The Ultimate Goal: 6 Tips On How To Take Care Of Football Kits

Whether you’re a beginner at playing football or collecting retro football shirts, you should know how to take care of football kits. If you’re used to washing your clothes, you can easily get used to taking care of football kits. On the other hand, if you have zero experience in washing clothes, it might take a while before you master it.

Having original retro football shirts or kits is one great possession of players and collectors. So if you’re one of them, it would be devastating if you can’t do anything to save the value of your kits.

Do you want to know some tips on taking care of football kits? Then you should check the list below!

1. Remove mud and grass immediately

As soon as you go home after a game or practise, immediately remove all the stains you see. It would be easier to clean if the stains haven’t been set yet. If the mud or grass stains become hard, it would be difficult to remove them.

To remove the stains, you can just manually pick them out, if possible. Otherwise, you can use specially made stain removers for jersey fabrics.

We suggest that after removing the stains, soak the jersey, shorts, and other affected clothing in warm water. Soaking them in hot water is not recommended as it may damage the fabric, and the stains might react to the temperature.

2. Follow the washing instructions

Retro football shirts and other kits usually have instructions attached to them. So to make things easier, it’s best if you just follow them. Usually, these instructions include: wash in water temperature around 86°F, don’t use fabric softener, and don’t iron.

Meanwhile, some things are just implied such as avoiding overcrowding the machine and staying away from any bleach.

Nowadays, modern machines have specific settings for different uses which include jerseys and sportswear. So if ever you have this at home, it would be easier to wash your kits. With just a few presses, your football kit will be stain-free.

3. When it doubt, handwash

If you don’t trust the machine, you can do this the traditional way! Modern technology may be helpful in people’s households, but there are times when you just can’t trust them, especially with your most precious possessions.

Just like in machine wash, you must also follow the instructions attached to the kits. Aside from that, make sure to turn the shirt and shorts inside out so that the prints and graphics won’t get damaged.

Then, gently wash it with your hands and avoid using too much pressure. It’s also essential to scan every part of the kit to see if there are remaining stains. If there’s none, then you’re all done!

4. Use mild detergent

Nowadays, there’s a wide range of detergent choices in the market. Moreover, you can now find specific detergents for your sportswear. It may seem promising, but mild detergents are still on top of the recommended list.

Normally, mild detergents don’t contain any ingredients that may harm your football kits. Additionally, they’re colour-safe and created to clean your clothes. It also works on the water at a low temperature, so it’s the best match for your football kits.

So instead of looking for other complicated detergents, just settle with your most-trusted mild detergent.

5. Let it air dry

Usually, jerseys have delicate fabric. They tend to shrink or get damaged when exposed to heat. So after washing them, it’s a must that you just let them air dry.

However, if you need them sooner, you can still dry them in the machine, but make sure the temperature will not exceed 130°. It’s also essential to keep the shirt and shorts inside out to avoid damaging the prints.

Meanwhile, another issue when it comes to taking care of your jersey is the ironing. Since iron tends to get so hot, it’s not a recommended step. However, if you need to iron it, just avoid the area of the prints.

6. Store properly

After the jersey becomes clean and dry, it’s time to keep it in safe storage. If possible, separate it from other clothes that you usually use. Once it’s separate, don’t forget to slip a silica gel into your designated storage space.

In addition, defer from using hangers as they can stretch the shoulder area. Other options can be folding or rolling it. However, the downside of rolling is that the prints can bend. When you fold it, avoid creating the fold on the part where the prints are included.

If you have a collection of retro football shirts, you should invest in a big storage space that fits your collection. It would be a better decision compared to just including them in your closet.

Taking care of football kits can be a complicated task. However, if you want your collection or uniforms to last, then it’s better to exert more effort. Do you have any more tips for taking care of football kits and other sport gears? Share them by leaving a comment below!