Quote Originally Posted by The Wop View Post
I have a Spool jacket bought in 2006. I have used it daily for about the last year, less often before then. It is a good jacket, with padding, etc.

I was caught in that vicious downpour yesterday in Auckland. For the first time, my jacket leaked a little although that is not surprising given the amount of rain. In fact, it was pretty minor, just wet arms.

This morning, I got caught in another storm, way less vicious and the jacket leaked much more. So, do textile jackets lose their waterproofness? Does this signal investment in something new?

Cheers, The Soggy Wop
As mentioned above, sportwash or similar stuff is good for cleaning but....
If you haven't cleaned your jacket in 3 years I would suspect you have bigger problems!
Wear and abrasion on the seams is the biggest leak area, depending on how much you ride in bad weather small dirt particles wick, bugjuice can be really acidic, and lots of other things start to impact the weather-proofing.
Personally, I call 3 years of good service in all weather a good result, and go get a new one. Then I sell (cheap) or donate the old one (as long as it is still decent condition)to someone who needs gear and can't afford it, that to me is good result.