NIKWAX WETSUIT REFRESH 1L Conditioning Wetsuit Cleaner
NIKWAX WETSUIT REFRESH 1L Conditioning Wetsuit Cleaner & Deodoriser for Wetsuits & Wet Suit Accessories. Performance Wetsuit Shampoo & Freshener with Ocean Breeze Scent. (1 Litre)
From the brand
Nikwax Care Kits
| Brand: | Nikwax |
| Origin: | United Kingdom |
1 litre bottle is big enough for quite a few uses. 100ml of product needs to be mixed in 20 Litres of water.
Product is blue in colour with pleasant smell. It removed unpleasant scent from most items I tried it on. However it didn’t remove the smell from damp towels. Therefore I think that it deserve solid 4 stars.
My husband likes to go paddle boarding in a river near to where we live, and although he tries not to fall in the water too much, he inevitably does from time to time! Even if he doesn’t fall in, he does wade out so his wetsuit does tend to end up needing a clean.
We’ve had products from Nikwax before and have always been impressed by them – this product is just as good as others we’ve tried, and does a really good job of making the wetsuit feel nice and smooth, and smell fresh. It’s easy to use as well, although because you use it as a handwash (and wetsuits are quite big garments!) I found it easier to do it in the bath.
You get a good amount for the price, too.
This got rid of the smell from a very funky wetsuit far better than normal detergent. Maybe it’s going to run a bit expensive over time, but it’s very effective.
I don’t tend to leave reviews but have been so impressed with this product that I want to shout about it!
My husband and I are both scuba divers of 20 years + and would usually wash our gear in the bath with dettol after a trip before storing away for the next dive holiday. We have just come back from a trip where we found ourselves in our wetsuits for 6 hours or so a day as were shore/boat diving rather than liveaboard where we’d be straight out of our suits after each dive. I therefore felt the wetsuits would need something a bit more robust than the usual dunk in the bath.
I soaked our rash vests, swimmers and dive leggings for 5 mins first before putting through the washing machine on a 30 degree wash. All “dive smells” were gone within the soak period and the water was satisfyingly dirty afterwards. Our rash vests have come out of the wash nearly as good as new (and they are nowhere near new!).
Next up a refresh of water for wet suits, dive booties and hoods. The water was even more satisfyingly disgusting and the musty dive smell has gone from our hoods and boots and no hint of what the wetsuits may have seen during their time in the water.
BCDs, fins, regs and masks still getting the dettol in the bath treatment but this product is a game changer for our neoprene and dive clothing.
I used this to wash my wetsuit after a surf.
An easy to use product, it made my wetsuit smell very nice and it felt softer than before. I previously used an alternative product, but I will now regularly use this product, as unlike other wetsuit cleaning products this not only cleans your wetsuit, but also claims to protect the life of your wetsuit.
It’s from a well known brand, from a company I have bought products for the care of my outdoor clothing, so I felt I could trust the product, and it did not disappoint.
Recommended.
Like many people, I associate the Nikwax brand with products for the care of outdoor garments, like footwear and jackets etc., and I’ve been using these products for years.
This wetsuit cleaner was new to me and something I hadn’t experienced before but I was keen to try.
The product has a pleasant and fresh odour and mixes well with water in the dilution ratio of 100ml to 20 litres.
Washing by hand is the best way to treat neoprene and the detergent does a good job without unwanted and unnecessary foaming.
The results were good and the wetsuit felt clean and fresh. My neoprene boots are more of a challenge though and whilst the cleaner has made a slight improvement I think a few more washes will be necessary to deliver the level of freshness I would like to achieve. I think if you use the product on newer garments then it will perform proportionately better than on older items which may have a more impregnated odour.
I’m not expecting to have to use this cleaner after every time I wear my wetsuit, but see it being ideal for wetsuit care after every few outings.
This will now be my “go-to” product to keep my neoprene items fresh and clean.
This Nikwax Wetsuit Refresh is a new product to me having used their other outdoor clothing and kit protection products with great success for many years .
It comes in a one litre which is apparently enough for 10 full wetsuit refreshings.
A pleasant smell , a bit like washing liquid ,mildly irritating to sensitive me so I used gloves.
2 issues to deal with – giving a thorough clean or a well used wetsuit and trying to refresh some neoprene socks and gloves that have started smelling a little musty.
The wetsuit was easy ,filled a tub with 20 litres of water and 100m of product ,immersed ,agitated ,waited the appropriate time and rinsed . Hung to dry ,this wetsuit looked truly refreshed.
The neoprene socks and gloves didn’t fare so well .. I soaked these ,agitated ,turned inside out half way through ,rinsed and hung out to dry ,
Immediately after refreshing with the Nikwax they smelled lovely but after drying there was still a fair level of funky misty smell to them which was a bit disappointing.
However they all looked cleaner and we all agreed there was an improvement ,however minor on the smell .
All items above have always been rinsed with clean water after use and dried as soon as is reasonably possible.
Perhaps these items are beyond redemption. In this respect ,I shall try regularly use Nikwax refresher going forward to hopefully stop the build up in the first place .
I have faith , a bonus that it’s environmentally friendly .
I’ve used a number of Nikwax products for outdoor clothing and shoes but didn’t realise they did stuff for wetsuits so was pleased I came across this.
My partner has a wetsuit which is used daily in an indoor dog pool. I mention this specifically because, well, dogs are a lot more grotty than humans and so the wetsuit has to deal with a pool that gets dirtier as the day goes on. Plus snuggles with wet dogs also add to the aroma too.
This means the wetsuit is usually hung up to dry each night and can have that damp neoprene odour about it. But using this product, it says hand wash, but I cleaned it in the washing machine on a delicate cycle with no heating (just cold water temp as it comes from the mains) and with reduced spin (400rpm). I measured out and dropped the liquid into the machine with the wetsuit and around an hour later had a pleasantly fresh smelling wetsuit.
What I really like is it isn’t strongly perfumed at all, it really is a refresh and makes the wetsuit smell like new rather than as a pile of washed clothing. The other thing is there wasn’t any “oil” slick coming from the suit when she went back into the water.
I have used Nikwax products for waterproofing clothing, footwear and tents so I already know that they create great products that do exactly what they promise. When I saw this product though, my first thought was why hadn’t I thought to look for a specialist cleaner for our wetsuits before?! I’ve always just soaked them in cold water, then thoroughly rinsed them, to get rid of salt and sand so the idea of a product which not only cleans but deodorises and refreshes was really appealing.
I like that this product is really easy to use and doesn’t take any longer than how I used to clean them. I’m still washing, soaking and rinsing in cold water, I’m just adding in the product (100ml per 20 litres for one adult suit or two small kids suits) yet I’m getting so many more benefits. Our wetsuits aren’t just clean, they feel REALLY clean and I really like the fresh scent. We’ve only had the opportunity to get in the water a couple of times since getting this product so I’ll need to use it for longer to see if the deodorising and conditioning helps our suits last longer but they’re certainly more pleasant to wear.
I like that Nikwax are not only an innovative, high quality brand, they have long been proactive in developing environmentally safe products as well as becoming an employee owned company several years ago. They not only know their stuff, they’re passionate about it too.
I washed 4 wetsuits in this so far.
The scent is similar to own-brand detergents. Not offensive, but not fancy.
I haven’t found any difference in the wetsuits yet. They had been rinsed quickly from their last outing, but no more than that. I duly hand-washed them in this detergent, and let them dry. I don’t think they smell any different. Some sand that has worked into the knee-fabric is still there. Some white marks on one of them still there.
Perhaps if your wetsuit smells like feet this is the stuff for you.