Adam, at Kokatek responded to my inquiry about maintining the DWR on the Gore-tex garments as follows: >I'm of the widely held opinion that DWR treatments are the only remaining >weak link in Gore-Tex garments. While the factory DWRs are usually >impregnated into the fabrics in their raw, pre-laminated stages, any after >market treatment is just going to be topical. This means that they are >never going to last as long as that initial DWR from the manufacturer. In >many cases, when you first notice that water is no longer beading up on your >garment, it helps to wash the garment and quickly run a warm iron over the >face fabric (place a thin layer of cotton, like a pillowcase or t shirt >between iron and fabric). This will draw remaining DWR treatment out of the >base fabric and get it working like new. After that fails, though, it will >be time to use an aftermarket treatment such as Nikwax TX Direct, Tectron, >etc. to regain the water repellancy of the outer fabric. There really is no >way to tell just how long those will last. Different fabrics tend to hold >DWR treatments better than others (the more texture the fabric has, the >better it will hold) and it helps to really follow the directions of each >treatment closely. Keep in mind that even if the outer fabric is >saturating, the membrane will still work properly. That cold clammy feeling >that you will get is not leakage or condensation, it is just due to the >difference in climates on the inside and outside of the membrane. The DWR >treatment is your buffer between the membrane and that outside environment. >Best Regards, Adam Thanks Adam! Robert *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Sep 03 1998 - 12:05:29 PDT
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