Should I wash this gear or not?

Make sure to dry it on medium for 15-20 minutes to get the DWR to work properly after applying. After I apply the spray, I let the garment hang to air dry for a while then put it in the dryer on medium for 15-20 minutes. It’s my understanding that the purpose for the dryer is the heat activates/re-activates the DWR, rather than for actually drying. I could be totally incorrect here as I’ve read a lot of different opinions online (maybe they are all somewhat correct), but for what these things cost and the performance I want from them, I reached out to Gore-Tex and NikWax to get their suggestions as it pertains to the outerwear (wash-in for technical shells versus applying only to the outer material, etc.) and the advice was DWR only the outer material for a tech shell. It seems that gore-Tex doesn’t breath as well the more it gets soiled (sweat, oil from skin contact, etc.) and that affects its overall performance, so they say it’s important to wash it often enough to keep that from building up. DWR on the outer material doesn’t last forever, but some things like fabric softener and a lot of detergents will break it down significantly faster so they advise only using super mild detergents. I’ve heard that NikWax wash isn’t necessary and that old school normal tide will work just fine… but with the 3l stuff I go with NikWax detergent just to be on the side of caution. I don’t apply DWR every time I wash… that’s too expensive and unnecessary.
Also, for what it’s worth, when I buy new outerwear I do a water bead test before going out in it because I have had some new garments (from name brands) that wet out easily and some that bead up fantastically. YMMV but I don’t want to be getting rained on and my shells wet out right away.

SkA said:

A lot of what you said is also written advice by Burton. For what it's worth, I've mostly ever heard of Granger's and Toko's products being marketed in Europe as quality stuff. So those would work as well, I think.

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Yes, but, there are a lot of different opinions online. Burton says one thing, another garment company says a different thing, and a bunch of people say other things. Ambiguity is what you will find if you look around online enough. GIVEN THAT GORE-TEX EVEN HAS A VIDEO THAT SAYS SOME COMPANIES HAVE WASH-IN OR SPRAY ON DWR AND USE AS DIRECTED, I’d say there’s ambiguity. Then there’s a plethora of different opinions and directions online that either promote wash-in DWR or spray-on DWR as well as a decent amount of “reasons” for both. Therefore, its reasonable that a person might wonder which way is correct or if they both work. My Gore-Tex Pro stuff isn’t cheap and I want it to last, so I opted to get in touch with a specialist at Gore-Tex (or so he claimed, it wasn’t the person that answered the call) as well as NikWax to clear up the ambiguity when it comes to a technical shell.
If that was my experience, then I assume the OP, as well as others that might come across this thread in the future looking for answers, might experience the same thing. I would rather get clarification from Gore-Tex than rely on Burton for everything.

Cambered234 said:

Then there’s a plethora of different opinions and directions online that either promote wash-in DWR or spray-on DWR as well as a decent amount of “reasons” for both.

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I'd guess there is a high chance there's only subtle differences between them, as long as it's a reputable product. From my limited experience, my gore-tex pants started to fail at waterproofing once the material appeared to have been damaged due to friction, from use. The color on the ass part started to visually loose color, and while it was still working to some amount, sitting on spring like snow or actual wet surfaces would end up breaking trough, unlike when they were new.

I tried spray on solutions from two separate manufacturers (Grangers, Toko), and while it did visually improve the water beading once treated (more or less as effectively as if I just waxed the car), it didn't really restore the performance back to it's glory days. Replacing the pants did the trick.

So basically, what I'm trying to say is, these at-home DIY solutions are there to help, but IMHO aren't as magical as to convert regular material into gore tex performance, so I doubt spray-on versus wash-in is going to be the deciding factor in final performance. IMHO it's more about ensuring you expose it to the least amount of unnecessary friction/rubbing (e.g. sitting on the ass, on ice, brushing your snowboard's edge on it while you carry it). Which is probably why the OP is scared to wash it, as we all know that can happen inside the washer's drum as well, so I guess follow the instructions: extra water, wash separately.

Anyway, I was lazy this year and just used a 2 in 1 solution from Grangers for all my SB outwear. Guess I'll see if I spot any issues with that approach (breathability wise I guess), as oppose to going trough the hassle of spraying it on after a regular wash, next year.

SkA said:

I'd guess there is a high chance there's only subtle differences between them, as long as it's a reputable product. From my limited experience, my gore-tex pants started to fail at waterproofing once the material appeared to have been damaged due to friction, from use. The color on the ass part started to visually loose color, and while it was still working to some amount, sitting on spring like snow or actual wet surfaces would end up breaking trough, unlike when they were new.

I tried spray on solutions from two separate manufacturers (Grangers, Toko), and while it did visually improve the water beading once treated (more or less as effectively as if I just waxed the car), it didn't really restore the performance back to it's glory days. Replacing the pants did the trick.

So basically, what I'm trying to say is, these at-home DIY solutions are there to help, but IMHO aren't as magical as to convert regular material into gore tex performance, so I doubt spray-on versus wash-in is going to be the deciding factor here. IMHO it's more about ensuring you expose it to the least amount of unnecessary friction/rubbing (e.g. sitting on the ass, on ice, brushing your snowboard's edge on it while you carry it). Which is probably why the OP is scared to wash it, as we all know that can happen inside the washer's drum as well, so I guess follow the instructions: extra water, wash separately.

Anyway, I was lazy this year and just used a 2 in 1 solution from Grangers for all my SB outwear. Guess I'll see if I spot any issues with that approach (breathability wise I guess), as oppose to going trough the hassle of spraying it on after a regular wash, next year.

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If your Gore-Tex got damaged from the inside, I’m guessing your gore-Tex pants are 2L, right? The innermost layer of 2L isn’t laminated to the gore-Tex so that could cause additional friction I suppose (if that’s the cause)… but depending on the manufacturer, that innermost material can vary in type. If it’s the open mesh type, then it doesn’t protect the actual gore-Tex layer as well as other types and can be abrasive. But in this circumstance, there could also be another explanation. Given that the outer material of any of these gore-Tex shells is not actually gore-Tex, rather it’s just a fabric that protects the gore-Tex membrane from the outside and really needs to repel water so the gore-Tex can breathe; this material is inherently not waterproof (pure waterproof can’t breathe and exposed gore-Tex is vulnerable) so it is treated to repel water (such as DWR)… the DWR is not actually for the gore-Tex, rather it’s for the outer fabric; the better this material beads water away, the better the gore-Tex works and breathes (if the material stretches enough then that can be a problem as well); if this outer material were to wet-out then the moisture from the inside can’t escape and can cause a sauna-like effect and you’ll notice the inside of the garment is wet as well and as the outside and it looks like water is coming in from the outside but it’s because your outer material became saturated and trapped moisture inside that just continues to build up. We wear materials like gore-Tex in the first place because they can breathe, if it can’t breathe then it can’t do what it’s supposed to. There are full on waterproof rain jackets out there that don’t cost nearly as much, but those are like wearing super heavy duty construction garbage bags and you will start sweating the moment you move around in it. If you wrestled in high school then you know what I’m talking about… wearing garbage bags under pants and a hoody while running to loose water weight to make a weight class. That’s kind of like gore-Tex that can’t breathe. This is also why I wouldn’t want to actually wash-in DWR as I wouldn’t want it to alter the breathing capability of the gore-Tex.
Honestly, I have no idea what happened with your specific pant situation, but given the overall thread, I figure this additional perspective could come in handy to anyone stumbling on this thread looking for information in the future. If your actual gore-Tex membrane did get damaged from the inside, that would affect its performance for sure. It’s hard to say without seeing it.
There’s also different kinds of gore-Tex these days and they aren’t all geared towards waterproofing.
Lastly, if a garment has lost all of its DWR and doesn’t bead water away at all/wets-out immediately, the DWR can be restored but it’s not as simple as a single re-application. From my experience, it has taken me several rounds of applying this stuff and frustration over cost (this DWR isn’t cheap), but I’ve been able to restore the DWR on a 20 year old gore-Tex jacket that had completely lost the ability repel water (the outer material would wet-immediately). Each application needs to be worked into the outer material, the seems, and any stitched area, not just misted from a spray bottle. It can be done as long as the material is otherwise still in good condition.

I never said you're wrong, I just said that most of what you suggested is also information found on either Burton or Gore tex website, so I was just confirming your advice.

Cambered234 said:

If your Gore-Tex got damaged from the inside, I’m guessing your gore-Tex pants are 2L, right?

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Can't really speculate on the state of it on the inside as such (and I can't really imagine what would damage it), but I was talking about the outer layer, as the color loss on the ass was quite visible. It went from black to a more grayish color, kind of like if you left a black shirt to dry out on a hot summer sun. In all honesty, I hadn't really washed them until I started feeling like the performance degraded, at which time the color loss was visible as well. After that I bought the correct products, did the wash, reapplied spray on DWR several times (usually at the start of the season, and maybe retried mid season), then gave up after a couple of seasons and bought a new pair.

And yeah, we're talking about 2L Burton pants.

I understand the concerns about breath-ability, and why you'd want to apply the water repellent on the outside only: like I said, I'll see how that went next year. I was wagering on the fact that when I do get hot, vents need to be open anyway. Meaning I'm less concerned with breath-ability of the outer wear as I am with what I have under, and to adjust the warmth of that to the temperatures outside. It's was mainly the waterproofing performance that got me yelling "take my money", when I decided to shell out. Which isn't saying I'd be happy with a plastic bag over me.