Lockdown Quarantine Things To Do: Riding Gear Cleaning Tips - Jacket Care

  • Apr 5, 2020
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This is a step-by-step guide to make sure you have a fresh clean mesh/textile jacket on April 15

The world as we know it is undergoing a grim period. With lots of countries including ours enforcing a mandatory lockdown to combat the spread of COVID-19, this lockdown period does have a small silver lining to it for motorcyclists. This is the right period for those who have been putting off cleaning their riding gear for a later date. We have already covered helmet cleaning tips. In this piece, we break down how to effectively clean your mesh or textile jacket. We will cover leather jackets later.

A note first: Please do not machine wash your jacket as there is a high risk of you damaging the jacket’s stitching, material or, in case your zipper gets stuck, the zippers.

Also Read: Ixon RS Tilt Glove: Motorcycle Gear Review

Unlike cleaning a helmet, cleaning a jacket does not require loads of steps. It is as simple as hand washing your clothes. What you do need for the cleaning process is a bucket with warm water in it, liquid detergent, an antiseptic disinfectant liquid (like Dettol or Savlon), a soft toothbrush, and a few hand towels/microfiber cloths.

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Let’s get cracking. To start off, you need all the removable liners of your jacket to come off, i.e. your thermal and waterproof liners. Unzip every chain, unbutton every tab and undo all velcro adjustment straps. Remove all protective padding from the back, elbow and shoulder areas (and also the chest pads if your jacket has them).

You could wash your jacket together with your liner(s) but we would recommend you wash them separately as it would be an easier task.

Also Read: Forma Akira Back Protector: Motorcycle Gear Review

Immerse your jacket in the bucket of warm water. Remember, it has to be warm and not hot water. If it is too hot for you, it is too hot for your riding jacket. It might damage your jacket’s material, which would reduce your jacket’s ability to protect you in an event of a crash.

Add a cap full of liquid detergent and a similar quantity of antiseptic liquid to the bucket of water a. Make sure that you use liquid detergent that is either purpose built for riding gear or for woolen clothes. It has to be of the non-scented kind as the chemicals of the scented type can harm your jacket. Powder detergent is an absolute no-no.

In case you want to play it safe like we have done here, use baby shampoo. It is cheap, effective and will not damage the fabric of your jacket. Give it a couple of hand spins and let it soak for 30 minutes.

Once the detergent has been absorbed by the jacket, give it a good scrub. Focus extra on the spots where it usually will accumulate sweat, grime or dirt of any sort, like the armpit area or the sleeves.

Use the soft toothbrush to clean the dirt off the zippers and other adjustment tabs.

Rinse it with clean water multiple times until all the detergent vanishes. Drain the jacket of excess water but do not twist it too much. Wipe the jacket down thoroughly with the hand towels or microfiber cloths to soak up the remaining water.

Leave the jacket out to dry but not under direct sunlight. You want your jacket to be soft and welcoming when you wear it again, not harsh and stiff, which might happen if you try to quick dry it.

Repeat the same steps for washing your liners.

You do not need to do a lot for your protective pads. You can just let them breathe under a fan for 30 minutes. In case you live in an extremely humid climate and sweat a lot, like 90 per cent of the time in India, take a lightly damped towel or microfiber cloth and wipe the pads down gently. Remember being gentle is key as you do not want to damage these pads by being a little aggressive with your cleaning methods.

Once everything is dried up, put the pads back in their respective areas, attach the liners back in place and store it in a cool, dry place until April 15. In case you have a textile/mesh riding pant or denim, the procedure remains the same.

Next weekend, we tackle riding boots.

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