Walking Equipment and Accessories

Granger’s Active Wash + Other Maintenance and Protection Products | Review

Granger's maintenance products make your gear last longer... and they're eco-friendly to boot

A good baselayer has a number of useful benefits: it provides a comfortable buffer between harder technical outer layers and your skin, it gives a vital extra layer of insulation, and it will also keep you warm by ensuring that any moisture from sweating is lifted off your skin and wicked away quickly – something particularly important if you’re working hard in a clammy waterproof jacket.

And for a baselayer to perform all of these functions, it needs to be looked after properly. You can stick your tops and bottoms in the washing machine after every trip with a typical washing detergent but these don’t often guarantee that the technical fibres will get cleaned effectively enough to help you through the demands of a day in the mountains. In fact, some supermarket detergents will simply just mask any odours, and leave dirt embedded within the fibres.

The new Active Wash from Granger’s is a formula for technical baselayers – natural or synthetic – that’s specifically designed to solve this problem.

“When a brand offers something that makes our kit perform better and last longer, and all in an eco-friendly way, it’s certainly worthy of inclusion in our Outdoor 100.”

All you need to do is add a cap-full of their solution into the washing machine with your baselayers and it will work its magic; completely removing dirt, sweat and natural oils plus any odour-causing bacteria from the fibres, while restoring their ability to wick away moisture and dry quickly.

What’s really useful about this formula is that it’s able to do the job even when you need to clean fabrics that require low temperature washes – so it’s also perfect for items made from merino or any other types of wool.

The new Active Wash from Granger’s is a formula for technical baselayers. Photo: Chris Johnson.

A specific formula to enhance and protect every single layer of outdoor clothing that you’d typically wear on the hill. Photo: Chris Johnson.

A spray-on formula that can be used to quickly and easily apply an effective water repellent coating to any technical garment. Photo: Chris Johnson.

More protection from Granger’s

The addition of Active Wash to Granger’s range means that they now have a specific formula to enhance and protect every single layer of outdoor clothing that you’d typically wear on the hill.

It joins existing products in their collection like Performance Wash, which, like Active Wash, provides safe and efficient cleaning at a level that regular washing detergents can’t provide, but in this case, for technical garments like waterproofs. Not only does this remove dirt and odours, but it revitalises the water repellent finish to enable it to function at its maximum potential.

Then there’s Performance Repel, a spray-on formula that can be used to quickly and easily apply an effective water repellent coating to any technical garments that might have suffered any degradation of its wet weather performance, from, say, old age, or even unsafe washing with supermarket detergents.

So, the baselayers and hardshells are covered. Now what about your softshell or insulated jackets, or your trousers? That’s the job for Clothing Wash + Repel. This specific formula is designed to clean out dirt and odours, and to re-apply a durable and protective water repellent coating as well – and just in one single wash cycle. It even works effectively with hardshells.

Last but not least, it’s worth mentioning that all of these cleaning and protection products from Granger’s have tip-top green credentials. Most water repellent finishes in protective outdoor gear contain environmentally hazardous fluorocarbons, and Granger’s make sure to keep well clear of these. In fact, they were the first aftercare solutions company to earn bluesign approval – an industry mark to recognise brands with a low eco footprint.

When a brand offers something that makes our kit perform better and last longer, and all in an eco-friendly way, it’s certainly worthy of inclusion in our Outdoor 100.