How are you supposed to clean a Simpson firesuit? My jacket is a little dirty, and there's no cleaning instructions on the tags. Thanks in advance!

 

CF,
I have a OMP racesuit and I have it dry cleaned about every other race weekend because of the amount you sweat in a 30-60 min sprint race. I think if you dry cleaned your suit every few months it should stay pretty nice. It has been told to me by the OMP distributor that you can wash it in the gentle cycle also but DO NOT PUT IT IN THE DRYER!! as it is harmful to the Nomex. I wash my nomex balaclava and socks after every race and hang them to dry. I wash my helmet after every season by putting my helmet in a large plastic tub with warm water and Zero brand liquid (for delicate fabric) soap. The helmet will float , so every 15min. or so just gently squeeze the water through the helmet padding. After about an hour dump out the dirty water fill with cooler clean water and start rinsing out the helmet until the foam is clean. Let the helmet drain and gently squeeze out all the water with towels, let the helmet air dry in a warm place ( it will take a few days) and it will be good for another season.

Probably more than you wanted to know

Good Luck

Victor Penner

 

Thanks Victor, that's what I wanted to know. I'm going to assume that most fire suits are built out of basically the same materials and thus can be cleaned in the same way. Dry cleaners it is for me! Thanks again

 

Simpson does make suits out of Proban as well as Nomex. Proban is chemically treated cotton. Over time, if you wash it, you will cleanse the fire retardent agent out of the cotton. The tag in your jacket will tell you which material it's made of. Just know that Proban has a much shorter useable life than nomex if it's washed regularly.