If your jacket has started feeling clammy in the rain, it is probably not leaking. It is wetting out — and that is a different problem with a much easier fix.
Leaking and wetting out are not the same thing
A waterproof jacket is really two things bonded together. There is a membrane, which is the actual waterproof layer, and on top of it there is the face fabric, which is treated with a durable water repellent (DWR) finish so that rain beads up and rolls off.
The membrane almost never fails. What wears off is the DWR — scrubbed away by rucksack straps, sunscreen, road grime and the ordinary friction of wearing a coat. When it goes, rain stops beading and instead soaks into the face fabric. The membrane is still keeping water out, but the sodden outer layer now blocks vapour from escaping, so your own sweat condenses on the inside. It feels exactly like a leak. It is not one.
The test is simple: hold the jacket under a tap. If water beads and runs off, the DWR is alive. If the fabric darkens and drinks the water in, it has worn off and it is time to re-proof.
Wash it first. Yes, really.
This is where most people go wrong. A dirty jacket cannot be re-proofed, because the new finish has nothing clean to bond to. Grime is also part of why the old finish stopped working in the first place.
- Empty every pocket, close the main zip and all pocket zips, and fasten the cuff tabs. Open the pit zips.
- Run a rinse cycle first with nothing in the drawer, to flush out detergent residue from previous washes.
- Wash warm on a gentle cycle using a technical wash made for waterproof fabric. Never ordinary detergent, and never fabric softener — softener is designed to coat fibres, which is precisely what ruins a repellent finish.
- Give it an extra rinse.
Then re-proof
Re-proofers come in two forms. A wash-in goes in the machine and treats the whole garment including the lining; a spray-on treats only the outer face, which is what you actually want, because leaving the inside untreated keeps the jacket breathing properly. For a lined shell like the Storm Shell Jacket or the Basin Long Coat, use a spray-on.
- Hang the jacket while it is still damp from the wash and spray the outer face evenly — shoulders, upper back and forearms first, since those wear fastest.
- Wipe any excess off the zips and any laminated panels with a cloth.
- Let it dry, then apply heat. This step is not optional: the repellent only cross-links and becomes durable once warmed. Twenty minutes in a tumble dryer on low does it. No dryer? Use a warm iron on its lowest setting with a towel between the iron and the fabric, and never touch the membrane directly.
Test it under the tap again. Water should bead and roll straight off.
How often
Wash every four to six wears in ordinary use, and re-proof roughly every fourth wash — more often if you commute daily with a rucksack, because the straps abrade the shoulders faster than anything else. Boots and umbrellas need none of this: wipe boots clean with mild soap and cool water, and let an umbrella dry fully open before storing it closed.
When it really is a leak
If water comes through in one specific place, along a seam, or at a zip end, that is a defect rather than worn DWR — and it is covered. Photograph it, find your order reference and email us. Every Solen Unity jacket carries a five-year guarantee, and we would rather repair a good jacket than replace it.