So far it's been a poor winter for motorcycling. I couldn't get out in December or January. The day after tomorrow we're going to have the biggest storm of the year so far, and after that, the 2 week forecast says no thawing in sight.Mary Ann is out of town to visit her relatives, so my entertainment for the day is to wash my motorcycle jacket. Early last season I bought a high-visibility green Scorpion Commander motorcycle jacket. You get noticed on the highway, with that colour, and I think that's a safety benefit. Unfortunately it does not take long before the jacket starts to look dirty, and the last day I went riding in November, I got caught in the rain. The road spray makes the jacket look dirty, and there are also black marks, it looks like they are caused by rubbing something. Anyway, it's dirty and a bit of wiping seems to make it worse. So I decided to try a real cleaning. I am going to write about it in this blog. Disclaimer: I do not know that your jacket and machine will work the same as mine, and in fact I don't even know if my jacket or washing machine are going to survive. That's why I waited till Mary Ann was out of the house.
The label inside the jacket says "machine wash, cold". We have a Bosch front-load washing machine that has a whole bunch of settings more complicated than that, so I had to get out the owner's manual and read it a bit. I finally decided to set it to the "permapress cold" cycle (suitable for synthetic fabrics), and set the spin cycle to 1000 rpm.
Before starting, I took out the liners and the armour. All the shoulder and elbow pads are the same, so I should not have to worry about mixing them up. The back armour is actually not armour at all, it's a bit of light foam. I would not trust it to protect my spine in an impact. Anyhow that's another issue, right now I'm supposed to be cleaning the jacket. Next I stuffed the jacket into the machine all by itself, after turning the sleeves inside out (that was a suggestion in the Bosch manual, no idea why.). I set the spin to 1000 rpm (max). Then I put about half a cap of high efficiency detergent in the soak tray and and the wash tray.
One thing is for sure, I would not have the patience to do this jacket by hand. The washing machine just tumbles it back and forth gently coaxing the dirt out while I sit down and write my blog.
My final stage would be to hang it on our wooden drying rack. Our house is very dry in the winter, and we never need to use the dryer for anything. Besides, I don't think a dryer is even recommended.
OK, right at the top I should have mentioned "Empty the pockets". I forgot, and I'm pretty sure I have some gas station receipts in one of the pockets.
The jacket is out of the washing machine now. The two front pockets still had water in them, as they are meant to be waterproof. The rest of the jacket is spun dry. I found a few receipts and papers in one pocket, but not shredded. In some other pockets I found four packets of desiccant that came with the coat.Pic 1: That's our washing machine with my jacket inside.
Pic 2: I am surprised the jacket is so clean, but then this washing machine always seems to do a good job. When the jacket is dry and I get it outside in the sunshine, it should be just like new (i.e. blinding)
Yeah ... I'd been meaning to talk to you about that disgusting jacket. But now that you've taken the initiative yourself, I need no longer worry about having to raise the issue with you ... LOL!
ReplyDeleteBut it's clearly evident from your article that you've somehow managed to avoid doing your own laundry for quite some time ;-)
The first rule of laundry is to always check all the pockets (a non-trivial job with that jacket of a million pockets of yours!).
There are a number of reasons for turning garments inside-out. (Aside from underwear, where this helps to get the sweat, &c. out) it's primarily to protect the colour and finish from abrasion by the buttons, fasteners and such on the outside of clothing (unlike your wash, there is normally more than one item in the load) reducing problems like pilling.
However, generally, the entire garment is turned inside-out, with zippers done up, to reduce damage from those open zippers.
But the other reason for turning clothing inside-out is in case you forgot about Rule No. 1 ... if you neglect to take that Kleenex out of your pocket, most of the crud will end up on the inside of the garments where it doesn't show as much!!
Jacket looks much better now. I'll no longer have to pretend that I'm not with you ... LOL!!
Normally I don't use the pockets of my motorcycle jacket at all. But when I get a receipt from a pay-at-the-pump, and I'm wearing leather overalls with no pockets, I have no place to throw the receipt, so I stick it in one outside one-zipper pocket on my jacket that is easy to get to. (not a pocket with 2 press-studs,velcro, and a zipper.)
ReplyDeleteI think you may be confusing the really dirty jacket (a black waist length Joe Rocket) with the hi-visibility Scorpion Jacket. Even though it is all-black, it is showing the dirt. I guess it's mostly road dust. That one is next.
No ... no confusion. I mean, like, there's no mistaking that jolly green jacket of yours ... LOL!!
ReplyDeleteThat's why the rest of us tend to wear black ... dirt don't show up as much ;-)
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteMotorcycle Jackets are styled in variety ways, and different versions.Motorcycle jackets have been used for protective purposes, fashion, and often for their intimidating and rebellious appearance. Thanks a lot!
Motorcycle Jacket
The Motorcycle jacket wash machine is performed very well,I never saw before light green motorcycle jackets like this.
ReplyDeleteSomething you might check with a leather jacket for women is that it is never out of style. These women's jackets are just too popular, and appear as an icon of fashion today as they did many years ago. They are changing their style and a variety of options that can put a leather jacket. The use of the Internet is a great resource for all types of leather jackets at very cheap prices. You'll find the old kind with a new style jacket today.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed reading your articles. It is well written. It looks like you spend a large amount of time and effort in writing the blog. I am appreciating your effort. .
ReplyDeleteHigh Vis Jackets
oh thats great to know about you can wash Motorcycle Jacket so it gonna be very nice for riders of bikes and i appreciate you on this dear and thank you for sharing it with us so nice of you kentucky auto dealer license
ReplyDeletemedical office assistant oh das ist toll, über Sie kann Motorradjacke waschen soll es so sein werde sehr schön für Fahrer von Motorrädern wissen, und ich schätze Sie auf dieser lieben und danken Ihnen für den Austausch mit uns so nett von dir
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ReplyDeleteThe german post is a translation of the previous post, so I count that as one. But still, a lot of spams on this one blog entry.
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