Heat is essential for DWR to work properly. After applying or washing your jacket, tumble drying on low heat helps reactivate the DWR finish, allowing water to bead off the surface again.

Without heat, the treatment won’t fully bond to the fabric, meaning your jacket may not shed water as effectively. Using a dryer ensures your gear regains its water‑repellent performance.

If you do not have access to a dryer, find a service centre near you to have your jacket washed and treated (GORE-TEX® and down only)

Note that with GORE-TEX® garments, even if the face fabric is completely wetting out, the waterproof membrane will still stop any water from passing through. However, you may still feel wet inside the garment, this is simply because a wet-out face fabric will not breath and the jacket will start to condense any moisture and sweat that would normally be transferred out of the garment inside. As of 2025 Arc’teryx has completed our planned phase out of PFAS from our products. As a result of this change, more frequent washing and tumble drying may be required to achieve the same level of performance.

Wetting out occurs when DWR stops working due to contamination or is worn off the fabric. The specific use, storage, and care over the lifetime of each jacket will affect how long and how well each application of DWR may last and perform. Exposure contaminants such as sweat and other body oils, dirt, smoke, sunscreen, and bug spray may contaminate compromise DWR causing wet out.