How often do you replace SPF clothing?

[makoti]

Went out for a ride today. Full sun for about 4 hours. After, I felt a little burn feeling, which I've never noticed after wearing my sun sleeves. Got me thinking, how long do these things last? A bit of research says 2-3 years. These are older than that.
When do you replace yours?

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by makoti

Went out for a ride today. Full sun for about 4 hours. After, I felt a little burn feeling, which I've never noticed after wearing my sun sleeves. Got me thinking, how long do these things last? A bit of research says 2-3 years. These are older than that.
When do you replace yours?

Great question...been wondering the same thing myself. I've been wearing sun protection clothing for many years, have a couple of long sleeve shirts that are probably 10+ years old. I should probably recycle them...

Most of my newer SPF clothing purchases (Patagonia, Columbia, Pearl Izumi) do not have an SPF mark anywhere on them, which makes it a bit difficult to sort through what to wear on a sunny day...

[makoti]

Originally Posted by C40_guy

Great question...been wondering the same thing myself. I've been wearing sun protection clothing for many years, have a couple of long sleeve shirts that are probably 10+ years old. I should probably recycle them...

Most of my newer SPF clothing purchases (Patagonia, Columbia, Pearl Izumi) do not have an SPF mark anywhere on them, which makes it a bit difficult to sort through what to wear on a sunny day...

Yeah, I'm planning on taking advantage of my timely revelation and replacing a couple of sets of arm sleeves while they are on sale. I was a little surprised at the 2-3 year suggestion, but I'm thinking that's with heavy use. Rotating several pairs should stretch that out. That's what I'm telling myself, anyway.

[RoosterCogset]

Originally Posted by makoti

Yeah, I'm planning on taking advantage of my timely revelation and replacing a couple of sets of arm sleeves while they are on sale. I was a little surprised at the 2-3 year suggestion, but I'm thinking that's with heavy use. Rotating several pairs should stretch that out. That's what I'm telling myself, anyway.

It depends I'd guess on how the UPF protection was achieved. There are 2 ways -- either it's material whose weave is engineered to block light, and/or the fabric was treated with UV blocking agents (chemicals/oils e.g.).

The first option would presumably last until such time as you've actually worn down the fabric. The second option would likely diminish at some faster rate aligned with how often the material is worn and washed.

[2000m2]

Interesting, I had no idea SPF clothing wears out. I better look into this with my cycling gear. Thanks for the heads up.

[makoti]

Originally Posted by 2000m2

Interesting, I had no idea SPF clothing wears out. I better look into this with my cycling gear. Thanks for the heads up.

If you happen to use PI arm sleeves and you happen to take a small, at Cambria Bikes you can get 3 sets for a whopping $12. $6 each, third set free. Amazingly, I use PI and I am a small in the sleeves.

[Charles M]

There are different materials and weaves that give a manufacturer a relative SPF...

You need to ask the manufacturer relative to the weave and base material how long it should maintain (and what the drop off is because it's not instant Zero...)

[benb]

I’ve never seen any indication I’m getting any sun exposure at all through any of my cycling clothes.

How much of SPF clothing is marketing? If you’re pale white under your cycling clothes there’s no way you have a sunburn.

I guess my question is what is the SPF of cycling clothes not marketed with an SPF? Even a $10 t-shirt has SPF. I’m way more concerned with areas of exposed skin than I am skin that’s covered with clothing.

[makoti]

Originally Posted by benb

I’ve never seen any indication I’m getting any sun exposure at all through any of my cycling clothes.

How much of SPF clothing is marketing? If you’re pale white under your cycling clothes there’s no way you have a sunburn.

I guess my question is what is the SPF of cycling clothes not marketed with an SPF? Even a $10 t-shirt has SPF. I’m way more concerned with areas of exposed skin than I am skin that’s covered with clothing.

Well, the reason I wear the things I do is to reduce the exposed areas. The sun sleeves are useful for that and don't warm me up. I can wear them well into the 80s before I can't, and that's only because of the usually accompanying humidity. And yes, I have absolutely noticed that my arms are lighter than the exposed areas of my hands. But this time, the skin felt a bit like it was burned, after using the sleeves. That's what prompted me to look up how long they last. The pair I had on was well past 3 years, even though they "looked" ok. They covered like a shirt might, but didn't seem to afford sun protection. So, I'm going with not ALL marketing.

[HenryA]

The answer is never or not until its otherwise worn out. SPF clothing is nearly pure marketing.

[RoosterCogset]

A standard cotton tshirt has a UPF of 5. A pair of jeans or standard polyester evidently a UPF of 1700 though the highest you can actually market clothing is UPF 50+. Somewhere in-between, fabrics are built to have a balance of some cooling, but a UPF in the 30-50 range.

Yes, there could be jerseys and fabrics that offer similar protection (30-50) but the manufacturer never bothered to test them in order to allow them to claim a UPF rating. But, your guess as good as mine which are which in that case.

Kinda like MIPS

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by HenryA

The answer is never or not until its otherwise worn out. SPF clothing is nearly pure marketing.

Respectfully, your comment directly contradicts the anecdodal evidence stated directly prior to your post.

Do you have any evidence to support your claim? I count on SPF clothing for medical reasons.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by HenryA

The answer is never or not until its otherwise worn out. SPF clothing is nearly pure marketing.

Hundreds, possible thousands, of years of experience have shown that clothing can block the sun rays, including those that cause sunburn and other skin damage (such as cancer). While chemical sunscreens are designed to block certain portions of the sun's radiation spectrum, I would suspect that clothing can potentially block a broader range of the radiation spectrum.

[charliedid]

I'm going with thousands

[grumpus]

This is all new to me. I understand some sun-blocking properties are inherent to the fabric, and others are the result of the application of some sun-blocking chemical to the fabric. The latter probably for fabrics that are too thin or lightweight to have any inherent sun-blocking properties (like an arm sleeve that you can wear in hot weather.) Sounds like the consensus is that chemically treated fabrics do need to be replaced after a year or two, since the treatment wears off.

What I'm not understanding is the idea that a cotton t-shirt has an spf/upf rating of only 5. I've been outdoors a fair amount with a fair number of people. Not once in my life have I heard of someone getting burned through a shirt, and everyone I've seen who is outside consistently in a cotton t-shirt has a tan line to show for it. How does that work?