How to Care for and Clean your Gore-tex Jacket

You did your research and finally pulled the trigger on a new wet weather protection Gore-tex jacket.  Congrats!!!  Now you want to know hot to care for your rain jacket and hot to Clean your gore-tex jacket.  That's a smart idea.

Your gore-tex jacket keeps you warm by trapping body heat stored in your mid-layers when it is cold and blocking wind and above all, keeps you dry.  The Arc'teryx Alpha jacket and Arc'teryx Alpha LT jacket are the best gore-tex jackets on the market for breathable, stand-up-to-anything wet weather protection.  

Gore-tex jackets are incredibly versatile and actually require very little in the way of maintenance and care to keep them looking and functioning great for years (or even decades!) to come.

So, How do you clean your Gore-tex Jacket?

The list of what you need to clean your Gore-tex jacket is pretty short.  You'll want a little bit of liquid detergent, a washer and dryer (or a towel and an iron if you don't have either available), and a water repellant treatment.

How to wash your Gore-tex Jacket

1. First, if your jacket has any large debris or mud on it, brush that off as best you can with a towel or soft brush.
2. Be sure to zip all pockets and fasten any loose straps or velcro.
3. You can wash your jacket with other clothes, but avoid any heavy, abrasive fabrics or heavily soiled clothing.
4. Machine wash on the gentle cycle (105 degrees F / 40 degrees C).
5. Use a small amount of liquid detergent (NOT powder).
6. Do not use any fabric softener, stain removers, or bleach.
7. Select "Extra Rinse".
8. Choose "Low" or "No Spin".

How to dry your Gore-tex Jacket

Now that your jacket is all clean, you have two options to dry it.

1. You can tumble dry your fore-tex jacket on your dryers "Low Heat" or "Gentle" setting.
2. You can air dry your Gore-tex jacket.

How to test your Gore-tex jackets DWR (durable water repellant) coating

Testing to see if you need to re-apply a water repellant coating to your Gore-tex jacket is easy - just pour a small amount of water onto the jacket and if the water does not immediately bead up and roll off, you will want to re-apply a DWR product.

We recommend Nikwax TX.Direct Wash-in Waterproofing to renew your DWR coating.  It is a high quality product and super simple to use.

Apply the product of your choice following label directions.

After you have applied the product you will need to apply heat to activate it.  You can do this in one of two ways:

1. By tumble drying your Gore-tex jacket on the "Low" or "Gentle" setting again for another 20 minutes.
2. Iron your garment on the "Warm" setting of your iron with no steam.  Do not place the iron directly on your jacket!  Place a towel between your jacket and the iron and keep the iron moving over the garment.

Now that your Gore-tex is clean and protected, it's time to get back out there and get it dirty again!