UKH

Techwas is £11 per litre (although Go outdoors has it cheaper)
TESCO liquid soap is £4 litre
Is there any difference?
I haven't noticed any whilst using it other than the price.

In reply to m0unt41n:

I think it is just pure,liquid soap unscented etc, not 100% but thats what im getting once my techwash runs out too

In reply to m0unt41n:

What is making you think they're the same? Just in visual appearance?

In reply to m0unt41n:

Lots of advice out there http://www.outdoorresearch.com/blog/gear-geek/how-to-wash-gore-tex-washing-...

You just need to check the tesco stuff does not contain any of the chemicals to avoid.

Fwiw spending a few quid to use the manufacturers recommended product is fine by me,ie nikiwa

Davey

In reply to Bluebird:

The old duck thing - it looks the same, it washes the same, it is described as the same (Pure Soap), and neither of them quack, and the waterproofs end up working the same.

In reply to Mountain Llama:

The article suggests liquid soap, also recommends Techwash, but there does not seem to be any information anywhere to say what Techwash is. Whether it is just expensive liquid soap or whether it has special additives. If the latter I would expect Nikwax to boast about them which is why I suspect it is just expensive liquid soap.

In reply to m0unt41n:

Yup, I stopped paying for Nikwax and I've not noticed any difference at all. Soap flakes all the way!

In reply to m0unt41n:
Just found the safety data sheet for techwash, not a lot of info but the main information i found is-

Aqueous preparation of potassium soaps and additives
pH 10

and from wikipedia article on soap

Soaps prepared from sodium hydroxide are firm, whereas soaps derived from potassium hydroxide are softer or often liquid.

In reply to m0unt41n:

I see the Tesco soap is described as a "gentle detergent" and if that's the case then I wouldn't use it on a waterproof membrane, because it could strip off the DWR treatment. Dri Pak liquid soap, sold by Waitrose and a few others, is just soap and works very well on waterproofs.

In reply to m0unt41n:
Waitrose sell 100% pure liquid soap for £2.99 IIRC. This is slightly better than soap flakes IMO as the later don't dissolve as well in cooler water. Pure soap of any type is fine to use on Goretex and other similar membranes.

In reply to CurlyStevo:

I have used soap flakes in the past but found it best to dissolve them in warm / hot water before putting in the washing machine.

In reply to Guy Hurst:

It does say it only contains only pure soap:

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=266942710

and of vegetable origin so OK for vegetarians.

In reply to m0unt41n:

Yeah, I think they mean a gentle cleaner when they say 'detergent', rather than the strict definition people mean when they talk about not using detergent on DWR.

In reply to m0unt41n:

Funnily enough I was just wondering the same myself. I have used both tech wash and soap in the past and have not noticed a difference.
A wee bit of google fu found some older threads on various forums and the view seemed to be that soap doesn't rinse out as easily as tech wash and most folk seem to revert back to the branded stuff.
As said in earlier posts, for the price difference I'll stick with tech wash.

In reply to angry pirate:

well im using the tesco stuff for the first time now, so will see the result shortly hopefully, but will be using tx.dirtect after on the jacket

In reply to m0unt41n:

Surely if there was a problem with cleaning and reapplying the DWR on WPB jackets using 'pure' soap in its various forms, then the makers of the 'technical' soap would have let everyone know by now? Just follow the usual procedure but include an extra rinse if you think the 'pure', non-techical soap is leaving any residue.

In reply to m0unt41n:

I mainly use techwwash because tesco liquid soap seems to be rarer than hens teeth. I've yet to find some in 4 local Tesco stores yet two of them sell tech wash!
No joy for similar things in other local supermarkets either.

In reply to nathan79:

Wilcos often have the soap flakes. You can use pure castile soap in liquid form, bottles of which can be found on ebay and it is useful for backpacking as well, especially if you don't want the scent of the Dr Bronners type stuff on your pots and pans. Soap flakes are just pure veg soap from palm and coconut, so pure veg soap from olive oil (castile) should not be a problem, as people make cosmetics with it. You could shave a bar of pure olive oil soap and dissolve it in water --- get that from a health food shop etc. Extra rinse just to be sure.

In reply to m0unt41n:



Sure I used to do that sometimes too but why bother when you can buy it cheaply as a liquid

In reply to Dorq:
Olive oil soap is a bit greasier and harder to rinse off and also can leave green smudges - I use it to shower with as it's better for my skin (sometimes I get echzema).

I'm pretty sure the soap liquid is better for purpose and defo works fine so why bother experimenting?

In reply to angry pirate:
Been using soap flakes and soap liquid for over a decade now. No problem at all with it not rinsing off properly in various locations and different hardness of water on various items of clothing (mainly wool or shells). I think you are just falling for the advertising / branding!

In reply to CurlyStevo:

I'm converted! I struggled to get some techwash in time for an expedition a couple of weeks ago so bought the cheapest soap the supermarket had (20p), shredded what I needed with a grater (about a quarter of a bar) and dissolved it in hot water before adding it to the wash. Has worked perfectly on everything I've done. On my second bar now.
Having said that, my kit hasn't been out in torrential rain yet but it does bead nicely in showers.

In reply to angry pirate:

Ok but bar soap usually does have additives that are designed to be left behind such as moisturisers and perfume, pure soap does not.