How to Care for Your Waders and Wader Shoes
Caring for your waders is crucial because it determines whether they'll be durable or not. Your waders will have a short lifespan if you don't transport, dry, and store them well. This article presents to you a few tips on how to care for your waders and wader shoes.
Here are a few wader and wader shoe care tips for all fishing enthusiasts.
Washing Your Waders and Wader Shoes
You should clean your waders each time that you use them. Hand wash your waders or use a front load machine to clean them. Ensure that you use regular detergents without any bleaching agent and cold water. You should never put the cleaned waders in a dryer because the wader fabric may get damaged. The heat of the dryer can damage the seam tape and void your warranty on the gear.
If your wader shoes and waders get used in brackish or saltwater, then you should ensure that you use fresh water to clean them. This observance is crucial for felt-soled wader shoes because the mud deposits from such water may harden and make the soles to wear faster than usual because of the effect of saltwater. Your wader gear may also peel off because of the saltwater or brackish water.
Drying Your Waders
You should dry your waders after each use: on the inside and the outside. You can air-dry the waders and wader shoes, but for some recommended cases, you can use a hairdryer where the manufacturer recommends such use in drying your waders.
Wader Storage
Whether you're fishing daily or not, there is always a time when you'll need to store your waders for some time. Hanging your waterproof waders is the best way of storing the waders. Most waders have a hang loop attached to their backsides. You should use this loop to hang your waders and not the suspenders. You may get tempted to use the suspenders of your hip waders, but remember, they stretch out and spoil.
You should store your waders in a dry and cool place. You should avoid storage areas with high levels of humidity because the inner layers of the gear may grow some mildew, which can damage the gear's fabric and lead to a terrible musty odor.
Transportation of Your Waders and Wading Boots
The way you transport your wader gear to and from your regular angling site is essential. You should not place your waders on the floorboards. You should also not store them close to abrasive materials because they could get damaged. You can use a breathable bag for temporary transportation.
But you should not leave the wader gear in it for long upon arrival. Also, avoid wearing your waders while driving because your seatbelt and other vehicle accessories may damage the waders.
Technical Care and Repair
If the water that touches your wader doesn't bead off on its surface, you should apply the DWR (durable water repellant) on your waders' surface to improve its water-repelling capacity. You should also perform a regular inspection to identify pinholes and repair them. One pinhole may cause no noticeable leak. But if you don't fix that one pinhole, the damage may spread and create a quick degradation on the wader fabric.
Don't store your waders or wader shoes for a long while they're wet. The moisture on the inner side of the gear may combine with water to create a food source for mold, which can eat into the gear's fabric and damage its integrity and strength.
If your heavy-duty waders get average care and moderate wear, they're likely to last for three years. But if you give them proper care and use them as advised, your wader gear and wader shoes may last for longer than three years if you don't use them too often. Try adhering to the recommendations cited within this post, and you'll prolong the lifespan of your wader gear.