Getting smoke smell out of a waterproof jacket

This is how I got rid of the smoke smell from my First Ascent Flash Flood waterproof jacket after it was infused with campfire smoke from the Cape Point overnight trail last weekend.  The jacket uses "Vapour-Tex" breathable waterproofing, similar to Gore-Tex.

Use Nikwax Tech Wash non-detergent liquid cleaner, as it won't contain anything that could lodge between the fibers of the jacket's Durable Water Repellant (DWR) coating and impede its performance.

Hand wash the garment in a basin filled with "hand-hot" water using a capful of the wash liquid.  "Hand-hot" means the water should be no hotter than you can stand to immerse your bare hands in for washing the garment.   Soak it for about an hour, after which even the water smells of smoke.

The Tech Wash bottle instructs rinsing the garment three times.  Use hand-hot water for all three rinses.  No need to soak on the first rinse.  Soak for 15 minutes on the second rinse.  Soak for 8+ hours on the third rinse.

After the final rinse the jacket smelled faintly of smoke, and I considered hanging it out.  However, smoke particles get between the fluorocarbon fibres of the DWR layer, so I wanted it out entirely.

So, wash again in hand-hot water, this time soaking it for 8+ hours.  Then do the triple rinse with hand-hot water: a quick first rinse, a 15-minute second rinse, and 8+ hour third rinse.   After all of that, there was no perceptible smell of smoke on the jacket.  It had been soaking wet for about 36 hours.

Hang the jacket out for a few hours to drip-dry, spray Nikwax TX Direct all over the outside of the still-damp garment to maintain the durable water repellant layer, wipe off excess after a few minutes, then give the garment a day to dry properly.


Finally, use heat to restore the DWR layer.  The usual recommendation is tumble-drying on low or medium, or ironing with a towel in-between (risky).  I used a hair-dryer in lieu of a tumble dryer, seems to work.