If you've read my previous reviews, you'll probably have noticed that I do a lot of outdoor hiking and walking with my dogs, and I have reviewed various items of outdoor clothing and walking boots that all need to be waterproof. Whilst many of the items were waterproof when brand new, what I have found over time is that that water proofness does begin to wane, and hence, you need to reapply some sort of re-proofer in order to maintain that water proofness of the material. This is where the Grangers 2 in 1 Cleaner and Proofer comes in for me.

Over the years I have tried various brands of water proofers with varying degrees of success. What I have found is that the cheaper varieties don't seem to last more than a couple of washes. So I was always on the look out for a better product, but didn't really want to spend a fortune to get it.

Someone told me about this Grangers product and I eventually bought a bottle from Amazon for just over £8. For that I got a 300 ml bottle. Now the added bonus of this is that as well as being a water proofer, it is also a cleaning product as well.

One of the main attractions of this product is that it is relatively easy to apply. Other products that I have used in the past have meant that I needed to spray the fabric with the product and then leave it to dry. Ok to do, but it did tend to get messy, and there was always that guessing game of did I apply enough to everywhere it was needed? With this Grangers product, you actually mix it into your washing machine. A 300 ml bottle is meant to last 10 washes (so it claims) and the idea and guideline is that you mix 3 capfuls to a machine load of washing. Note I say 'a machine load' because this means that you can do a whole lot of outdoor items all at once rather than trying to spray coat individual items as I used to do before with other proofers.

You then put the machine on a normal wash program, where the Grangers will both clean your items of clothing and waterproof them at the same time. Once finished, take the items out of the machine and let them dry thoroughly.

The first time I used this, I wasn't sure how effective it had been because you can't actually see it on the fabric. The best way to check it is to sprinkle or spray some water onto the fabric and see what happens. Normally, a non waterproofed fabric would just soak up the water, but on a waterproofed fabric, the water should form globules or droplets and just sit on the surface of the fabric and not be absorbed. The first time I used this product on an old jacket and then did the water test, the water was sort of partially absorbed by the fabric. But after I repeated the washing process a second time, the test showed that the fabric was fully waterproofed. On other jackets that were perhaps not so worn, I've found that just the one time through the wash process had managed to re-apply that waterproofing sufficiently.

One point worth noting is that the material that you are intending to waterproof with this product needs to have been previously waterproofed in order for this to work. Hence, you cannot take your favourite sweater and suddenly waterproof it by washing it with this product. I think it will have something to do with the way the waterproof material is constructed, because you often find that outdoor fabrics tend to be a Gortex based construction which is specifically designed to be waterproof. Hence, applying this to that Gortex fabric will re-proof the fabric against water absorption.

So far, my bottle has lasted 9 washes of reproofing my outdoor clothing, and I reckon that I've probably got another 2 washes at least left in the bottle. So their guideline of 10 washes seems to be fairly accurate. In addition, it also seems to have longevity once applied to your outdoor wear by continuing to provide that waterproof protection for some time.

In summary, this is a really easy product to use and apply - no fuss and no mess - and I have managed to prove that it does really work. So for the price and ease of application, you just can't go wrong.

Highly recommended.

Review also on Ciao under Randal1.