How to wash and maintain your KLIM gear

KLIM builds their gear out of the best materials available, every time, with no exceptions. Nothing does it all like GORE-TEX®.  Whether you've recently invested in a KLIM suite or had one for a while, these care instructions will ensure your gear lasts you a lifetime. 

Regular cleaning of your GORE-TEX outerwear is extremely important to maintain its waterproof feature and supreme breath-ability. Wash your KLIM GORE-TEX garment whenever the Durable Water Repellent (DWR) is no longer effective at beading water on the surface fabric or as soon as your gear looks and smells dirty. While dirt, dust and other contaminants will have little affect on waterproof and breath-ability, they can have a tremendous affect on comfort and all-weather performance. 

Here's how to wash your gear properly: 

Machine wash in warm water: Use a mild, liquid detergent and run an additional wash/rinse cycle without soap to ensure a complete rinse. Modern detergents contain surfactants that love water and make it wetter (the opposite of DWR’s ambitions). You want to make sure all the detergent residue is out of your garment for maximum performance. We recommend liquid detergent because it has less surfactants than other types of detergent.

Dry Completely on Medium Heat: Drying with heat recharges the DWR on the fabric surface. After your GORE-TEX® item is completely dry, we recommend to put it back into the dryer for an extra twenty (20) minutes to guarantee that the DWR is re-activated. DWR is important - without it, the surface fabric of your gear will “wet-out” faster. You’ll still be dry on the inside (thanks to the GORE-TEX® membrane) but conductive heat loss and comfort can quickly make your day less enjoyable. Water conducts heat 23 times as fast as air. You want DWR to work as long as possible to keep the conductive heat loss to a minimum. DWR is not permanent and will wear off. Drying re-activates it many times but re-applying a DWR treatment is a big step in prolonging comfort.  

When to Reapply DWR: After your gear is dry, spray it with water from a bottle or sprinkle some on with your hands. If it beads up and rolls off the gear, the DWR is still active. Go riding! If it soaks in quickly, it's time to re-apply. KLIM and GORE-TEX recommend spray-on DWR treatments like Revivex. This type of DWR is heat-activated. You spray it on your garment's exterior after the wash cycle and toss it in the dryer like normal. Follow the instructions on the bottle. Wash-in DWR treatments are not recommended as they coat all surfaces with the DWR and can negatively affect comfort and performance.

For further information on KLIM Gear, Contact Us Today!