Any sports fan treasures their collection of sports jerseys, be it NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, etc., and simply wouldn’t be a true fan of their team without wearing it at a game. At the same time, those jerseys are particularly prone to getting dirty, between spilling beer at a game, getting sweaty from sheer excitement, and dropping snacks while keeping those eyes on the ball. So, how do you clean a sports jersey? As you’ll see, it requires some special care, but nothing that some all natural cleaning products like natural dish soap and eco friendly laundry pods can’t take care of.
How to Clean a Sports Jersey the Right Way
Fortunately, even though it comes with some special care instructions, your favorite sports jersey doesn’t require a bunch of fancy products or toxic chemicals to be cleaned properly. All that you need are some nontoxic cleaning products that you already have in your laundry room.
Step #1: Removing Any Stains
If your sports jersey has stains from sweat, beer, etc., you’ll want to pretreat the stains first. Thankfully, there are various natural cleaning products that are effective at pretreating stains. We prefer Grab Green Liquid Dish Soap, since it’s a non toxic dish soap that can be dabbed directly onto the stain. Just a few drops of this sustainable dish soap placed onto the stain can lift away all kinds of marks. Leave the soap on for 15 minutes before rinsing with cold water.
Step #2: Washing
Now, you will need to prep your jersey for the washing machine. Make sure you’re washing it with like colors, and also turn the jersey inside out to protect embroidery. If the jersey has buttons, make sure they’re unbutton. Wash your jersey in cold water using the delicate cycle, using natural laundry pods that can fight stains and deodorize. We recommend non toxic laundry pods like our 3 in 1 Laundry Detergent Pods or Stoneworks Laundry Detergent Pods These are eco friendly laundry pods that are gentle enough for this type of garment.
Note: No need for a long wash cycle, as this cycle could damage the delicate materials. Up to 20 minutes in the washer machine should be good enough. However, if there are tough stains, pause the washer after a minute and let the jersey(s) to soak for a couple of minutes in order to help break up those stains. Now, if the stains remain after the cycle, treat them again as described above and re-wash. Once the stains are no more, run the rinse cycle a few additional times to take away every last bit of grime.
Step #3: Drying
Typically, sports jerseys can’t handle the rough nature of a dryer. So, you will need to air-dry the garment instead. If you can, hang it outside in the sun. If you don’t have a sunny outdoor space for hang-drying, just hang it in your shower and allow it to drip-dry.
If the Jersey Has Laces
If your jersey has laces, which is common with hockey jerseys, then you need to remove the laces prior to washing. It’s not uncommon for the laces to get all tangled up, either with the jersey or with other garments in your washing load. You can, if necessary, wash the laces separately in a sink with cold water and some of our Liquid Dish Soap.
If the Jersey is Extremely Fragile
If you’re sporting a vintage jersey that’s seen better days, and you know that it’s very fragile, go right to handwashing instead. Fill a bucket with cold water and some Grab Green Liquid Dish Soap, and simply allow it to soak for about 20 minutes before rubbing the suds of the soap into the entirety of the jersey. Then, air-dry the jersey as you normally would.
