How to wash arc-rated FR clothing
Arc-rated clothing is PPE. The protection comes from the fabric and its treatment, and how you maintain the garment affects how long that protection lasts. Your care label and your employer's policy are the first authority.
1. Wash FR separately
Keep arc-rated gear away from household laundry, towels, and oily shop rags. Lint and redeposited oil both work against you.
2. Pre-treat pulling lube and cable grease
Wire lube is designed to cling. Apply degreaser directly to the spot, work it in, and give it 5–10 minutes before the cycle.
3. Wash warm with a clean-rinsing detergent
Warm water releases the oil. Skip chlorine bleach, optical brighteners, and fabric softener — all three leave residue or attack fiber.
4. Never use starch
Starch creates combustible buildup on flame-resistant fabric. Same for heavy sizing and dryer sheets.
5. Air dry and inspect
Air drying is easier on the fabric. Check for thin spots, holes, and damaged seams — laundry cannot restore a garment that is worn out.
Why residue is the whole issue
Everything on the avoid list has the same failure mode: it leaves something on the fabric. Softener leaves a silicone coating. Brighteners leave a chemical deposit. Starch leaves combustible sizing. On a garment whose entire purpose is not igniting and not continuing to burn, adding a surface layer is working directly against the design.
A detergent that rinses clean is not a nice-to-have here — it is the requirement.
Set-in sweat under a harness
Harness straps hold heat and salt against the same areas every shift. That is protein soil, and it needs enzymes and real surfactants rather than fragrance. If a shirt smells clean in the closet and turns an hour into the day, the soil is still in the fiber.
What this product does not do
No detergent restores, confers, or guarantees the arc rating or flame resistance of a garment. Blackwater is formulated to avoid damaging the FR treatment already in your gear. Follow your garment care label and your employer's PPE policy.