This is critical in the case of soft ballistic armor and concealable armor. Water can seriously damage the integrity of soft armor. As the tightly woven Kevlar fibers get wet, they begin to relax, which can lead to gaps and an overall weave structure. However, one thing that hardly anyone talks about is how do you clean your ballistic vest.
If you are wearing your vest on duty every day, it is going to get dirty, moreover, you are going to sweat, and your bulletproof vest will start to smell, but how do you wash it if you can’t get it wet.
Well, the main thing to remember is that your soft armor ballistic panels should not get wet, but you can wash the vest. Therefore, remove the ballistic panels from your vest, trying not to fold them too much. Then you can wash the carrier in the washing machine. The same goes for the carrier of concealable armor.
The ballistic panels are usually covered with a moisture-wicking cover, so you can simply use a damp towel to clean them if it is completely necessary. Moreover, make sure that your carrier is completely dried before you put the armor inserts back in it.
Moisture can also damage hard armor plates, especially steel armor, which may start to rust. The water may also damage the adhesive between the steel plates and the anti-spalling rubber coating.