David Gauntlett
Senior Member
I have had a French NATO jacket for some years (brand new, un-issued when I bought it, cost £80 even back then). It was really great until some dumb arse carp angler (me 
) kept chucking it behind his bed chair during sessions (where else is there in a small bivvy?). So, it inevitably got dirty and required washing to get the 'beadability' back. It was still waterproof, thanks to a superb Gortex membrane, but the dirt (mainly mud) on the outer fabric allowed that to absorb water when it rained...which meant it was no longer 'breathable'.
I took heed of all the available advice on washing at the time (running the missus machine empty for several cycles to remove detergent residue, then washing the garment with 'Nikwax Tech Wash', then reproofing with the Nikwax 'wash in' stuff. Expensive to buy it all...and it didn't work too well, the beadability was only restored in patches, so not what it was. Shame, because it still looks brand new, no holes, not even visible signs of wear.
Anyone contemplating washing in a washing machine should take note of my experience. I suspect the machine still had enough detergent residue to cause the problem, so Jon's suggestion of getting a friend to brush you down with water is probably the way to go...unless you have an unused washing machine...or one in which only soap powder, NOT detergent, has been used
Cheers, Dave.
) kept chucking it behind his bed chair during sessions (where else is there in a small bivvy?). So, it inevitably got dirty and required washing to get the 'beadability' back. It was still waterproof, thanks to a superb Gortex membrane, but the dirt (mainly mud) on the outer fabric allowed that to absorb water when it rained...which meant it was no longer 'breathable'. I took heed of all the available advice on washing at the time (running the missus machine empty for several cycles to remove detergent residue, then washing the garment with 'Nikwax Tech Wash', then reproofing with the Nikwax 'wash in' stuff. Expensive to buy it all...and it didn't work too well, the beadability was only restored in patches, so not what it was. Shame, because it still looks brand new, no holes, not even visible signs of wear.
Anyone contemplating washing in a washing machine should take note of my experience. I suspect the machine still had enough detergent residue to cause the problem, so Jon's suggestion of getting a friend to brush you down with water is probably the way to go...unless you have an unused washing machine...or one in which only soap powder, NOT detergent, has been used
Cheers, Dave.
