As you curate your perfect kit, which, let's be honest, can take some time, it's important to take proper care of each of your garments to maintain and enhance their performance and longevity. You can launder all your ski and snowboard apparel at home, though depending on their material, they might require different treatments and special care. Proper laundering of your gear will maintain, repair, and replace the weather protection, and it will purge your hollow-core fibers of sweat and oil build-up, improving the breathability and life of the garment.
Before we get into specifics, it's important to note that you should be using technical wash products -- you can find all that you'll need from NikWax -- and NOT traditional laundry detergent or fabric softener. Using regular detergent will negatively affect your ski gear in a few ways. It will strip the weather protection on your outerwear and clog the hollow-core fibers, reducing the garments' wicking ability, thermal capacity, and breathability. It will also coat your gear, making it more susceptible to stains.
But fear not! Washing your gear is less scary and less complicated than it may seem, and we're here to help! This article serves as a general guideline, but remember to double-check the specific care instructions on your garments. Our helpful Laundering Video is great too!
The How-To
Outerwear and Insulated Layers
The first step in washing your ski jacket and ski pants is to empty your pockets -- a crucial yet highly overlooked step of the process. You don't want to end up laundering your pass, chapstick, and god knows what else you've stashed in there throughout the season. Once you're all empty, make sure you zip all your pockets and zippers, snap all your snaps, and connect all your velcro, then turn it inside out. Doing so will protect the findings from banging around the washer and dryer and keep them from bumping up against each other. They'll likely last longer that way. Grab your NikWax Tech Wash and load up the washer, but only place a few garments inside at once. Be sure to use a cold-cold or warm-cold temperature setting, depending on what your tech wash and garment labels specify. Try to remove your items soon after the wash finishes to help prevent dyes from transferring and settling.
You can dry your ski clothes in the dryer or hang them dry, though a bit of heat from the dryer can be beneficial. If you use the dryer, use either the air dry setting or low heat. The heat will help bring the waterproofing to the surface of the garment and help it spread out.
To launder your insulated layers, you use the same method as washing your outerwear. However, before you start tumble drying, toss in a clean tennis ball to help re-loft and redistribute the insulation throughout the garment, which can be especially helpful for down-filled pieces. It is also important to note that when washing down garments, you should use a down-specific tech wash—NikWax has you covered here, too.
Base Layers
Washing your base layers is extremely important, given that they are in direct contact with your skin -- oils, sweat, grime, and all. Their specific launder method will vary depending on the material of your base layers.
Base layers made of hollow-core yarn fibers, like some polyesters, are very susceptible to the build-up of sweat and oils because of the moisture-wicking and heat-trapping within the fibers. To help combat this, use a tech cleaner on a cold-cold wash cycle to purge the fibers and restore functionality. You can either machine dry or hang dry; that is up to you, but hanging will help better maintain the longevity and performance of your base layers. However, no matter how well you take care of your hollow-core fiber garments, they will eventually break down and need to be replaced. That typically will happen about every 3-5 years, but if you notice that your base layers aren't wicking moisture or keeping you as warm as they once did, it's time to get another set.
If your base layers are made of natural fibers, like wool, bamboo, or silk, you should machine wash them with your base tech wash on a cold-cold temperature setting on a very gentle cycle. Once they're clean, it is best to hang-dry them. Natural fibers can be delicate, but when taken care of properly, they will last as long as the garment itself.
Accessories
You can follow the same guidelines for washing and drying base layers according to the material for your socks, hats, neck gaiters, and glove liners. When it comes to hats, if you can do so, you should remove the pompom from the hat. Otherwise, you'll be better off not putting it in the dryer.
Cleaning your ski gloves is also essential, though the method is entirely different. You do NOT want to put your gloves into the washing machine; they can get destroyed. For the leather parts of your glove, you should care for those with a leather balm, like the one from Hestra Leather Balm, to help keep them soft and more water resistant. For the synthetic components and the inside of the glove, you should turn to your favorite dishwashing detergent, like Dawn, to help remove stains and sweat. To clean the outside of your gloves, put them on your hands like usual, add a couple drops of soap, and wash your hands as if they were bare. Use just enough cold water to rinse off the soap, and be careful not to overdo it with excess water. Then, to clean the inside, remove your hands and lather up a drop of the detergent. Put your gloves back on and work them in and out a bit. Take your hands out and rinse off the soap. Repeat the process -- without adding more soap -- until your hands come out of the gloves clean with no soap and suds. It might feel strange to try it, but think of all the hand sweat built up in there and how much your gloves touch in general -- from wiping your nose while you're skiing to the couple of times they've probably fallen on the ground in some unsavory places… They deserve a good scrub. Clip them on a hanger to dry or lay flat on a drying rack.
The Bottom Line
Proper washing is an integral part of maintaining your gear. Grab some NikWax products to have on hand, and mind your materials. Don't forget to take into account the washing instructions specified on the garments' care label, too. All of your snow clothes washing can be done at home throughout the season, and it's easy! Keep it Clean.
