Washing and Sanitizing Outdoor Gear:
In the "Great Outdoors", you need a base layer made of high-performance fibres that will wick moisture away from your skin, keeping you dry and comfortable. This is especially important when you're working up a sweat in cold air. There are a zillion fabrics of varying thicknesses and styles to choose from, but as long as you remember the Golden Rule:"No cotton!", you'll be all set.
Enthusiasts know about "killer cotton" and not to use it when one is outdoors and temperatures are low. Cotton readily absorbs moisture and stays wet. Cotton does not wick moisture away from your skin; resulting in major body heat loss.
This is where wicking Polyester and fine Merino Wool base layer clothing excel. Their fibres wick moisture away from the skin, keeping it dry and reducing heat loss or possible hypothermia. Amazingly, wool even produces heat when wet.
Merino wool has seen a resurgance in popularity , largely because of the development of finer yarns that wick well and don't prickle or stink. Polypropylene is still available, too, but has the disadvantage of developing and retaining an odour- unless treated with Fleece-Tech Xtra.
All layers containing these fibres can be sanitized with Fleece-Tech Xtra.
You should also be aware that the cleaner the Gore-Tex or down, the better it is at wicking and protecting you. Dirty gear doesn't work as well. Also note that powdered detergents can get trapped in the fabric, reducing their breathability.
So, the essence of our message is to use layering and keep these layers clean, for best performance and protection.
Fleece-Tech Xtra contains:
- a unique blend of non-ionic surfactants
- a dispersant to remove oil based stains a blend of conditioning agents that give a distinct luster and handle to the fibre
- a hospital approved antibacterial agent ( Triclosan) that minimizes odours. The triclosan in Fleece-Tech Xtra is a wide spectrum antibacterial; effective against both gram + ve and gram -ve bacteria, as well as fungi. Triclosan remains on the fibres after washing, keeping gear free of that well known odour.
- Tea tree Oil ( Australian Malaleuca Oil), a natural antibacterial, fungicide and miticide. It has been shown to kill dust mites and remove their allergens.
For very dirty or "on-the-nose" clothing, we recommend that you pre-soak for 30 min in FleeceTech Xtra. Use 20mL per kilogram of gear.
Fleece-Tech Xtra is available in 2 formats:
- 250 mL bottle- enough for 10 machine wash loads- $9.95
- 5.0L container - the most economical - $100.00
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For more information about "layering", click LAYERS