LONG TERM REPORT

ATSKO WATER GUARD and SPORT-WASH

Richard Lyon

March 13, 2006

Personal Information and Backpacking Background:  I've been backpacking for 45 years on and off, and regularly in the Rockies since 1986.  I do a weeklong trip every summer, and often take three-day trips.  I'm usually camping in alpine terrain, at altitudes 5000 to 13,000 ft (1500 - 4000 m). I prefer base camp backpacking, a long hike in with day trips from camp, but I do my share of forced marches too.   Though always looking for ways to reduce weight, I'm not yet a lightweight hiker, and I usually choose an extra pound or two over foregoing camp conveniences I've come to expect.

Male, 59 years old
6' 4" (1.93 m) tall, 200 lb (91 kg)
Dallas, Texas, USA
rlyon AT gibsondunn DOT com

This is the second of two reports.  My Initial Report provides additional information on packaging and instructions.

Product Details

Manufacturer: Atsko, Inc. (URL: http://www.atsko.com)

Fluoropolymer Water Guard®
Total weight: Not listed [As measured, 15 oz (425 g)]
Listed contents: 10 oz (283 g)
Container size: Not listed [As measured, 8 in (20 cm) high cylinder 2.5 in (63 mm) in diameter]
MSRP: USD 8.58 [Note increase from date of Initial Report.]
Limited Warranty: "Guaranteed for 25 washings in Sport-Wash" on nylon, dacron, polyester, cotton, or blends of the foregoing.  Fabric must be washable and suitable for high heat.  Warranty applies only if washed in Sport-Wash or other Atsko product. [Note: I would characterize this as a very limited warranty.  All of the garments I used in the test had manufacturer's recommendations against high heat in the dryer, so none would be within the warranty conditions.]  

Product Note.  Atsko sells two other Water Guard products: a "Silicone Water Guard" that comes in an aerosol can, and a spray-bottle version of "Permanent Water Guard" with a label that is very similar to the Fluoropolymer Water Guard that I tested.  On its website Atsko recommends the spray-bottle version for natural fibers and the aerosol-can version for manmade fibers with DWR treatment applied at manufacture.

Sport-Wash® Residue-Free Laundry Detergent
Total weight: Not listed [As measured, 25 oz (709 g)]
Listed contents: 18 fl oz (532 ml)
Container size: Not listed [As measured, 7.25 in (18.4 cm) high cylinder 3 in (7.6 cm) in diameter]
Capacity: 18 washes.  Also available in 34- or 64-load sizes. [See comments below.]
MSRP: USD 7.40

Testing Methods and Test Results

Atsko sells Water Guard for use expressly after washing with Sport-Wash, so as outlined in my Initial Report I have tested the two in combination and Sport-Wash as a standalone product.

Water Guard 

All guinea pigs except one were washed with Sport-Wash before applying Water Guard: a Marmot Alpinist one-piece ski suit (made of Gore-Tex and Thinsulate-lined); a Dana Designs jacket (three-layer DWR-treated fabric); two fishing sweaters (one from The North Face, one from Marmot); and a Marmot three-layer Gore-Tex jacket.   To see if Sport-Wash makes a difference in waterproofing I treated a similar Marmot Gore-Tex jacket with Water Guard after machine washing with NikWax Tech Wash, another non-detergent soap sold for use on DWR fabrics.  All of the tested items except the sweaters are at least five years old and none has been given a new waterproofing treatment in that time frame.  The sweaters are reversible, with fleece on one side and a "windproof" nylon shell on the other, and both are water-resistant but not waterproof.

I washed each of the garments scheduled for Water Guard with an extra rinse, to remove as much residue as possible. Four I allowed to dry naturally, spraying each with Water Guard the day after washing.  I applied Water Guard to the two Marmot jackets immediately after washing.  After spraying, all were allowed to dry naturally upside down on hangers.  (Atsko recommends this so that any excess will accumulate at the top of the garment, where it's more useful.)  These six items exhausted two 15-ounce (425 g) aerosol cans of Water Guard. 

Again following Atsko's instructions, when a treated garment was dry I gave it a twenty-minute run in the dryer, medium heat (maximum recommended by each of the clothing manufacturers), to set the Water Guard.

I washed the Dana jacket and fishing sweaters once during the test period.  As discussed in the second following paragraph, the Marmot jackets took a real bath.

I've tested the ski suit, Dana jacket, and fishing sweaters in the great outdoors.  Ten days of skiing, six of them in powder and three in a snowstorm, so the ski suit got a fair workout.  I wore the jacket on a snowy day hike in Yellowstone Park, after skiing, and on the two or three (sic) rainy days we've had in North Texas over the past four months.  I met with fog and mist and an occasional light drizzle on my fishing trips, but nothing to allow me to see if Water Guard actually improved waterproofing, as Atsko claims, so I resorted to some clinical testing on the sweaters.  I ran a steadily increasing stream of tap water over the sweaters (nylon side out).  At first the water beaded and then it ran right off. 

The two Marmot jackets underwent a more through test: five wash cycles (no detergent), each with an extra rinse, in the machine.  I then ran them through the dryer for forty minutes (until dry), and then wore each in the shower with a red t-shirt on underneath.  Not a drop of water on the t-shirt either time!

Here are my original test criteria in bold, with my observations in italics.

Effectiveness of waterproofing after initial application and each washing.  Excellent on all garments initially, and on the Marmot jackets after their drenching.  I haven't reached the 25 washings Atsko claims Water Guard can take, but truly impressive results on the product's principal purpose, keeping water out.  I've not found any "holes" in the waterproofing.

Is it really odor-free (a) after the initial application dries and (b) after a downpour?  An unqualified "yes" to both.

Will spraying affect the color or texture of the fabric? Not at all.

Is its application noticeable on the garment? Some inexpensive waterproofing treatments leave streaks, and give nylon-type fabrics a slippery or crinkly feel.  Does Water Guard make the garment heavier or less flexible?  No streaks, splotches, discoloration, change of shade, or noticeable change in texture.  If anything, the Dana jacket (the heaviest DWR fabric in the test) appears to be more flexible, though I attribute this to its cleaning and not Water Guard.

Can I really just spray it on after washing the garment? How long does it take to dry or "set?" Applying Water Guard immediately after washing appears to work as well as first allowing the garment to air dry before application.  There was a more pronounced residue on the newspapers I placed under the Marmot jackets (Water Guard sprayed immediately) than when I allowed the items to dry before spraying.  Each garment was completely dry after twenty-four hours.  After a short stint in the dryer, the waterproofing is set.  (Though I didn't try this, Atsko says that ironing with a medium iron will also set the waterproofing.)

While this won't color my testing of functionality, I am interested in the price per application.  I've been satisfied with the Nikwax waterproofing products I've used in the past, but I consider them to be quite expensive.  Counting the ski suit as two garments, each can of Water Guard treated 3.5 pieces, for a cost of about two dollars (U.S.) per piece using the old list price, or about twenty cents more using the new list price.  That's roughly forty per cent of the per-item cost of the Nikwax product that I'd been using previously.  With excellent results from the Water Guard, this is a significant saving.

Two additional observations.

Use of Water Guard does not appear to affect fabric breathability.  If anything, the Dana jacket breathes better than before the test.  Again, this may be due to no more than a thorough cleaning.  I wasn't unduly overheated   after hard exercise and heavy sweating while wearing the ski suit, and my wicking layers dried quickly under the suit during après ski.

The test on the two Marmot jackets yielded comparable results.  Atsko claims that Water Guard's superior performance comes from its restoring the initial DWR by removing dirt and detergent residue, rather than adding a layer of water-resistant silicone over the entire garment.  The latter process, Atsko says, will wear off more quickly than the original waterproofing of a fabric impregnated with its treatment during manufacture.  Under that theory any non-detergent cleaner should work, and as noted I found no discernable difference in Water Guard's effectiveness using the NikWax product.

Sport-Wash

Sport-Wash is a clear liquid that I add to the detergent compartment of my washing machine in the same manner as any other product.  The plastic container's cap has a mark to indicate one fluid ounce (30 ml), which Atsko says is the proper amount for one load of laundry.

I own a large front-loading washing machine; the instructions for its use say that I should use the same amount of detergent as smaller top-loaders.  For the loads containing the garments treated with Water Guard, each of which was two garments, I used Atsko's suggested dosage.  When I used Sport-Wash for everyday woolens, synthetics, and fleece – usually about two-thirds of a full load of laundry – I used one-half that amount.  I believe that the lower amount sufficed.

Let me say at the outset that I found Sport-Wash to be a very impressive product.  The Dana jacket, my principal outer layer in the backcountry and with everyday casual wear in wet weather for many, many years, hasn't looked so good since it was new, and the two Marmot jackets also appear brighter and cleaner, to my eye at least.  Because of superior performance (discussed below) I have come to prefer Sport-Wash to the laundry products I had previously used for socks and other washable woolens.

Here are my observations of performance (once again in italics), measured against Atsko's advertising claims, in bold:

"Powerful enough to remove odors and your toughest stains such as soil, blood, and grass."  It definitely removes odors, as the only scent I've noticed after a wash is that of clean, wet wool.  And my Filson Heavyweight Merino Hiking Socks are finally clean! The tight weave of these socks and the fact that I usually wear them with heavier leather hiking boots make them very difficult to launder; some of the accumulated dirt and dust remains in the ankle area.  But no more – bravo! I've had success in removing grass stains and grease spots from light-colored socks and fleece.  Whenever I noticed a stain or spot I applied a bit of the Sport-Wash directly on the problem area, as I do with any other detergent or laundry product. 

"Restores & maintains the high performance features of technical fabrics."  I haven't tested anything for waterproofing without Water Guard, but breathabliity has improved in woolens and synthetic fleece.

"Helps wickables wick and breathable-waterproof fabrics breathe."  True, see above.

"Restores loft and effectiveness to down and synthetic insulation."  I have only washed one down garment with the Sport-Wash, a GoLite down vest with a lightweight water-resistant shell fabric.  I washed this by hand and allowed it to air dry flat.  Loft was indeed as good as new.

"Rinses away completely leaving no residue."  I couldn't detect any residue.

"Cleans and deodorizes. Leaves no scent." True, see above.

"Safe for all washables."  No ill effects on Gore-Tex, Dana's DWR treatment (the jacket is so old I can't remember what it is), Polartec and other manmade fleece products, capilene underwear, the GoLite down vest, or wool and wool blend socks.  

"Helps restore factory applied waterproofing."  Not tested without Water Guard.

Possible Improvement

I rate both of these products very highly.  Do I have any suggestions for Atsko? I do, but none related to performance.  When it comes to evaluating laundry and waterproofing products my perspective is that of consumer not chemist, albeit an experienced consumer.  I've been entirely satisfied – no, make that extremely pleased – with the results obtained from Water Guard and Sport-Wash.  The former has become my waterproofing of choice, and on my own I'm going to test the other waterproofing products on their target applications.  I shall continue to use Sport-Wash as my regular laundry product for all woolens, and plan to try it when hand washing heavier wool sweaters.

I did find Atsko's description of Water Guard, on the website and in the enclosed product literature, less than clear, and in a couple of places confusing, on which Water Guard product to use on which type of fabric.  Different color labels and more specificity on the website and in its product brochure would aid in deciding which product to buy. I contacted Atsko's customer service department by email to purchase a second can of Water Guard, specifying that I'd be using it on DWR fabrics and asking if any local retailers stocked the product.  Atsko identified a retailer, but that company carried only the Silicone Water Guard, which meant I had to order the second can of the Fluoropolymer product used for testing from Atsko's website.

This is minor criticism of two products that are easy to use, reasonably priced, and do what they are advertised to do very well.  My thanks to Atsko and BGT for the opportunity to test these excellent products.