Care & washing
How to wash waterproof socks
They’re washable and meant to be washed. Almost everything that finishes a waterproof sock off early is heat, softener or rubbing — not wear.
Washing instructions
Washing them
Wash cool
A waterproof layer gives up from heat long before it gives up from age. Cool wash, gentle cycle.
Turn them inside out
It puts the outer knit, not the lining, against the drum.
No fabric softener
Softener coats the holes the layer breathes through. Once they’re clogged the sock still keeps water out but stops letting sweat out, which is the worst of both.
No bleach
It attacks the waterproof layer, not just the colour.
Air dry
Away from a radiator. A waterproof layer doesn’t need heat to dry, and heat is the thing most likely to end it.
Never tumble dry or iron
Both are heat, straight onto the layer.
Rinse the grit out first
After a muddy walk or a wet ride, rinse under a cold tap before washing. Fine grit trapped in the knit rubs against the waterproof layer from the inside, and does more damage than the mud.
What damages them
They aren’t indestructible
A waterproof layer is a thin sheet. Rubbing, toenails and the wrong wash cycle will eventually end one.
Breathable doesn’t mean dry inside
Work hard enough and you’ll sweat faster than the layer can move it. It slows that down. It doesn’t stop it.
Keep your toenails short
The least glamorous advice on this site and one of the most useful. A long toenail inside a close-fitting sock is a hole waiting to happen, and a hole can’t be repaired.
Don’t leave them damp in a bag
A wet sock left in a kit bag or a boot overnight is where odour starts, and prolonged damp does the knit no good either. Air dry them the same day.
There are three usual explanations, and they need different responses.
Water came in over the top
The most common one, and not a fault. If the water was deeper than the sock is tall, it went in the top. Nothing is wrong with the sock.
It’s clogged rather than failed
If they feel clammy but still keep water out, that’s usually fabric softener build-up. A cool wash with no detergent residue sometimes recovers it. Sometimes it doesn’t.
There’s a hole in it
If water comes through the body of the sock, the waterproof layer has been pierced. That can’t be repaired or reproofed. If it happened in the first few weeks of normal use, that’s a fault and we want to hear about it.
Expected lifespan
We do not publish a figure for this.
We have no wear-test data yet, and a number with nothing behind it is worth nothing. What we can tell you is the mechanism: a membrane ends through abrasion, heat and clogged pores. Wash it cool, keep softener away from it and keep your toenails short, and you are addressing all three.
When there is real wear-test data it will be published here, including the results that do not flatter us.
Questions
Common questions
Answered with the same facts as the rest of this page. If one of them contradicts something above, the answer above is the one that is wrong.
Something not here? Phone or email us
How often should I wash them?
After every wet or muddy outing, and otherwise as often as you’d wash any sock. Washing them properly does no harm. Leaving grit and sweat in them does.
Can I wash them by hand?
Yes, and for one muddy pair it’s often quicker. Cool water, a little detergent, no softener, rinse thoroughly and air dry.
Can I put them on a radiator to dry?
No. Direct heat is the fastest way to end a waterproof layer, and a radiator is the most common culprit precisely because it’s the most tempting after a wet day.
Can I use a waterproofing spray on them?
No, and it wouldn’t help. Sprays work on the outside of a fabric. They can’t reach or repair a layer sealed inside a sock.
How long should a pair last?
We do not publish a figure yet, because we do not have one we could stand behind. What we can tell you is what decides it: abrasion inside footwear, and heat or softener in the wash. Those end a membrane far sooner than elapsed time does, and three of the four are in your control.
Two decisions and a quantity. No account needed.
What it will not do
Worn one out?
A membrane does not last forever, and washing it wrongly ends it sooner. If yours has reached the end, the replacement is the same sock at the same price.