How to Clean Your Child’s Jersey
Jolie Kerr is a cleaning expert, advice columnist, and New York Times bestselling author of My Boyfriend Is Boiling In My Purse … And Other Things You Can’t Ask Martha About . Her flagship column, Ask a Pure Man, debuted in 2011. Here at Offspring, we’ve launched a new iteration dedicated to parenting and all the mess it brings.
I need to seriously clean my kid’s theoretically white but actually beige 100% cotton karate uniform, which is disgusting with the combination of sweat and dirty floors in the community center (i.e. mostly dirt, but also other people’s sweat, juice, fruit snacks ., and I honestly cannot exclude a thin layer of stern).
I know I should use OxiClean for sweat, but I’m worried about the flag and school crests. They are made of glue and some kind of synthetic embroidery thread and I don’t know if OxiClean will fade them or worse, cause the colors to bleed. I could take them off and reattach them after cleaning, but that would be a huge pain. The whole kit and cabbage were washed hot and passed through the dryer many times (I know, I know) if that matters.
I have a lot of good news to share, rah rah sis boom bah! (This was a sports joke. Sorry.) The first good news is that you don’t have to worry about the stains leaking from these stains – if they’ve been washed and dried several times, the dye transfer is no longer a hazard.
The second good news is that you can use a variety of products, including those OxiClean , which do not cause fading. Though I need to line up and tell you that you love hot water washing and high heat drying so much? This will cause fading problems. Use cold water and a low to medium dry cycle to maintain the integrity of your colored uniform.
But I have other good news, so let’s get straight to the care and storage of all kinds of sportswear, from karate ensembles to baseball and softball uniforms and everything else.
Removing stains
The good news is that the most common spots on a jersey tend to fall into the same spot category, which means you don’t have to buy a whole bunch of different specialty products to keep the jersey looking sharp. So here’s the thing: Grass, blood, sweat, and yes, even tears are all protein stains, and the best way to cure protein stains is with an enzyme-based stain treatment. The Zout is very good, as is the Krud Kutter sports stain remover . Many laundry detergents also contain enzymes built right into their formulas; Some brands to look out for are Tide Original, Tide Coldwater, Arm & Hammer plus OxiClean, and Persil Bio.
Protein stains, especially grass and blood stains, can be healed as quickly as possible, but if you can’t get rid of them right away, using a laundry brush to help treat the stain on the fabric can help get rid of the stains. spot. When I say “wash brush” I don’t even mean that you have to go out and buy a special wash brush (although you can if you want!); An old toothbrush or nail brush is perfect for this operation.
Red clay is a particularly tough stain that often occurs on athletic uniforms, and while good detergent and / or enzymatic stain treatment and washing brushes must be sufficient to remove it, Krud Kutter also create a formula specifically for red clay. You need it.
Whitening
Although sweat is classified as a protein stain and can be successfully treated with enzyme stain removers, sometimes ulcerative stains (which are actually caused more by the aluminum in the deodorant than by sweat itself) develop and deepen over time. Another common washing problem, especially with athletic uniforms, which tend to be more prone to dirt than our daily wear, is plaque, which is basically a build-up of dirt that leaves a dirty look even on clean clothes.
More good news here! OxiClean and other oxygenated bleaches such as Biz or Clorox OxiMagic are safe to use with paints, unlike chlorine bleach (which is also not very good for sweat-dyed items), and are good at fighting both stubborn sweat stains and handling reverse. We talked about The Long Soak stain removal method in the previous column, which I’ll leave here for your reference.
The idea is to soak heavily soiled or dirty items for a long time in oxygen bleach and then wash them as usual.
There is also a product called WhiteBrite, which is chemically different from bleaching agents based on chlorine and oxygen and also lightens good white color ; it is also especially good for removing red clay stains.
Preventing dye transfer
Okay, so I have already calmed our LWs with the threat of dye carryover, but let’s close that up with a little talk about what to do if you are concerned about dye bleeding. The best and easiest to use for washing is Shout Color Catcher or Carbona Color Grabber (they can also be used when washing hands); If dye transfer does occur, Carbona has a product for that too.