Kit Care and Re-proofing

My chosen weapons against dirty kit!

                   

So with all of this time we are spending at home it's a perfect time to get on top of your kit care. To be honest, before doing this blog I'd never washed my kit with any specific washing things. I'd always opted for fresh water and then left to hang and dry. Well there's a first time for everything I guess! For this monumental task I've chosen to use a range of products from NikWax. For technical outwear such as my cags I've gone for the Tech wash and then TX. Direct. For all of my base layers and thermals I will be using Base wash and Base fresh. 

    Let's start with thermals and base layers, lets be honest, they have a certain sent to them! To combat this they went straight into the washing machine. Instead of using normal detergent I added one cap full of the NikWax Base wash. pressed the buttons that brought the almighty cloth cleaning machine to life, then ran for the hills. Once the washing machine was finished working it's magic I just took out the thermals and hung them out to dry. Seems pretty easy so far! Once dry they did smell better but still not summer flowers level of amazing. Back into the spiny machine. This time it was the usual amount of normal washing detergent plus one full cap of NikWax base fresh. More pressing of buttons and badda bing badda boom. As soon as the wash was done they smelt much better. Out to dry agin. And wow! A huge difference, practically smelt like brand new. Both of these products were very easy to use. I must admit I had to read the instructions, not something I'm usually found to be doing. But they seem to have worked a charm.

Base wash 

• Machine washable or hand washable 
• Safely cleans and deodorises 
• Use on base layers and thermals
• Helps to accelerate drying and moisture management 

Base fresh

• Machine washable only
• Accelerates drying, softness and refreshes the clothing.
• Recommended for Coolmax, Under Armour, Lifa, Merino and all Parameta fabrics.
• Revitalises the wicking properties of your base layers. 

 

  For the outer wear Ineeded to gather a few things to make the process work. I grabbed the base out of an old rabbit cage that was laying around, a bucket, a pokey stick and the hose also proved helpful. To get started with the Tech wash I filled the base of the cage with hot water. Not super hot, a temperature that didn't burn when I put my hands in. I had the bucket prepared with clean warm water. I added in three full caps of the Tech wash to the hotter water and gave it a good mix. Next was to add an item to

get cleaned. I started with my Sandiline 4L cgadeck. Simply pop into the solution and make sure it gets a full coverage. I left it to soak for a couple minutes just so every area got some loving. Once I was happy it'd been washed proper I took it out and let drain for a second. Whipped it into the bucket of warm clean water. Got my pokey stick, which happened to be a c1 paddle, and prodded like there was no tomorrow. Once satisfied, I took the cagdeck out the bucket, let drain properly, making sure there wasn't any water stuck behind any seals. Then just hand it up and allowit to dry. I ended up doing the rest of my collection using the same methord and water. Quiet literally, rinse and repeat!

 

    After allowing all of the cags to dry I moved onto the next stage of the re-proofing process. For this I used TX. Direct. I used the same set up as earlier with the bottom of the cage, just no bucket this time and added in a hose. So filled up the bottom of the cage with more fresh hand hot water. The destructions say to add one full cap to 6L of water. If I'm honest, I had no idea how much water I had so I did what anyone would do in my situation... I guessed! I ended up going for a safe three cap fulls of the Tx. Direct and giving it a good mix. I did the cagdecks in the same order as the last process. Started with the Sandiline. Again, give it a good dunk and make sure that the solution can get into all the nooks and crannies. Now go find something else to do for about 5-10 minutes. Or don't, who am I to tell you what to do! After 5-10 minutes I gave the cagdeck a final little dunk and took it out of the water. I commuted across the garden to the hose and gave it a good wash. The colour of the water running on the washed product will be a little creamy to start with. You want to rinse the clean item until the water running off is clear. Then hang up your super clean re-proofed piece of clothing and wait for it to dry. Again, I repeated this process for all of the cagdecks. Overall the Nikwax products were very easy and simple to use. I would highly recommend them and would also recommend doing this with your kit at least once a year. If you really care twice a year. 

    One thing I have got to mention. Once the waterproof layer of your cag, coat or whatever it is your reproofing is ruined. No amount of re-proofing is going to bring it back to how it once preformed. It might, if your lucky, work for a day or two of paddling. 

Tech wash

• Recommended for Gore-Tex, SympaTex, eVent and Nikwax Analogy.
• Can use neat techwash and a sponge for stubborn stains
• Machine and hand washable
• Cleans effectively, revitalises breathability and restores water repellency.

TX. direct 

• Recommended for Gore-Tex, SympaTex, eVent, Permatex and Nikwax Analogy
• Clean items prior with Tech Wash
• Both machine and hand washable

Stay safe and I'll see you on the water as soon as it's safe to!