Take Care of your Ski Wear

Or how to say thank you to your ski wear! You need to take care of your ski wear to help it last longer, stay gorgeous for longer and of course, it means you are always ready for your next ski holiday!

Now it's time to look after your skiwear and so its ready for your next adventure in the mountains. When suggest you to fight the urge to bundle your beautiful skiwear away quickly.  It;s so hard when there are tons of different things pulling your in all different directions but we urge you to take care of your ski wear. Ignore that instinct to pop it back in the wardrobe and get it out of sight. 

You've had the holiday, drunk the wine, had the prerequisite disaster on the button lift that we'll say no more about EVER and eaten way too much fondue and cake, pizza and that amazing meal at that place you can't remember the name of. You've been doing a sport, working up a bit of a sweat. Your ski wear will look better and last longer if you can spend a little time before putting it away. It'll certainly smell nicer too.

Here's our guide to caring for your ski wear.

You'll need:

• A non-biological detergent without softener, or phosphates or optical brightening agents.
• Johnson's baby shampoo for cashmere.
• Reproofer if necessary.
• Mesh washing bag (available John Lewis/Amazon).
• Wide shouldered hanger.
• Trouser hanger. 
• Soft cloth.
• Goggle or sunglasses cloth.
• Leather polish for leather ski mittens or gloves. 

Washing your ski jacket

Our advice first and always is read the care label! That way you'll take care of your ski jacket the best way possible. 

• Remove fur from your ski jacket - please remove carefully (not by ripping as you might damage the snaps or fabric.)
• Remove belt (if your jacket has one) and pop it in a mesh bag to protect it during washing.
• Fasten zippers and velcro.
• Select a non-biological detergent without softener or phosphates or optical brightening agents.  
• You can add a colour fast wipe/towel if your ski jacket is multi-coloured or with a strong colour contrast.
• An extra rinse is a good way to ensure complete removal of any residual detergent containing wetting agents that might reduce water repellency in the future. 
• Take your ski jacket out of the washing machine immediately the cycle is finished - leaving it in the machine might cause the multiple layers to smell musty. 
• Air dry (or follow the drying instructions inside the garment.)
• Please don't dry your ski jacket outside - colour degradation can occur when the item is very wet.
• Shake out the item once dry to fully aerate and recreate garment fullness. (Tip: you should also do this prior to your next ski trip and again before skiing each day.)
• If the garment label allows and you want to, you can use a cool iron for smoothing. 
• Store your ski jacket on a wide shouldered hanger.
• Please don't store in bright light for months at a time. 
• You can use a reproofing agent such as NikWax to prolong the performance of your ski jacket - please follow all the instructions on the bottle to obtain the best results. 

How to wash ski pants, softshells and base layers

• Read the care label.
• Ideally wash inside out at 30 degrees.
• Fasten zippers and velcro. 
• Remove belt (if your ski pants have one) and pop belt in a mesh bag to protect it during washing.
• Select a non-biological detergent without softener or phosphates or optical brightening agents.  
• You can add a colour fast wipe/towel if your ski pants are multi-coloured or with a strong colour contrast.
• An extra rinse ensures the removal of any residual detergent containing wetting agents that might reduce water repellency in the future. 
• Take your ski pants and base layers out of the washing machine immediately the cycle is finished - leaving it in the machine might cause the multiple layers to smell musty. 
• Air dry (or follow the drying instructions inside the garment.)
• Please don't dry items outside - some colour degradation can occur when  items are wet.
• If the garment label allows and you want to, you can use a cool iron for smoothing. 
• Store your ski pants either flat or on a trouser hanger.
• Store your base layers and softshell items softly folded. 
• Please don't store in bright light for months at a time. 

Washing cashmere

• Read the care label, but typically wash by hand or by using a wool wash programme.
• Select a wool wash programme at no more than 30 degrees and no more than 800rpm spin. 
• Use a wool detergent (but Marielle from Wyse London uses Johnson's baby shampoo as it is mild and inexpensive.)
• Put cashmere in a mesh wash bag (available from John Lewis)
• Air dry or dry flat (or follow the drying instructions inside the garment.)
• If the garment label allows and you want to, you can use a cool iron for smoothing. 
• Store flat softly folded or on a wide shouldered hanger.
• Please don't store in bright light for months at a time. 

Caring for fur trimmed ski jackets

• Fur trims and fur collars on hoods are easily removable by zippers or studs/snaps, poppers or elastic loops. 
• Fake fur may be hand washed or in the machine at 30 degrees and then left to air dry. 
• Brush through afterwards to revitalise and give back body. 
• For real fur, a tiny amount of talcum powder can be brushed through gently and then shaken to release. 
• Alternatively, a product like "Terre de Sommière" which removes dirt, can be shaken on, brushed through, left for a few moments and then gently vacuumed off. 
• Shake and smooth to revitalise. 
• Please do not store fur in bright light or sunshine for long periods. 

Looking after ski mittens and gloves

• Machine washing can really damage the membranes of mittens and gloves and so we don't recommend it. 
• Waterproofing makes up a key part of the performance of fabric and regular washing detergents can damage this. 
• Hand and spot wash synthetic mittens and gloves once a season using a tech wash, like Nikwax Tech Wash. 
• Open wide, put your hands inside to position the interior and then dry on a radiator or line. 
• Once a season, sponge on a waterproofing agent, like Nikwax Glove Proof. 
• Leave for 5 minutes and then wipe off excess.
• For leather mittens and gloves, we suggest using a neutral leather softener or polish to moisturise the outer layer. 

Pack away ski helmet and goggles safely

• Wipe the outside of the ski helmet with a damp cloth and dry with a soft cloth.
• Wipe over the interior with a barely damp cloth, particularly the ear pieces.
• Leave to dry.
• Clean visor using a soft cloth like goggle or sunglass cleaning cloths.
• Replace helmet in its aerated bag if you had one when it was first purchased. 
• Ensure visor is well protected during storage. 
• Clean goggles or visor lens (if your helmet came with a visor) using a suitable goggle cleaning cloth (no harsh cleaning products or cloths!)
• Replace goggles in goggle box.
• Make sure goggles are protected from damage whilst in storage. 
• Tip: we've been informed that ski helmets should be replaced every 5 years because of exposure to the elements (UV, moisture) and unseen damage.

Tech wash and reproofing

• Various products exist for adding technical capabilities back to your garments, like NikWax.
• Some people use these products on their ski wear after a few years of wear.
• They can add life to ski wear and certainly improve performance.
• We've tried down proofing wash on products as well as tech wash on products and found them to be successful in prolonging the life and performance of our ski wear.
• Down filled ski jackets are not typically as water repellent or resistant as other ski jackets. 
• As yet we don't sell these products but they can be found at good hiking and camping stores.
• We would recommend following the instructions on the products very carefully. 

Have you got any great suggestions for how to take care of your ski wear for us?

We'd love to hear your tips for taking care of your ski wear. Please get in touch with your suggestions and we will post the best ones!

Please send an email to lookgood@winternational.co.uk.