Rain Jacket - Care tips

[DepressedOnMars]

I've bought a jacket speficially a Patgonia Cloud Ridge jacket. It's comfortable to wear so I usually wear it for everyday. Late one night I spilled some pizza grease all over it and thought it'd be a good idea just to scrub out the grease. It turns out the DWR (Durable Water Reppellent) coating wore off from me scrubbing.

My question is, have I ruined the jacket? Whats the difference of DWR and Goretex? What are some tips to remove grease? Does REI offer a service to recoat the jacket with water repellent ? 

Overall, I think it'd be helpful to have some tips on these issues for the next time I run into this problem.

[REI-JenK]

@DepressedOnMars sorry to hear about the grease situation on your jacket. I can't say for sure if you've ruined it or not. I would recommend attempting to wash it and retreat it with a product like Nikwax. The Tech Wash is designed to clean technical fabrics, the TX Direct will reapply the outer layer of DWR. Difference between DWR and Gore-tex? DWR is a coating applied to the outside of a garment - it's what causes water to bead up and roll off. Gore-tex is an actual membrane - there are different types of Gore-tex and other brands that make waterproof/breathable membranes. Here's a great article that goes into depth on DWR - hope this helps, and good luck with the grease stain...