin rain off me, it's doing the job intended.

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Mike,

 

I definitely notice a difference. I have a Gortex wading jacket I wear when it is raining, and then I have a packable rain jacket that is not breathable that I take when it is not raining.

 

In Montana, afternoon storms occur and when I put the packable jacket on, I definitely noticeI get clammy. But if I wear my gortex jacket when it actually is raining, I don't. So I am a believer in breathable rain gear.

 

I'm a wuss compared to you.

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I'm a wuss compared to you.

laugh.png Hardly !!! Being sensitive to the difference in breathable vs. non-breathable doesn't make you a wuss.

Sensitive girly man, maybe, but I've known a few NON-wuss girly men.wink.png (Had to deal with many from the Navy and Coast Guard!dry.png)

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Long time user of a product called 303 Fabric Guard. For many, many years we used it on our marine canvas (Sunbrella biminis and dodgers) and these spend seven or eight months out in the weather.

 

Then one year I got the bright idea to (re)treat a windbreaker I have that wasn't as rainproof as it had been. Worked great!

 

I have also used it on Tilly hats but never tried with GoreTex.

 

This product sounds like a silcone water repellant coating. It will not renew the DWR and allow the jacket to breath. It will coat the jacket and make it less breathable.

 

 

MSDS does not list silicone as an ingredient.

 

https://www.nrs.com/assets/downloads/msds/msds%201908-303%20high%20tech%20fab.%20gaurd.pdf

 

Not affiliated and not trying to sell anybody anything - but the manufacturer states it will not effect breathability of the fabric.

 

https://www.goldeagle.com/product/303-marine-recreation-fabric-guard/

 

NRS - the company that makes kayak lifejackets and gear - recommend 303 Fabric Guard over a DWR for products that are heat sensitive (you have to "cook" DWR treated items in a clothes drier).

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Thanks Charlie.

 

After doing more reading about 303 Fabric Guard I found the document below. If you go to the last paragraph, you see that they compare the ingredient in 303 (flouropolymer) vs silicone water repellants.

 

http://beta.seasonalliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/SUNBRELLA-FABRIC-303-PRODUCT-CARE-fabricguardguide.pdf

 

"Silicone Water Repellents - How to tell the difference if you are not sure: One good guideline is price. If a “fabric protector” product has a Manufacturer’s Suggested List Price of less than $12.95 per 16 oz, there is a high likely-hood it is a silicone water repellent. To tell for sure, get two bathroom tissues, treat one with 303 High Tech Fabric Guard, treat the other with the product you’re unsure of. Allow both to dry completely (speed it up with a hair dryer if in a hurry). After both are completely dried, dribble a few droplets of water on each. Both should bead water. Then put a drop of oil on each (animal, vegetable, mineral or petroleum oil). The fluoropolymer fabric protector (HTFG) treated tissue will “bead” the oil. On a tissue treated with a silicone water repellent, the oil immediately jets in and spreads."

 

Fluoropolymer fabric protectors are the same chemicals that are in Scotchgard, which makes sense since Scotchgard is also a fabric protector. See:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotchgard

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