Regardless of what you play, sports gear gets grubby if it’s used seriously. But how would you clean sports gear effectively without wrecking it and without making use of harsh chemicals? Well, what cleaning product or method you utilize really depends on what equipment you’re referring to. But the golden rule is: the sooner you get about it, the greater.Resist the temptation to dry clean the sports clothing if you are trying to stick to natural methods of house cleaning – the chemicals utilized in dry cleaning are vile. Although this how the professionals clean their gear (I suppose), dry cleaning is better avoided.Sports shoes/trainers: The worst items of mud (and other substances) left at the base of sports footwear can be taken off by scraping it off having a stiff scrubbing brush.
Better to do this outside, or you’ll be left cleaning the floor too. Mud can be sponged off trainers along with some warm water and perhaps a bit of soap. White canvas shoes are best avoided, but when they get grass stains, you can clean these stains served by a bit of Sard Wonder Soap (it’s the eucalyptus oil that does the stain removal job) or sponging it with vodka or some other strong spirit before passing on a great wash in warm soapy water. It is possible to put trainers with the washing machine, but cheap ones aren’t so good for this because the inner soles are liable to emerge Better to do what you could having a scrubbing brush and tepid to warm water. Sprinkle sodium bicarbonate inside smelly trainers to get rid of the stink.Cricket clothes: What idiot decided that cricket gear needs to be spotless white? Thankfully, modern fabrics really are a bit more stain resistant. Treat grass stains by rubbing the spot with Sard Wonder Soap or vodka and leaving it for a bit before washing. The red stains appearing on a bowler’s trousers from polishing a ball are less alarming compared to what they look and wash off easily in a regular wash load. Get onto stains within 24 hours because they occur. Soaking also helps.
In the case of cricket matches lasting more than one day, having two (or even more) pairs of cricket trousers saves an enormous amount of bother and frantically trying to get things dry overnight in time for the beginning of the following day.Football gear: Clean grass stains as described above. To remove mud, give it a good soaking in warm soapy water before throwing in the wash.Rugby gear: Gets even grubbier than football gear and has the chance of getting bloodstains. This can be a pain, specially in the case of replica England or Wallabies shirts (those with replica Scotland, France or All Blacks shirts are luckier). Clean the bloodstains first, if any. Wash these out with cold water first before dealing with mud. However, grass stains may be treatable simultaneously as bloodstains. Hint: brush off a few of the thicker bits of mud manually first with a stiff scrubbing brush to get the worst off.Athletic cups/cricket boxes: While these don’t get as visibly grubby as other gear, they are doing obtain a bit sweaty. Even though it is possible to pop these things in to the dishwasher, the majority of us wince thinking of something which has been “down there” along with the stuff we eat off. Best to clean these separately manually in warm soapy water.
Dry having a regular tea towel and pop that into the wash.
Nick Vassilev is the founder of Anyclean, a successful cleaners based in London, UK. His extensive understanding of the cleaning industry helps provide excellent service and cost to his clients. For more information about Anyclean and the range of cleaning services available please visit: