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Reproofing your outdoor garments is important to maintain waterproofing , breathability, and durability. Over time, exposure to weather, dirt, and wear can cause the durable water repellency (DWR) on your jacket or gear to break down, reducing its ability to repel water and protect you. Cleaning and reproofing helps restore these properties, ensuring that your gear continues to perform effectively in wet conditions. It also extends the life of your gear, saving you money in the long run by keeping it in good condition.

Normal detergents will leave a water-attracting residue on your outdoor clothing, so if you’ve already washed your outdoor clothing with regular detergent or washing powder, you can still restore its performance by cleaning it properly with Nikwax. Start by cleaning your washing machine’s detergent tray to remove any detergent or fabric softener residue. Then, use the appropriate Nikwax cleaner, such as Tech Wash® or Down Wash.Direct®, and wash the garment according to the care label instructions for cycle and temperature.

If the garment has visible stains or heavy dirt, spot-treat these areas with neat Tech Wash or Down Wash.Direct before washing. Since regular detergent can strip the Durable Water Repellency (DWR) coating, check if the garment still repels water after cleaning. If necessary, reproof it with a Nikwax reproofing product, such as TX.Direct® Wash-In or Down Proof, following the product instructions to restore water repellency.

Yes. We strongly recommend using Nikwax Tech Wash or one of our cleaners as a pre-wash to remove dirt and any detergent residues that can prevent the waterproofing from bonding to the fabric fibres.

Stain Scrub won’t bleach your gear. As with any fabric treatment, there is a chance of colour run so we recommend testing it on a hidden area first.

You can use Stain Scrub as often as needed – ideally before each wash if your gear has visible stains. Regular spot-cleaning helps extend the life of your gear without compromising performance or waterproofing.

Yes. It can be used in households with children and pets. As with any cleaning product, store it out of reach when not in use.

No, Stain Scrub is specifically formulated to remove stains without compromising the integrity of Durable Water Repellent (DWR) coatings. It effectively cleans while preserving your gear’s waterproof performance.

No, this product hasn’t been designed for use with leather or suede.

Yes. Stain Scrub is free from harmful chemicals and bleaching agents, and it is not harmful to aquatic life.

The more you exercise, the hotter you get and the more you sweat. As the sweat evaporates it cools you down. Breathable garments allow the sweat vapour to escape, keeping you comfortable. If the sweat vapour is allowed to build up in your clothing, it becomes damp and you will become clammy and uncomfortable

Wicking is the process by which fabrics draw sweat away from the skin and spread it across the surface for faster evaporation. This helps keep you dry, cool, and comfortable, which is essential for outdoor activities. Regular detergents, however, can leave residues on fabrics that block the wicking process, reduce breathability, and compromise the performance of technical fabrics. Using a specialist product like Nikwax BaseWash® or Nikwax Sports Refresh ensures the fabric remains free from these residues, maintaining its ability to wick moisture and perform effectively.

Durable Water Repellency (DWR) is an invisible water-repellent finish applied to the outer fabric of most outdoor clothing and equipment. It prevents the fabric from absorbing water by making water bead up on the surface and roll off. Maintenance of the DWR with one of our cleaning products is vital to allow the fabric to breathe.

Our footwear products are specially formulated to minimise any change in colour, texture or appearance however we always advise testing the product on a hidden area prior to complete application.

Waterproofing Wax for Leather can be applied to wet or dry footwear, for all other proofers you will need to wet the substrate before application. Always clean with Footwear Cleaning Gel prior to treatment.

For light use, reproof once a year and for heavier use, reproof 2-3 times a year.

TX.Direct Wash-In provides complete and even coating across the entire garment, ensuring that hard-to-reach areas like seams and stitching are fully protected. Using TX.Direct Wash-In is ideal for providing quick, thorough coverage in a single wash cycle.

TX.Direct Spray-On is ideal for treating items that cannot be machine washed, offering targeted waterproofing without affecting performance. TX.Direct Spray-On is an easy-to-use solution for items that require extra protection in specific areas or for those that can’t be machine washed, helping to maintain breathability and waterproofing over time.

Yes, Nikwax spray-on proofers should be applied to wet garments, items should always be cleaned with the relevant Nikwax cleaner prior to treatment.

PFAS stands for polyfluoroalkyl substances and is the name given to the broad family of products called perfluorinated compounds: man-made substances that appear in a huge array of household and care products due to their water and oil repelling properties.  

Unfortunately, PFAS can take thousands of years to breakdown in the environment, giving PFAS the nickname of ‘forever chemicals’. These chemicals have been shown to be both harmful to human and environmental health.  If you’d like to know more, we have written a blog about it here: https://nikwax.com/en-gb/blog/2023/08/21/introduction-to-pfcs/ 

The Nikwax CMS is designed to be transparent and open source. We wish to share our Chemical Management System Policy Manual, including all the principles we use to select safer chemistry and how we have integrated this into our ISO 9001 audits, to encourage other companies to develop and implement their own transparent, safer methodologies to chemical processing. You can find here: CMS. 

As part of our Chemical Management System, we have developed a comprehensive Manufacturing Restrictive Substances List (MRSL) that restricts the input of hazardous chemicals in our manufacturing process and our products. We require all our suppliers to sign a declaration that the products they supply us with comply with our MRSL. We undertake annual wastewater testing at our manufacturing facility to verify compliance. 

Net zero emissions is a state achieved when human caused greenhouse gas emissions are significantly reduced, and the remaining emissions have been removed through emission removal methods.  

At Nikwax, we follow the Science Based Target initiatives guidance on net zero, which means aiming to reduce our emissions by at least 90%, with the remaining emissions removed by carbon removal methods, to leave zero emissions.  

Emission scopes are different categories of emissions, as defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol which is the global standard by which both corporate and government emissions are reported.  

There are 3 categories of emissions:  

GHG Scope 1 emissions: direct emissions from company-owned and controlled resources. 

GHG Scope 2 emissions: Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions released in the atmosphere, from the consumption of purchased electricity, steam, heat and cooling. 

GHG Scope 3 emissions: indirect emissions that are linked to the company’s operations (business travel, employee commuting, waste generated, purchased goods and services, Transportation and distribution, end of life). 

While we are making every effort to reduce emissions where we can, some emissions are unavoidable or very challenging to reduce. We have therefore chosen to support the World Land Trust in their Carbon Balanced programme, to purchase carbon credits for the direct emissions we haven’t been able to remove. We believe that by doing so, we can continue to finance vital conservation work, while also getting closer to achieving net zero scope 1 and 2 emissions.  

Our operational emissions are our UK scope 1 and 2 emissions. We also offset our UK business travel emissions. 

We work with the World Land Trust to offset our emissions through their Carbon Balanced Programme. This programme supports the protection and reforestation of forests around the world. Our donations have supported projects in several countries, including Vietnam, Ecuador and Guatemala.  

We take the materials we use both in and out of our products seriously, and we always look to material evidence to help guide our decisions.  Plastic is not a perfect material, and we regularly review whether there is evidence to suggest alternatives options are better.  

Our decision to continue to use recycled plastic is based on work conducted by the European Outdoor Group’s, Single Use Plastic Project, of which we are a member. Through reviewing a huge array of evidence and peer reviewed lifecycle studies, they have published a report on single use plastics and their alternatives. This reports highlights evidence that recycled plastic is the preferred material in every aspect, apart from its end of life, hence why we chosen to use recycled plastic that is also recycle. We encourage you to recycle our packaging to ensure that our bottles are given a second life.  

We complete an annual review of our plastic use based on our annual purchases. We use either the plastic weight provided by our suppliers, or we measure this internally to determine a weight for each item. Our report covers plastic use across our operations, from our packaging to plastic use in our offices, such as tea bags and pens.  

Yes, alongside our annual audit of our plastic use, we review where we can make changes to either eliminate plastic all together or swap to recycled plastic alternatives.  

We work with the World Land Trust by supporting their Carbon Balanced programme. This programme funds REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) projects around the world, working with Partner organisations on the ground to protect and restore areas of threatened forest. You can learn more about the Carbon Balanced programme here 

EOCA has different levels of membership for its supporters, and we are one of only 4 brands to have been a Sustaining Member for the last 10 years. As a Sustaining Member of EOCA, we donate an additional €10,000 a year on top of our membership fees, to cover the core costs of EOCA, allowing the organisation to continue its vital work, supporting hands-on conservation projects that protect and restore nature worldwide. 

EOT stands for Employee-Owned Trust. An Employee-Owned Trust is a type of Employee-Ownership structure in which a Trust holds the majority of shares on half of the employees. This means that our business is now owned by our employees, who we refer to as Partners, and every Partner has a direct stake in the company’s growth and profitability.  

At Nikwax we have always put people at the heart of what we do. Since our founding in 1977, Nikwax has had a strong environmental and social ethos and in 2022, we decided to transition to an Employee Ownership Trust to embed these values in our foundation. In doing so, ensuring that these values can never be compromised.  

All Nikwax products are manufactured in Wadhurst, East Sussex in the UK.

No. Nikwax has never been testing on animals. 

No. Nikwax treatments do not change the colour, texture or feel of garments or sleeping bags.

It is advisable to inspect the seam tape if it is accessible. If you notice loose tape seams we would recommend, if under guarantee that it be professionally re-taped, cleaned and reproofed by the garment’s manufacturer. If not in guarantee you can glue them carefully with a clear glue. Follow up with a clean using a gentle hand wash of Tech Wash followed by a hand- wash application of TX.Direct Wash-In.

Yes, in hard water areas you may need to use slightly more Nikwax product when cleaning your gear. Hard water contains higher levels of minerals like calcium and magnesium, which can affect the performance of detergents. In these areas, using a bit more of the product helps ensure that the treatment is effective and evenly applied. Please refer to the product instructions for specific dosage information.

Yes. Sometimes in delivery and changes in temperature, will encourage the solution to separate, or if the product hasn’t been used for any length of time. Just shake or agitate to mix the solution and apply.

All our products have a freezing point of -2⁰C although anything from 0⁰C could be considered a ‘danger’ point. Store in a cool, dry place, rather than outside. If your product has been accidentally frozen, we would advise that you do not use it and dispose the product.

No. We have created products that do not need heat to establish the bond between the waterproofing polymer and fabric. The performance of all Nikwax treatments is excellent with air drying.