Mumsnet Talk

I was recently given a lovely Musto paddock jacket for my birthday. I love it, its really warm and windproof and looks very smart and is lovely and comfy for riding in. I must admit though that I do a lot of dirty work in it. It is a pale brown. I would be looking to wash it regularly as I keep all my horse stuff in the car and my fiance complains that the car smells am very neat and tidy

It is very conveniently machine washable which is perfect for me but I'm worried about the waterproofing. Does anyone have one of these jackets and know how well the waterproofing lasts? Do I get so many washes out of it first or do I need to get special stuff to wash it in? There was nothing on any of the labels and google is not helping!!! It is truly the best all round jacket I've ever had so I would like to keep it waterproof as it does nothing but bloody rain.

I do tend to wash my gear quite a lot as I seem to get very grubby! Any advice on how to keep it nice would be much appreciated

The only instruction on my coat is to wash at 30 degrees in mild soap flakes, I've had it for years and washed it often and it is still waterproof in all but the worst downpours. You can get stuff from camping shops/Millets etc that goes in your washing machine (nikwax?) so it's easy to do but I think it's quite pricey (my mum buys it for her coat).

Oh just re-read and mine's not a Musto but if there is no mention of waterproofing on the label then it must be the same sort of thing I'd have thought.

Nik Wax Tek wash will do the job. Or their rug wash if you are skanky like me

Sounds like nik wax is what i need. If I wash it without it and see how it goes can I wash it later with nik wax and restore it or does it have to be from the first wash? Ive never really had a proper waterproof before. I wasn't that bothered about getting soaked tbh . Im getting older now and this jacket has shown me the wonder of being warm and dry

You can't wash it with regular detergent as it will take the waterproofing out - but they do do a reproofing wash too if it starts to leak a bit

I have a Musto, not sure what kind though. I wash it without any kind of detergent, just in water, and it's still waterproof after a couple of years. However, it's black and only used for riding, so I don't worry too much about how clean it is.

Try Musto customer service (see their website for details) - they are very helpful and recently repaired my jacket for free, after some idiot me shut it in the car book and smashed the zip (oops).

Right. I that case i wont bung it in the washer just yet. I wouldn't know whether to use detergent or not. i wish they had included some more explicit instructions <dim>. Speaking to Musto is a great idea. I will do that tomorrow. Thanks for all the advice

Car boot, obviously....

Tech wash is the best and used sparingly it isn't that expensive.

If you decide to wash in detergent instead it's pointless to then use the tech wash as the damage has been done. However, you can buy the reproofing wash stuff and that will work. Although it's easier/arguably better practice to just to wash in tech wash in the first place.

My coat says never to use biological washing powder if that's any use.

I've had my musto jacket since I was 17 and its cream so I wash it a lot
I just use non bio and weirdly it's still waterproof despite having never been redone