Nikwax Tech Wash and TX Direct Twin Pack

I had 3 waterproof (or they were) jackets which needed to be re waterproofed.I had used the Tech wash on it's own once before ( I received a sample sachet from somewhere) and remembered that it had worked quite well, so I tried looking it up. One of my "waterproof" jackets has been reduced to "light shower proof", so I thought it might need the additional boost from the TX Direct!The bottles arrived well packed they were wrapped together in single sided corrugated card, and ten packed in bubble wrap, which was then packed in Amazon Cardboard envelope type packaging for delivery.I read the instructions and made sure the soap dispenser drawer on my washing machine had been cleaned (thoroughly) before putting in the Tech wash - the instructions said Two Coats max at a time so I left the largest of the three to be washed separately. I washed them on their usual temperature (cool) but purely with the Tech Wash, and once this had been completed I then washed again with the TX Direct as this said you could do this straight after.The Jackets were hung on the line to dry, and the process was repeated with the Single large coat.Once dry they were put away ready to wear as normal. Last week I wore my "normal" rain coat which had been treated, it was like I was wearing as new again! The water beaded on the surface and rolled away, my shoulders stayed dry - even better!I would recommend this as my old jacket which had been reduced to Shower proof is back to it's old waterproof self! Brilliant. And even better I still have plenty left to do these again if needed.

Tried the combo of Tech wash and TX Direct for the first time and I must say that it does in fact work.Use Tech wash first (green bottle) to clean and then TX Direct (blue bottle) to re-waterproof it. It is very simple to use but make sure you follow the instructions carefully i.e. do not put more than 2 items as it might not be effective. I have attached photos of the product labels if you are interested in details of how to use it.I have used it on my textile motorcycle jacket and trousers that I commute in every day. As with all motorcycle gear it gets dirty fairly quick with all the road grime. Washing waterproofs with your usual detergents is not the best idea as it can clog the material with detergent particles and it will start letting the water through. After using Nikwax you can see that water is not getting absorbed into the material but instead forms into droplets that just run off. As to how long the effect lasts - after 4 weeks of everyday use it is still water proof. It removes stains very well too and even got rid of few engine oil stains from the trousers. You can also use it for your rain jackets and even tents as it is meant to be suitable for use on many waterproof fabrics including Gore-tex, eVent and Permatex. I have personally washed my Berghaus Gore-tex rain jacket and it worked a treat.I am very satisfied with Nikwax and will be buying again as it is a good and effective way off cleaning your waterproofs.

My partner and I both own North Face Tri-Climate jackets which have served their purpose really well in the British weather but have started to lose their waterproofing after about 12 months. You know that it's lost its waterproofing when it starts raining and, although you feel dry, when you take the jacket off you realise that your shoulders are completely drenched - even through the fleece liner!Like a lot of outdoor clothes wear the North Face jackets aren't cheap so having lost their waterproofing so quickly is a little disheartening and I didn't really want to have buy new ones already. After a quick search around I discovered Nikwax products which claim to not only safely clean the jackets but also add water repellancy back to them. I thought that for £10 for a twin pack of Tech Wash and TX.Direct I really didn't have anything to lose and thought it was worth a shot.I found both products very easy to use and had no problems with either of them. It clearly states to clean out the soap drawer on your washing machine before using. This makes sense as washing detergent is likely to react with the Nikwax products and prevent them working to their full potential. Obviously this isn't relevant if you decide to hand wash them. We don't actually use the soap drawer on our washing machine for normal washing and instead put our washing detergent in the moulded cup that comes with our washing detergent so felt confident we could use the drawer with no issues.After washing the jackets we hung them outside on a fairly windy day and they were dry in no time. After drying I tested the water repellency by splashing some water on them and it beaded up and rolled off, so seems to have done the trick! It wasn't long before I had the opportunity to test it out for real on a rainy day and the jacket behaves like new again.One thing I did notice after washing the jackets was an odd smell. It turns out this is the TX.Direct which smells very similar to PVA glue. Thankfully this smell dissipated after a couple of days but you might want to air the jackets outside for a bit longer if the smell bothers you.If you are in a hard water area you will need to use 50% more of the Tech Wash product so you may find this will run out quicker than the TX.Direct bottle.Overall I'm really impressed with these Nikwax products which have breathed new life into our jackets.

Easy to follow instructions. I opted for the lazy route of using the machine for both steps.Left my jacket to air dry after a slow spin cycle post wash in and it is now beading water again - ready in time for the winter months!The jacket doesn't smell clean as such, more of a PVA glue smell but that's fading now.Was worried the washing machine would be a bit gunked up after this but a hot wash removed the lingering plastic smell.As mentioned in other reviews it would be more economical if the dosing quantities / size of the bottles differed as one will run out before the other.Otherwise, I would recommend this product to restore the waterproof qualities!