I really like my Gore-Tex running jacket. I’ve worn it now for over 13 years and it’s been the best sporting apparel I’ve ever purchased. After years of wear and washing it is showing little wear. Yesterday was a rather foul day with rain, ice, and wind and I noticed that the water no longer beads up on the outer layer. I wasn’t wet on the inside but it got me thinking about the water repellency performance of the jacket. I searched and found a website and that recommended reapplying a “topical” treatment available at most outdoor retail shops. What is this “treatment”? Scotch guard? Any recommendations or experience to share with this? Thanks!
typically, it’s just a silicone-based spray. One thing that actually revives it pretty well is running it through the dryer. This sort of redistributes the silicone and brings it back the surface. But your best bet is any sort of Scotchguard or NikWax product. Just amazon search “waterproof jacket spray.” I think they are all basically the same thing. Some sort of teflon/silicone/whatever blend.
The Gore-Tex itself is actually a membrane applied to the inside of the fabric (or sometimes sandwiched between layer) and has nothing to do with the beading. It’s why you were still dry even though the beading no longer happened.
I think this works with jackets that have a DWR coating but not Gore-Tex.
I don’t think you can expect miracles with any of the different products out there. But, I’ve had the best experience with the Granger’s wash in stuff – just the weatherproofing, not the two in one wash and weatherproof. It should be on amazon, too.
Most breathable waterproof fabrics like Gore-tex have a DWR coating that really is only temporary. It will deteriorate typically within a year with occasional use - I have a jacket that wasn’t used much but after 2 years, lost most of its water repellency, and this was a good REI jacket.
The spray on stuff works fine. I forgot what brand i bought, but it was from REI, and it was easy to apply and worked great. If you expect to have good water resistance with these breathable fabrics, be prepared to have to do this once a year, sometimes more if you’re using/laundering a lot.
straight from the Gore-Tex website
Restoring Water Repellency
“Wet out” can put a real damper on your day. That’s when liquid saturates your garment’s outer fabric layer above the GORE-TEX® membrane, leaving you feeling damp and clammy - as if your garment were leaking, even when it’s not.
To prevent wet out, all GORE-TEX® shell fabrics are treated with an ultra-thin treatment called DWR, adurable water repellent polymer that is applied to the outermost fabric layer. DWR penetrates the fibers and lowers the surface tension of the fabric, causing water to bead up and roll off this outer layer of fabric, instead of being absorbed.
DWR is not permanent, though. Regular wear and tear, plus exposure to dirt, detergents, insect repellent, and other impurities can shorten its lifespan. The good news is that restoring the water repellency of your GORE-TEX® shell is extremely easy.
How to Restore Water Repellency
GORE-TEX® outerwear:
Machine wash your garment as described in the wash instructions. Line dry your garment, or tumble dry it on a warm, gentle cycle.
Once it is dry, tumble dry your garment for 20 minutes to reactivate the durable water-repellent (DWR) treatment on the outer fabric.
If unable to tumble dry, iron the dry garment on gentle setting (warm, no steam) by placing a towel or cloth between the garment and the iron. This will help reactivate the DWR treatment on your garment’s outer fabric.
When the factory applied treatment can no longer be reactivated, apply a new water-repellent treatment available as a pump-spray or wash-in product to the garment’s outer fabric.
GORE-TEX® footwear:
We do not recommend the use of waterproofing waxes or greases as they can seriously affect the footwear’s breathability.*** Apply only treatments, polishes, conditioners, and dressings recommended by the manufacturer.*** Always check the manufacturer’s care instructions on the label of your footwear first.
But what are the recommended treatments???
I think this works with jackets that have a DWR coating but not Gore-Tex.
Most Gore-Tex jackets ALSO have a DWR coating. The OP is talking about the DWR coating on his jacket. Regardless of it’s state, Gore-Tex never causes “beading.” That’s DWR.
I’m familiar with Scotch Guard and I can pick some at Walmart/Target. I was worried that spraying on silicone might inhibit the fabric from “breathing” and I didn’t want to damage the Gore-Tex.
gore itself is a waterproof membrane that’s always waterproof, basically, until it fails. ~10 years is actually a good use life. if you’re still dry on the inside, the membrane itself is sound. what needs refreshing is the ‘DWR’ treatment (durable water repellency), which is just a chemical surface treatment. you can buy spray-on or wash-in stuff to revive the surface and get it beading again. i prefer spray-on over wash-in, myself.
as the others have noted, heat is key. a good hot dryer will help set and spread around the DWR. sometimes you can even cheat some extra use out of a coat that ‘seems’ toast just by running it through a really hot dryer.
lastly, be careful about washing it. use a front-loader if possible - they’re more gentle. old/cheap detergent might also have emulsifiers that strip DWR. if you feel like babying your jacket, you can buy gore-specific detergent. anyway, gore’s super demanding about what gear carries its logo. take decent care and it should last and last.
-mike
Ahh that makes sense.
Side note, Gore-Tex is pretty amazing stuff. They have a YouTube series where a couple guys demonstrate all of the cool properties that it has. I’ll link it if I can find it again. I’ve personally done the glove challenge and it really does work!
Like others have mentioned, the dryer can help to revive the coating that you have, but after all those years it might simply be worn out/off. In that case, I’d use this … http://www.nikwax.com/en-us/products/productdetail.php?productid=267&itemid=-1&fabricid=-1
I use nikwax for this, plus sportwash, feece wash, and softshell wash. Each one is a different product. Check sierratradingpost to see if they have any deals on it.
I personally use Nikwax wash in DWR restorer. Just follow the instructions and you will be fine.
Here are a couple of hints to get the best performance out of your jacket and to extend its DWR coating.
- When you wash the jacket use powdered detergent (or the specialty gore tex wash). Do not use liquid detergent. They also say to wash the garment alone.
- Secondly dry the jacket in the dryer on the hottest setting. Don’t use fabric softener.
Hope this helps.
I’m aware. Gore is in Flagstaff, AZ, where I’ve done a lot of training. I have quite a few good friends who work/worked at Gore, including some product development/engineers. It is REALLY amazing stuff. Especially when you look at the medical applications.
What brand is it? failing goretex is often grounds for a free replacement jacket. i git a brand new north face jacket when my 20 year old jacket delaminated. Worth a try. Go to your favorite higher end retailer who focus’ on customer service and see what they will do for you.
I got it from Road Runner. And I don’t wish to exchange as it has sentimental value (last X-mas present from mom). Like I said there is nothing wrong with it other than water doesn’t bead. The hot dryer sounds counter intuitive. I always attributed the good condition of the jacket to always hang drying it after every wash. My experience with performance clothing is that a hot dryer is “death” although I do grasp the concept of the heat and centrifugal force of a dryer redistributing the DWR. Still, I don’t wish to ruin my luck so I’ll continue to hang dry it until one of us can no longer perform 
I’ve used the Nikwax wash-in DWR treatment, but there’s also ‘ReviveX’ spray as well ~ which I swear used to be licensed/sold directly under the Gore label, but now it’s under a different brand when I just searched for it.
Basically the GT membrane on the inner layer keeps water from getting in, but in order for the sweat vapor to get out it has to be able to reach the outside air; if the exterior DWR coating is shot, then the outer fabric layer gets soaked, so the membrane can no longer ‘breathe’ as it’s essentially submerged… so it may feel wet inside from condensation, even though the membrane isn’t leaking at all.