The definitive and straight-forward guide to washing football kit!

Ahhh the World Cup! Even those who usually despise football can’t help getting caught up in the whirlwind of football fervour. After their match with Uruguay, the English team had hoped to don their reverse kit, but were forced to wear all white due to a clash with the planned official strip. Washing those kits would be quite the undertaking if they didn't get a new one each match. Unlike the professionals, most of us can’t afford to buy a new kit each time they get dirty! But there are ways to keep your kits looking like new each time. Football kits should always be washed alone, so no chucking any towels in the washing machine with them! There are lots of rules for washing kit; all of them are unfortunately annoying but essential!

Shirts

Football shirts are delicate things, which seems unfair considering the amount of time they spend being rolled around on a muddy football pitch! Luckily, the way in which you wash a shirt is the single most important factor in increasing the shelf-life of football shirts. Here are some tips on how to keep those shirts clean and in one piece!

1. Wash your football shirts in cold water, no matter what the colour. This is best to avoid shrinkage, but if the stains are really stubborn, warm water can be used. NEVER use hot water – the lettering and numbers will fade. Plus, hot water will set grass and mud stains.
2. Pre-soaking is essential, rinse off the shirt to remove excess dirt. Let the shirt soak for at least one hour, but overnight for better results.
3. Use the delicate setting of your washing machine, or even better, hand wash them.
4. Avoid powder detergent; powder can leave residue which is not a friend of polyester, so use liquid instead.
5. NEVER NEVER NEVER use fabric softener, it is a path of no return; it will cause wrinkles in the fabric that you will never really be able to fix.
6. For best results, take the shirt out of the wash immediately after the cycle – if you let it sit in the washing machine it will be permanently wrinkled. Same for if you put it in a tumble dryer – NEVER use the dryer!
7. Ensure that it dries completely whilst on a hanger, then fold it carefully.
8. Do not iron, it can’t handle the heat! If you are particularly attached to your iron, you could attempt it using a cold iron, but if you have followed the above step this will be unnecessary.

If the stains are really stubborn or dried in, you may need to try these last resort methods:

Mud: Try adding to a bucket of warm water, adding three tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda, and letting it soak for a few hours, then washing.

Sweat: For really bad sweat stain, try this method – turn the shirt inside out (to prevent damages to patches etc). Pour one cup of white vinegar into a bowl, use a clean sponge to apply the vinegar to the stains. Make a paste of warm water and baking soda (60ml water, 4 tbsp baking soda). Spread paste over shirt using a clean sponge, and scrub in gently with a toothbrush. The combination of vinegar and paste lifts the stains. Leave for about an hour for the paste to fully dry. Wash as normal, leaving it turned inside out.

Blood: Rubbing salt into the area then washing as normal usually works. If this is unsuccessful, try soaking the shirt in OxiClean overnight.

Grass:  Place the shirt over the sink and pour powdered washing powder with enzymes over the grass stain. Add two or three drops of water to the detergent, and then scrub with a clean toothbrush. If necessary, add more water, and scrub for one minute. Let the detergent sit for ten minutes. Spray stain remover onto the remaining stain then place shirt into the washing machine and wash on warm.  If the stain remains, repeat the process. Dry as normal.

Shorts

Shorts are easier because they are not as delicate. However, for some reason the gods of football have seen fit to make most football shorts white! Fret not; we can guide you through your dirty football shorts washing experience.

Mud: allow the mud to try, then scrape away with a butter knife, then use a shirt brush to wipe away excess mud. Fill a bucket with lukewarm water and soak for a few hours. Apply laundry pre-treatment and allow to sit on the shorts for ten minutes. Use your fingers to work in some liquid laundry soap onto the stain. Rinse with hot water. If the mud is gone, launder as usual. If the stain remains, apply distilled white wine vinegar to a rag and rub into the stain. If the stain still won’t come out, try pre-treating it with washing powder and ammonia into a bowl to form a thick paste, apply to stain and allow to sit for ten minutes.

For grass and blood stains, see our previous post entitled ‘Whites Worthy of Wimbledon!’

Socks

For smelly sports socks, white vinegar is definitely the way to go (which makes us happy because it’s cheap!). Just dilute with water and soak for a few hours, this will kill the bacteria that causes odours. Then wash as normal.

Boots

After playing, loosen your laces to remove boots (Don’t let the kids kick them off at the heel!).

Bang the boots together to remove excess mud IMMEDIATELY after leaving the pitch.  If you’re not there to make sure it’s done. Drum it in before they go! It saves so much time and elbow grease later.  If you can’t knock the boots together on the pitch, send them off with a plastic bag. Pop them in there and do it anyway. Mess is avoided and you have less work later. 

No matter how tempting, try and avoid using a wire brush. It’ll wear away the fabric. The minute or two you’ll save will seem pointless when you have boots falling apart at the seams.  Old toothbrushes or nail brushes work wonders.

Never use a cleaning agent on your boots

If they’re sodden stuff the boots with newspaper so they don’t dry misshapen.  

Allow them to dry naturally; if you apply heat to them, they can become stiff, which are much more likely to rip or crack. Heat can also cause the soleplate to warp.

Once dry, grease the studs with Vaseline. This stops them from rusting and helps prevent soil sticking to the studs.

Use Dubbin or natural leather oil in order to keep the boot waterproof and the leather supple.

If all this sounds like too much hard work (which is understandable!) you can always bring your kit to us! If you allocate someone to collect everyone’s kit at the end of a match, all the kits can be washed at the same time, and we will drop the kit off right at your front door.