How to Waterproof Your Jackets, Sleeping Bags, and More

Have you ever bundled yourself up in the early winter, trudged outside to shovel your walk or clear off your car from the first storm of the season, and found yourself soaking wet? Your waterproof-breathable shells, sleeping bags, gloves, boots, insulation, and soft shells all need regular cleaning and maintenance to keep protecting you from cold, wet conditions. Retreating your gear may sound intimidating, but it’s actually really easy to do and will extend the life of your expensive equipment. Let me walk you through the process of maintaining your gear, item by item.

How to Clean and Re-Waterproof Technical Shells

Think of your rain jacket or ski shell like a sandwich. The face fabric, or the outermost layer, is like the bread. It’s coated with a durable water repellent (DWR) treatment that helps bead water and stop it from penetrating the outer layer. The waterproof-breathable layer is the good stuff: the veggies, meats, and condiments in the middle.

The waterproof-breathable membrane features tiny pores that keep water out and let your sweat evaporate from within at the same time, keeping you dry. The DWR and membrane work together to form an effective barrier against the elements, so long as you don’t let them wear out. Dirt, oil, smoke, and other contaminants can clog the pores and prevent the material from breathing. Overtime, the DWR coatings on those face fabrics can wear off. When they do, precipitation and sweat will saturate the fabric.

Soft shells—wind-and water-resistant garments that go without the aid of a membrane—rely entirely on that DWR to protect you from precipitation. Allowing it to wear off, or become compromised by dirt, smoke, sweat or other contaminants will eliminate a soft shell’s ability to shed weather.

You should be cleaning and reapplying DWR to your technical shells regularly.

“The best rule of thumb is, if your jacket or item looks dirty or is no longer repelling water, clean it,” explains Heidi Dale Allen, the vice president of marketing for Nikwax, which makes a variety of detergents and treatments for all varieties of outdoor gear. “If after cleaning, the item is still not repelling water, it is time to re-waterproof.”

Allen says you can also test your technical shells for function. Simply run them under a tap, and if the water soaks into the material rather than beading up and running off, then it’s time to clean and take care of them. You may also notice a lack of water beading while wearing your gear outdoors.

The first step is to take note of any item’s unique care instructions. The care label sewn into any piece of clothing will tell you if it needs to be be hand or machine washed, what temperature water to use, and if you should hang or tumble dry it. Depending on the fabrics and technologies used in each garment, the instructions will vay—even for articles made by a single brand.

Should I Be Afraid of Damaging My Garments in the Laundry?

“If you follow the care instructions from the brand and use the proper types of cleaners and waterproofers, then you absolutely will not ruin it,” reassures Allen.

But she does caution that you can only reapply DWR to clean shells, saying, “You wouldn’t wax a dirty car, so do not try to waterproof a dirty piece of gear.”

Once you’ve assessed each item’s care instructions, you can then wash them using a detergent designed specifically for technical apparel.

Don’t use a regular household detergent. These can leave behind residues that attract moisture and clog porous membranes, ruining the item’s ability to keep you dry. Allen recommends Nikwax Tech Wash. I’ve been using this detergent for years; I can tell you it works. Tech Wash does not contain UV brighteners, so you can safely apply it to hunting gear without turning yourself into something animals will perceive as an illuminated billboard.

Once clean, you can choose to reapply a DWR coating. Allen says to do this if the item has lost the ability to bead water, or once every three to five wash cycles.

Nikwax uses a DWR that’s free from harmful PFAs. Because it’s water-based, it needs to be applied while the garment is wet. If machine washing, simply add a treatment like Nikwax TX.Direct Wash-In to the detergent dispenser, and start a new cycle. If you’re hand washing, hang up or spread out the still-wet item, and evenly coat it in a spray-on waterproof treatment like Nikwax TX.Direct Spray-On. Then hang or machine dry according to the care instructions. Unlike older treatments that use PFAs, these detergents don’t require heat to activate the coating.

To address a stubborn stain, simply add a small amount of the appropriate detergent on the dirty spot and scrub it with a soft-bristled brush or an old toothbrush.

You can clean and re-waterproof synthetic jackets and sleeping bags the same way.

How To Clean And Re-Waterproof Down Insulation And Sleeping Bags

The reason so many outdoorspeople love down is for its ability to create a ton of heat-trapping loft while being light and efficient to pack. Sweat, body oils, smoke, and dirt can cling to down clusters, reducing that loft. Today, most down insulation is treated with a DWR to enable it to dry faster. DWR increases the insulation’s reliability and safety in extreme conditions, because wet down won’t loft. But DWR can wear off down just like it does on a shell fabric.

“We like to say that cleaning and waterproofing at least once a season is a best practice,” says Allen.

Caring for down insulation is similar to maintaining a technical shell, but you need to use a detergent that won’t strip away down’s natural oils. I use Nikwax Down Wash Direct for an initial wash cycle. Then, I’ll reapply DWR to both the down and its shell fabric using Down Proof. Just add Down Proof to the detergent dispenser for the second cycle.

Note that you shouldn’t wash down items in a top-loading machine fitted with an agitator. The central column can tear the fragile face fabrics used on ultralight down items and can even break apart the down clusters themselves. If you have one, consult its instructions to see if the agitator can be removed, or plan on visiting a laundromat.

The tricky thing with down isn’t washing or treating it, it’s drying. Down clumps when soaked, becoming time consuming to fully dry (which you absolutely must do before storing it). Any clumps need be fully broken up to evenly distribute the down.

Consult the care label before proceeding, but most down garments and bags can be tumble dried on low heat. Adding dryer balls or tennis balls to the dryer will gently break up the clumps and distribute the clusters. Plan on running down items through several dryer cycles until they are totally dry.

How to Clean and Re-Waterproof Gloves and Boots

Gloves and boots are often made from a mix of materials, including various types of natural and synthetic leathers, shell fabrics, and waterproof-breathable membranes. They’re a challenge to clean and care for, which can be frustrating, because gloves and boots are often exposed to mud, snot, salt, and other contaminants much more frequently than other items.

Allen recommends to start by keeping gloves and boots clean. Caked on mud and dirt can draw moisture out of leather and abrade fabrics. Nikwax Footwear Cleaning Gel can help; it preserves DWR coatings and won’t harm leather or synthetic fabrics. Nikwax also makes a product called Fabric and Leather Proof, which applies a DWR to both types of material with an easy spray-on application.

For all or mostly-leather items, Allen recommends applying a leather conditioner if the material looks dry, then a waterproofing wax as is necessary.

For suede or rough-out leather footwear, I also swear by Nikwax’s Suede Proof spray. Now I tromp through puddles and snow without worrying about your my suede shoes’ appearance and texture. To apply that, I just start by brushing boots clean, then saturating them with the spray. The suede boots I’ve protected with Suede Proof are many years old and have experienced the worst of winter weather in big cities, but still look like new.

Wes Siler has relied on technical clothing to keep him warm and dry through winter camping trips across places like Siberia, Iceland, Sweden, and near his home in Montana. He purchases only front-loading washing machines for the express purpose of washing his sleeping bags. You can ask Wes questions about his work on Substack.