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Cleaning Mesh Riding Gear

belrix

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I have noticed that my Firstgear mesh jacket and pants are starting to looking pretty nasty and it way beyond time to clean it!

The label states to hand wash in cold water, but I don't believe this will do much good.

Does anyone have tips on how to clean mesh gear?

belrix
 
Try hand washing it in cold water first and if you aren't happy with the results, step up to the delicate cycle in the washing machine, which is what I do. Whatever you do, don't put your gear in the dryer. Let it hang dry. That's my 2 cents and its probably worth less.
 
I just got home from camping at Horizons Unlimited at the Dragon. I followed my standard motorcycle mesh washing procedure I have used for my mesh suit for many years now. Throw it in the washing machine, armor and all. The armor is water proof, it gets wet every time I ride in the rain. I do spray the suit once it has dried with a UV protectant.
 
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I follow the manufacturers directions which for my mesh gear is to remove armor and hand wash in cold water. Don't worry, the water will get nasty dirty and the gear comes out clean. Some of my textile gear allows machine washing and that works well too. I use an old toothbrush to scrub the hand wash stuff.
 
I leave the pads in and use our front load washer on cold water and air dry. Wouldn't recommend a top load agitator.
 
I took out the armor, washed on a gentle cycle and hung it out to dry, very windy today so it dried quick!

It is a whole lot cleaner than it was but I'll wash it again before I store it for winter. Going to put a little OxiClean in the load next time.


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I always just threw my mesh jacket in the wash with cold water as directed. A couple times I had to repeat the cycle, but it came out clean. I did remove the armor - not all armor is made to take a soaking in a wash machine. Some is fine, others are not. Mine happened not to be. I am going to be washing my textile gear this week, still following the manufacturers suggestions, especially when dealing with gore-tex. Sometimes, it takes washing it twice. I will be taking the armor out of it as well, because it makes me feel better.
 
The only time I'll need the stitching to hold it all together and the armor to absorb is when I need it so I believe the manufacturer knows best how to avoid litigation from it not protecting to CE requirements so I follow their laundering suggestions.
 
Removing the armor before washing results in a much more flexible garment and helps efficient agitation in the washer.
 
I removed the armor and washed mine in the bathtub. I was amazed at how dirty the water got. I drained the water and did it again. That was it. I hung them up to dry, put the armor back in and here we are.
 
A front loading washer is like hand washing if you use the slower speed settings and much easier than actually hand washing. ;)

I would highly recommend removing armor as a good general practice because some types of armor get ruined if washed. I bought a used Aerostich Roadcrafter suit that the ebay seller had washed with their armor left installed. The armor foam cracked and crumbled when I received the suit and he agreed to reimburse me for replacement armor I had to buy. BTW, this armor is great stuff because it's soft and flexible but hardens on impact to provide excellent protection. Hopefully I won't have to prove how effective it is! :)
 
I wash my Scorpion mesh jacket on delicate in a top loader. Hung to dry, they dry fast.

I do wash it with protectants left in.

I do the same with my textile pants.
 
Think about it this way, if you always follow the manufacturers recommended methods for washing your gear, you don't have anything to worry about if you have to make a warranty claim. It is like calling Apple (or any phone maker) and claiming warranty replacement due to faulty parts. They will know if you dropped it in water. No use to lie, and it only takes a few moments to remove/replace the armor (if that is what is recommended.)
 
Think about it this way, if you always follow the manufacturers recommended methods for washing your gear, you don't have anything to worry about if you have to make a warranty claim. It is like calling Apple (or any phone maker) and claiming warranty replacement due to faulty parts. They will know if you dropped it in water. No use to lie, and it only takes a few moments to remove/replace the armor (if that is what is recommended.)
I was going to say I always buy used when I realized, sometimes I find stuff on a good enough sale that I'll buy new.
Still, I'm not an Aerostitch kind of guy. I'm more like .....the other guys....
Maybe one day, when I grow up....
 
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