Choosing the right textile care

Why take care of yourin of your equipment?

It is important to choose a quality equipment to go to sea in the best conditions. However, no matter how good it is, it will not remain so for long if you do not take care of it. In all sports, your clothing will be exposed to perspiration, the elements, snags, etc. This is even more the case when sailing because of a major factor: salt. It is therefore essential to choose your textile care products }. A technical garment requires a specialized detergent. It is this same detergent, with the appropriate dosage, that will extend the life of your watch jacket or neoprene suit.

Salt, enemy number 1

The hydrolysis caused by the salt that stagnates on your garment is the main factor of its wear. It will clog your zippers and cause your garment to lose its waterproof and breathable properties. The salt will also leave important whitish marks on the surface of your equipment.

How can I fight salt wear?

It is quite simple to fight against salt wear. Simply rinse your clothes in fresh water after each trip. You can wash your watch jacket under a shower or with a jet for example. Ideally, you should rinse your garment under warm water to help dissolve the salt crystals.You will then have to lay your garment on a hanger or a drying rack in order tolet drain and dry naturally, if possible without direct exposure to the sun and its harmful UV rays for technical textiles.

How to wash a technical garment ?

Like a classic garment, it is important to respect certain washing instructions for your technical garment. These instructions are indicated on the label of each product but several principles are common to all:

• Use special technical clothing detergent or mild detergent that will be made without detergent and will avoid like a traditional detergent to leave soap deposits in the micropores of the fabric. The detergent for marine clothing Gill } is the ideal product.

• Do not use fabric softener

• Let your garment dry naturally, not in a dryer or on a radiator.

• Unless otherwise stated, washing should be done at 30°C maximum in the washing machine.

• Do not iron a waterproof garment

• Close the zippers so that they do not damage your clothes in the machine

• Wash inside out

If possible, select a heavy rinsing program to remove any detergent residue.

To know the specificities of your garment, it is important to understand the meaning of the symbols on their labels. Here is a summary of the main ones:

 

Cleaning products

The garments most likely to lose their properties are water-repellent garments such as softshells for example. To limit this, simply follow the instructions above. If you notice that the water repellency of the fabric decreases, don't panic, you can use the waterproofing clothing Gill in order to give it back its properties This product can be used on any garment or shoe to make it water repellent.

Waterproof clothes are not the only ones that require special care, shoes are also very subject to wear. Leather shoes and boots in particular will need a cream after many uses in order to moisturize them and regain their shine. The cream for Dubarry leather } is a very good quality cream to take care of your leather even if it is damaged. Combined with the Dubarry shoe cleaner }, you won't have to worry about your shoes wasting away as you browse.

Wondering how to clean your neoprene suit? Simply apply our previous recommendations, i. e. rinse it thoroughly with clear water, and use the "Magic Marine wetsuit cleaner" anchor_text="product/widget/link/link_inline.phtml" id_path="product/41644"}}. It allows you to clean and lubricate your wetsuit in order to limit the friction of the garment when you put it on.

To clean a waxed suit, it is not recommended to use abrasive powders or sponges as they can scratch the coating. The ideal is a sponge soaked in hot soapy water. You can also mix the water with soda beforehand to prevent the wax from yellowing or to remove stains.

Reactivate the water repellency of your waterproof garment

In addition to waterproofing sprays, several techniques will allow you to restore the water repellency of your garment. Be careful, we are talking about the water repellency, the layer that allows water to slide off in order to preserve the waterproof membrane.

• The waterproofing bombs mentioned above

• Once your garment is completely dry, put it in the dryer for 10 minutes on a delicate program. The water repellency will be reactivated by the heat. However, do not expose it to the dryer for more than the recommended 10 minutes.

• Place a towel between the garment and an iron in delicate mode and without steam. The same principle is used, i. e. to reactivate the water repellency by the heat. However, you should not hold the iron over the garment for too long, a single pass is sufficient.