Anybody in VFR land know what the heck "mild detergent" is? :redface: Does that tend to be on the side of dishwashing soap, laundry soap, or ???? My Cortech jacket & other miscellaneous M/C stuff needs to be "hand washed with mild detergent", but I am clueless as to what that means. I have deduced that kerosene, gasoline, and paint thinner don't qualify...
Watch out for laundry soap. It is way more powerful than you think. When our super expensive soap to remove the exhaust build up on the helicopters wasn't around we would use laundry soap. It worked really well But I think it should be ok... Most stuff says to use mild and most people just use what they have.
Use a liquid. The powders tend to "scratch" things a bit and can take the color off leather. Use less than you think you need to start with and then use more if needed.
Mild detergent=use less. So if you use a cup to do a load of laundry, use a thinned out (with water) 1/3 of a cup of detergent. I would also recommend NOT using dish soap, as it is WAYYY stronger (degreasing wise) than laundry soap.
Liquid laundry detergent, highly diluted, it is. I washed the jacket once (year or two ago?), and read something afterwards (probably in a cycle mag) about the waterproofing being affected by strong detergents. I haven't gotten around to it since, and it is starting to look more like fire-fighting protection than a riding jacket. Thanks, All!
I'd use regular laundry detergent as mentioned above. If you're concerned about waterproofing, get a can of Scotch-Gard. I don't really see how it could hurt the waterproofing anyway, since Cortech is waterproof by virtue of it's microscopic pores. Lane
REAL MEN don't know much about dish soap or detergent... and wouldn't be inclined to use it anyway because soap weakens the skin, a well-know fact .....or are we all turning into Martha flipping Stewart?? Just wash it with your pantyhose, Martha!!:cheer2: If you wear a garbage bag over those fancy duds they won't need washing!
That's an awfully macho response from someone who doesn't ride a Harley! Perhaps you have latent tendancies???? Lane
Now that you mention it, I did notice that people went out of their way to avoid me, whether I was riding or not.
well, people don't avoid me untill after i've removed my full-face helmet...then they scatter, especially girls!
Woolite is made for hand washing. It is right beside laundry soap in the grocery store. If that doesn't work, try a little battery acid. (the battery acid is a joke, don't use it unless you want some rather large holes in your stuff)
So...How did it turn out? The gear still waterproof? I just washed a Joe Rocket textile that was very good in the rain, now it is the shits. Anyone out there with a good tried and tested waterproofing for textile suits?. At first I though Scotch guard would be a good choice but thinking this over, is it really more appropriate for causing spills to bead off? Would it stand up to routine driving at highway speeds in the rain? I got soaked coming home from work today. :rain: Maybe my belly will shrink? And as far as dish washing liquid goes, think about it. If it will clean greasy pots and pans, I think it would be pretty harsh on our gear. When I do get my hands greasy working on cars or what ever, I use dish washing liquid to clean the grease off my hands. It works great. And its good for the hands too Madge. Your soaking in it now.
I haven't ridden in the rain for a long, long time... in a galaxy far, far, away... Uuuh, where was I? Oh, yeah, heavy drizzle is about the most I have had to contend with, and no more than about half an hour. Nothing got damp underneath, for what that is worth, but I would have been surprised if it did.
yodasmile Have anyone tried to blend laundry detergent with dish soap(dawn for example). Pretty potent stuff, awesome for white leathers(I use that trick to clean my white adidas).
This is what I do with my Joe Rocket jacket right down to the spray n wash even. My jacket has some parts of it that are white and gets to be gray after some time, so I hose it down with the Spray n Wash, then fill the tub up with some water and Woolite. Then add one jacket to the mix, swish things around and rub with your hands only(no scrub brushes). Rinse out and repeat this again if needed, then let it air dry. I have had good luck doing it this way. It also won't damage the reflective stripps if you do it this way.