How To Wash Ski Pants?

Waterproof gear such as ski jackets and snow pants play the most important role in your outdoor winter experience for the ski season. Everyone needs a good pair of ski pants to keep them from freezing during their mountain adventure. 

Once you have found a good ski jacket and the perfect pair of ladies or mens ski pants, your biggest concern will be how to make them more durable once exposed to dirt and grime. The key is to know how to clean and wash your ski pants properly ensuring the waterproofing and breathability you need in ski wear. How often should I wash my ski jacket and pants? What is the best detergent to wash your ski clothing? How do I know I take good care of the coating in my pants and ski jackets?

The information we have laid out in this article will help you answer these questions on how to wash ski outerwear, whether is about your jacket, base layers or pants. Feel free to share it afterwards with your fellow skier & snowboarder buddie, they are probably sitting at home in their dirty pants wondering what to do right about now!

How often should you clean your ski pants? Well, there is no need to wash your ski trousers after wearing every time. Washing your pants and ski jacket two times per season in the washing machine with a laundry detergent should be more than enough. Before deciding upon any cleaning methods, make sure you read the label and check for any cleaning instruction. Since most of the ski outerwear is also waterproof clothing, you need to pay attention not to destroy the important waterproof coating with a detergent or cleaning chemicals which are too harsh.

 

Why ski fabrics require extra care? Ski jackets and snow pants have a windproof and waterproof coating to protect you from wind and snow.  To ensure this kind of protection, synthetic materials are involved in the designs of ski clothes. Nylon and gore tex are durable materials, with water repellent and weather resistant properties used in ski gear to ensure you a good experience in cold weather. Washing your ski clothes on a regular basis will ensure these materials the ability to keep you dry and protected from cold and wind.

Here are some simple steps in washing your ski garment

Check The Tag

Reading the tag is the first important step in finding out the proper way to wash your ski pants.

The instructions on the tag usually contain what is the right water temperature for the wash, what is the best cleaning method, what detergent to avoid and how to dry your ski pants correctly. This piece of information is the first step in in ensuring a decent life span of your ski jacket and pants.

Prepare The Pants Before Washing

At is point you need to check your pockets for any items that could stain your gear. Empty your jacket or pants pockets of anything like tissues, different tickets, gum, lip balm, dirt and so on. Zip up the zippers and close everything that might tear the fabric in the cleaning process. But there is still one more rule until the actual wash happens.

Pay Careful Attention To Stains

Treating the stain before the actual washing process will ensure a proper cleaning of your ski pants and jacket. There are different laundry pre treatment sprays that can be applied but you need to make a good research to find the suitable ones for the specific fabric in your pants or ski jacket. Pay close attention to face fabric and in case it needs some repairing, just make sure you know where the face fabric starts and the exact spot you need to intervene.  In case the garment has grease stains or any other food stains, apply some stain remover, and scrub the affected spot of the gear. Allow 15 minutes for the surface tension to be reduced and the stain remover to act on the stain.

Put The Pants In The Washing Machine

After proceeding with the above steps, throw your pants in the washing machine along with other ski outwear such as jackets and ski garments.

Add detergent in the detergent compartment and make sure you set the machine washing for the correct program. Usually, the recommended program has to do with cold water and a delicate cycle. Many choose to put fabric softeners in the washing machine to add fragrance to their clothes. Another similar product is in the form of fabric softener sheets that can be a great help in reducing friction between fibers and enhance the life span of your ski jackets and pants.

Double Wash With Waterproofing Solution

A waterproofing laundry cleaner will ensure the durability of waterproof proprieties of the fabric in your pants and jacket. Make sure the solution you are using for this step is suitable for clothing and not for sleeping bags or tents. Do not mix your ski pants with other clothes when you wash them with waterproofing solution.

Dry Your Ski Pants

The most recommended method for drying your pants is by letting them air-dry on a hanger or on a clothesline for the natural dispersal of water vapor. Many times, putting your pants in a dryer increases the risk of affecting the waterproof wash. However, when you put them to dry in open air, make sure they are not in direct sunlight or any other heat source to avoid deteriorating the fabric in them and its properties. Bigger and baggy ski pants will of course take longer to dry! Ski pants that weigh more also require longer drying.

When it comes to ski outwear, the drying might need special care instructions. The drying method depends on the type of fabric they are made from which is synthetic or down.

Here is how you should treat these different materials:  

Synthetic fabric:

You can dry synthetic clothing on a hanger in open air and to iron them afterwards on the ‘synthetic’ setting with suitable water temperature: 110˚C (230˚F). In case you have a dryer, you should choose the ‘synthetic’ program as well with a temperature around 60˚C (140˚F). No need to iron them after this. 

Down material:

This type of material requires professional dryer to fluff up the feathers. So, if you need to dry your down jackets or ski pants, put them into to dryer with four tennis balls. The recommended program is the ‘synthetic’ one, 60˚C (140˚F) temperature.

Gore-tex type membrane:

For this kind of material, you need to make sure you are using the special products available.  It is common for these fabrics to have a water repellent treatment (or dwr) that protects you from snow and water. 

For this reason, is advisable to dry them in a dryer to reactivate the dwr propriety. In case you decide for an open-air drying, try ironing them afterwards with a towel over for an even distribution of the heat and a durable water-repellent propriety.

Taking good care of your ski jacket and pants (regular or bib style) it’s part of your skiing experience. Knowing some basic things on how to wash your ski, what is the detergent compartment in the washing machine, respecting the wash cycle and understanding the spin cycle in the wash process as well as the importance of cold water, identifying the right products for your skiing clothing and tumble dry, is vital for the coating of your items. Your clothing will maintain their ability to keep the snow and water droplets out only if you wash them properly and take good care of the pores in the coating of the fabric. 

If you found this article useful, we remind you once again you can share it with your friends, but you can also explore our website for all the sky equipment you need for a great winter. From socks to jacket, we provide free shipping for your orders and best quality.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Aleksandra Djurdjevic          

Senior Content Creator

Aleksandra Djurdjevic is a senior writer and editor, covering snowboarding, skiing and trends in outdoor winter activities. She has previously worked as ESL teacher for English Tochka. Aleksandra graduated from the Comparative Literature department at the Faculty of Philosophy in Serbia. Aleksandra’s love for the mountains, getting out in the snow on her board, season after season, seeking wild snow adventures across the globe helps her continue to be a top expert at CSG.