Kit Aftercare - Looking after your football kit
Last week we advised you on a range of football kits we have available for you to buy at Direct Soccer and Express Football Kits, so now that you have your kit, how do you look after it?
To ensure you get a good amount of game time out of your kit, there is a number of steps you can take when washing and drying your football kit to maintain the great quality of the kit.
WASHING THE KIT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
It is only natural that as soon as your match has finished, the players will dump all their kit in the middle of the dressing room floor. Don’t follow suit when you get home and leave the kit in the bag for the rest of the weekend. Get it in the washing machine as soon as possible (or as soon as the doors open at your local laundrette), especially if it has been a wet muddy day that you have been playing in. Leaving the wet and dirty kit in the bag for a prolonged period of time will make it more difficult to get the stains out and will also leave your kit with a nasty smell.
REMOVING MUD AND GRASS STAINS
Most fabrics will discolour due to staining from substances like grass and mud. As soon as you get the dirty football kit out of the kitbag, pre-treat any heavily soiled spots using an undiluted laundry detergent that has a bleach alternative. You should then soak the garment in a basin using warm water and detergent to help remove the excess stains before it goes into the washing machine. Jerseys and shorts that are light coloured like White, Sky, Orange and Yellow may require a bit more attention. This should take 1-3 hours.
TIME TO PUT THE KIT IN THE WASHING MACHINE
So you’ve done the hard part and managed to remove the excess mud stains. Now the kit is ready to go in the washing machine. Make sure not to overfill the washing machine, as too much garments means there isn’t enough water and can result in dirt being re-deposited. This can result in the garments being left with a grey stain. Make sure to avoid all bleaching agents and fabric softeners too (except on socks, more on this below) as this can leave a film on the garments making it difficult to dislodge dirt.
WASHING IT AT THE RIGHT TEMPERATURE
Sometimes depending on the level of staining you may need to wash the kit at a higher temperature. However at Direct Soccer we recommend washing the kit at no higher than 30’ C, especially if your strips have personalisation (badges, sponsor logos, numbers etc.) which they will likely have. Washing the kit at this temperature helps prolong the lifetime of the print on the strips and ensures your kit looks great every time you wear it.
WASH GARMENTS INSIDE OUT
Doing this helps prevent the printed logos sticking to each other.
WASHING SOCKS
To achieve the best results from washing your kit at home, wash the jerseys and shorts separately from the socks. Your socks will benefit from using fabric softener due to their fabric so this is recommended.
ONCE THE KIT IS WASHED
Hopefully all the stains from your match have come out of the kit. If they haven’t, then fear not, simply go through the pre-wash process again to remove the stain and then stick it back in the washing machine. Make sure not to dry the item if the stain hasn’t come out, as this could result in the stain being set.
TUMBLE DRYING/IRONING
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Tumble Drying your football kit - this is what will happen![/caption]