#2 Textile tech
Textile jackets and trousers are warm in the winter, cool in the summer and dry when it rains. You can pop them on before a ride and know you’re in the right gear for the job – whatever the job is. Whether they cost £70 or £700, good care can keep textiles performing and even improve how well they work. Most textiles have a hard-wearing outer such as Cordura; a waterproof, breathable membrane; and a thermal liner inside. All of which need different care. Expensive jackets may have the waterproof membrane laminated to the outer, but generally the care needed is the same.
Strip down
Remove the armour. If it’s not marked, it’s a good idea to mark it to make sure you put it back in the right place. If your gear is a few years old, give the armour a bend to look for cracks. If you find any, you should get replacement armour (from Knox, Forcefield or D3O). Remove the thermal liner, to wash it separately. Empty the pockets and do up zips before going to the washing machine.
Debug the outside
When we hit bugs when we’re riding, the high-speed impact buries them into the textile’s weave. Once they’re dry, they take some shifting. Wet the textiles and use a scrubbing brush to help shift bugs before washing. Stains like oil can also be tough so treat with diluted detergent and a sponge or scrubbing brush.
Into the washing machine
Textiles will leak when dirt blocks the pores of the waterproof membrane, so they need washing – check the label, but most need to go in on a delicates cycle. Fabric softener and some soap powders also block pores, so use a liquid detergent or specialist cleaner (like Grangers Performance Clean or Nikwax Tech Wash). Before washing your textiles, wash a few towels without detergent, to remove soap or fabric-softener residue.
Tumble to set it off
Let textiles drip dry, then tumble dry on a gentle warm setting. Then run the cycle again to reactivate any waterrepelling treatment on the outers.
Show them some love
Once dry, us a reproofing spray (such as Grangers Performance Repel or Nikwax TX Direct) to keep the outer water repellent. Replace the armour, apply a little silicone to all zips and you should have textiles that are better than new.