Your kiddo comes home from a game and he’s full of dirt, from head to toe, with some extra dark spots on the knees. What do you do?
Your little gal comes home from basketball practice, she was popped in the nose, and she got blood all over her practice jersey. What do you do?
Your son comes home from football two-a-days and smells like a locker room. What do you do?
Those new, white soccer shorts just got some severe grass stains after a weekend tournament. What do you do?
Don’t worry. We’re teaching you exactly how to get your kids’ sports uniforms clean without frustration and without ruining a stitch. Follow along below and take notes. Our guide is easy and will help your next laundry session turn out so much more successful!
Remove The Stains
Removing the stains tends to be the hardest part of cleaning a uniform. And each type has its own set of challenges. Take a peek at how to remove each one without any stress or concern.
Grass
Pre-treating a grass stain will begin the magic process. Use Shout, or something similar, and let the area soak for about 10-15 minutes before you throw the piece in the wash. Of course, you can go the natural route and use a simple white vinegar and water solution that you mix yourself.
While it’s soaking, you can use a toothbrush to scrub out as much of the stain as you can before the washer takes on the job.
Dirt
Red dirt or red clay is actually what we’re focused on here. This is what you’ll see at the ball parks and can be a frightening scene once it’s rubbed into a pair of baseball pants. Have no fear though, Oxiclean may be your best bet here. Pretreat it with something strong, even bleach, before it goes into the wash.
You can also wet the stained area with cold water and liquid dishwashing detergent. Rub the stain and allow it to sit overnight – this will loosen up the “dirt.” It’s a great idea to use a toothbrush for this step as well. Launder it as usual the following day.
Sweat
Sweat stains can be tricky and annoying as well. But, a natural remedy may make it all better! Mix some white vinegar, water, salt, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda together.
You’ll pretreat the stains with this mixture before washing the uniform like normal.
Blood
And finally, blood. It’s our least favorite for obvious reasons, but you’d be surprised how easy blood is to remove from fabrics. All you need is to pretreat!
Wet the stains with cold water first. Rub in some dishwashing soap (you can add some hydrogen peroxide here too if you’re working with whites). You may have to do this step a few times. Once its pretreated, take some diluted ammonia with a cotton swab to dab onto the stains before washing it in your machines.
Get Rid of the Smell
The smell can be a hard one to completely remove as well. But, it can be done, and those uniforms can be refreshed within one laundering session.
Don’t leave the uniforms sitting in the laundry basket forever. The sooner you get it all into the washer, the better. And you won’t stink up anything else, which is a definite plus.
We’re going natural for this refresher as well. Pour in a cup of vinegar where you’d normally put your bleach. And then use your regular laundry detergent as well (you can even throw in some scent boosters if you’d like!). The added vinegar will help to remove the set in, strong odors.
Quick & “Dirty” Tips
- Steer clear of storing the uniform anywhere near the rest of the sports equipment. Basically, keep it out of the ball bags where the stench is the worst.
- Don’t be afraid of air drying during a weekend tournament. Turn the sweaty mess inside out and hang it outside for a while and let the fresh air, well, “freshen” things up.
- Absolutely do not throw a wet uniform into the dryer. Instead, hang the pieces of to dry before you toss them inside to fluff. Most uniforms are made from materials that can easily shrink. And that’s the last thing you want to do!
