How To Care For Bulwark Nomex Garments
Instructions on how to care at
home for:
Bulwark™ NOMEX and Cool Touch®
NOMEX® Blend Garments
You may
wash these garments at home, provided that the washing recommendations are
strictly followed, and that the garments are not soiled with pollutants you
would otherwise not wish to combine with your family’s wash.
Be sure to pre-treat any greasy/oily spots with a stain remover
(e.g., “Spray ‘N Wash®”, or “Shout®”) and use the “Permanent Press” cycle
with water temperature not to exceed 140 degrees.
As with all laundry, separate light colors from dark colors to avoid
color-bleed.
Be sure not to overfill the washer
and use correct water levels, as this practice ensures that clothing has
adequate room to move around, which assists in proper cleaning.
When washing,
use soft water (<4.0 grains), because hard water contains minerals/salts
that can build up on the fabric.
If such a build-up occurs, the flame-resistant qualities of the fabric may
be negated. The build-up also
could serve as a fuel under certain circumstances where an ignition source
is present.
Use any ordinary
laundry detergent like Tide®, Gain®,
Cheer®,
etc. Most of these products
contain “color-safe” bleach alternatives (e.g., “oxygen bleach”, as found in
“Tide with Bleach®”),
which may be used, if necessary.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
DO NOT use tallow soap, as it can leave a film on the fabric.
DO NOT use chlorine bleach, as repeated bleaching weakens the fabric
and fades the garment’s color.
It is strongly
recommended that you not use starch, fabric softeners or other
laundry additives, as these products have a tendency to coat fabric.
Also, such additives may serve as “fuel” in the event of ignition.
To help reduce bothersome static electricity, NOMEX® fabric already contains a fiber in its blend that
dissipates the
static.
Be sure that you
do not over-dry the garments, which are synthetic and as such, should dry
rather quickly. Use the
“Permanent Press” tumble dry cycle, remove the garments as soon as the cycle
ends, and then, hang up or fold.
Line-drying in direct sunlight is not recommended, as it may result in the
garment fading.
You may use the
“Permanent Press” setting on your iron to get rid of wrinkles (these
garments are not “durable press” and may wrinkle in the wash).
Keep in mind the above paragraph,
which states that starch is not to be used.
Pressing may be required if you want pant creases.
In the event that you have very heavy staining and/or soiling, you may have the garments dry-cleaned (using either methodž i.e., petroleum solvent or perchloroethylene).
If you have
minor repairs to your garments, you may
either sew on NOMEX®
fabric patches or stitch small holes with NOMEX®
thread.
PLEASE NOTE,
however, that if the integrity of the garment has been compromised, you will
need to have the garment replaced.
NOMEX® fabric is intrinsically flame-resistant, and this property cannot be
weakened or reduced by laundering as outlined herein. Yet it is vital that
you remove grease/oil/soil or other potentially combustible pollutants that
can burn by themselves and as such, may overpower the fire-retardant
qualities of the NOMEX®
fabric. If you have been unable
to completely remove such pollutants, professional cleaning is recommended.
