How to Wash GORE-TEX® Workwear (Jackets & Trousers)

Many people avoid washing their waterproofs in case it ruins them. With GORE-TEX® Garments the opposite is true. Dirt, sweat and oil stop the outer fabric shedding water, and a garment that isn’t washed feels wet sooner. The routine below follows Gore’s own garment care guidance, adapted for workwear.

Always check the care label inside the garment first. It gives the maximum wash temperature and any restrictions for that garment, and it overrides general advice.

Washing

• Close all zips and hook-and-loop fastenings, and empty the pockets.
• Machine wash at the temperature on the care label, with a small amount of detergent with a neutral pH (around 7).
• Don’t use fabric softener. It impairs the waterproofing and the water-repellent finish.
• Don’t use bleach, chlorine or stain removers.
• Don’t fill the drum more than two-thirds full, and rinse well in clear water so no detergent is left in the fabric.

Drying and restoring water repellency

• Turn the garment inside out and tumble dry on a warm, gentle cycle.
• Once it is dry, tumble dry it for another 20 minutes. The heat reactivates the durable water-repellent (DWR) finish on the outer fabric, so rain beads and rolls off again.
• If you can’t tumble dry, iron the dry garment on a gentle setting (two dots, no steam), with a towel or cloth between the iron and the garment. On hi-vis workwear, keep the cloth over the reflective tape.
• When water no longer beads after washing and drying, apply a wash-in or spray-on DWR treatment, then tumble dry again.

Extra checks for hi-vis and rail garments

• Reflective tape. After washing, check it isn’t cracked, peeling or dull. Damaged tape can take a garment below its EN ISO 20471 class (see hi-vis classes explained).
• Colour. A faded fluorescent background also affects the class. Replace garments that have lost their colour.
• Industrial laundering. Only send garments to an industrial laundry if their label shows they are rated for it (for example ISO 15797). None of the Orbit spec sheets we hold for our GORE-TEX® range state an industrial laundering rating, so follow the domestic routine above unless the label says otherwise.
• Arc Rated GORE-TEX® PYRAD® Garments. Follow the garment’s label. Gore advises that a flame-resistant garment that has been dry cleaned should also be washed in water afterwards.

Storage

Store garments clean and dry, never wet or folded away damp, and out of direct sunlight and UV. Don’t leave a new garment in its original packaging for more than 12 months.