oooh...dirty jacket

[AdventureDiva]

ok yeah, my fencing equipment(jacket, plastron, knickers) is always filthy. when i wash it, i usually wash it in warm water with all fabric bleach and regular tide, and lots of spray 'n wash, and it usually doesn't get all the dirt out, and they are still pretty dingy. last time i washed my crap(friday night) i washed them in hot water, and the red on my collar from my damn PBT jacket bled all over my crap. so, not only did my knickers have big pink splotches all over them, the insides of my jacket is tinged a nice light pink color all over. i took a bleach pen to the splotches(even though i know that's horrible), and washed them in cold water again to get the pink out. so the pink came out of the bleached spots, but my jacket is still pink. any tips for washing equipment? anything special you use, or any special way you wash them to actually get them clean? aaah!

oh, and i know you're totally not supposed to dry them, but i do, and they don't shrink, i mean, does that really hurt the fabric? all my crap is PBT. my plastron is from the fencing post. if that helps.

help!

~Rachael~

[Zilverzmurfen]

Gee, how do you manage to get them "always filthy"?

I wash my kit like...when I've booked the "laundry room" in my house, usually every 10 days. I wash it in 40 C with regular washing powder. Still nice and white after +2 years of usage.

Also you should not add bleaching when washing your kit. (I'm referring to allstar but chances are the sticker on your PBT kit says different, although I doubt it.)

[mackillian]

Bleach weakens basically any material.

[Epee Scherma]

You wondered whether drying hurts the material. I wonder if it does too. How recently did you get your PBT jacket? Perhaps you could make a complaint to them that the dyes in their collar had run all over. I don't think that should happen if you wash it carefully, which it looks like you have been doing. As emphasized above, stop with the bleach. Just don't! One poster in the past (I can't remember who) said, "Bleach is cancer for your jacket".

[mackillian]

Hot water also makes dark/bright colors bleed.

[tallntender]

After washing about every two weeks, I started washing after each practice. Cold water, hang dry, no bleach. My gear is no longer dingy, and it doesn't smell. I can't tell whether this routine has shortened the useful life, but it has resulted in a cleaner, more pleasing uniform.

[shango]

use woolite in cold water and then air dry it, don't put it in a dryer.

[Inquartata]

Try RIT Dye Remover. If the pink hasn't set in yet it might get rid of it. As for general grime I'm afraid I'm stumped---my jacket is pretty gross on the inside, especially around the collar, despite washings and bleachings ( it's just denim ) and whiteners and bluing and everything else I have tried...

[Zilverzmurfen]

If you're all talking about tumble drying then it's BAD for your clothes.
I never tumble dry any of my clothes as it generally shortens life of fabric (Ie. wear-and tear routine...).

And once again, just so you don't miss it: Do not bleach your "crap", listen carefully and you'll hear your kit cry in there in the washing machine...

[davtsung]

Don't ever bleach. Try to use as cool as water when washing as possible. Try washing separate from normal laundry. Air-dry when feasible(most the water is gone from the spin cycle of the washing machine). I don't wash after every practice, but I will ALWAYS air it out. Washing once a week has done wonders for the longevity of my stuff.

[sabreur]

I wear a Santelli padded cotton sabre jacket and sweatpants for practice. I only wear my FIE stuff for tournaments--air it out after every use and wash about every other tournament. Air dry. It looks fine, except for the dog hair.

MR

[Inquartata]

Don't you mean wolf hair?

[sabreur]

Originally Posted by Inquartata

Don't you mean wolf hair?

Only when I wear it during a full moon .

MR

[Maeve_Mari]

Originally Posted by Inquartata

Try RIT Dye Remover. If the pink hasn't set in yet it might get rid of it. As for general grime I'm afraid I'm stumped---my jacket is pretty gross on the inside, especially around the collar, despite washings and bleachings ( it's just denim ) and whiteners and bluing and everything else I have tried...

I was going to suggest this RIT Dye Remover too. I've used it before and it really does strip away all other colors, so be careful that there isn't anything else in the wash with colors that you want to still have color afterwards.

Don't use bleach on non-cotton fabrics. It turns them a putrid shade of yellow-beige. Oxy Clean will do a sufficient general cleaning on most non-cotton fabrics. Also, adding a little blueing (available at the groceries) to the wash water will brighten up whites very nicely.

No bleach, no bleach pens!

[AdventureDiva]

i don't bleach it every time, in fact, i've never bleached my stuff. i just used the bleach pen on some small pink spots, and only because i had to. and that was only because the stain stick was not working. yes, i won't be bleaching my stuff again, i know it's bad for it.

i'm gonna get new knickers soon, and probably a new jacket for competitions and such, and, hopefully since i don't use it as much, it won't be as dirty

thanks for all your advice!

~Rachael~

[fencergal33]

Two words: Oxy Clean

I throw a scoop of it in the wash every time I do a white load. You can also make it into a spray that works great as a stain remover.....AND it doesn't damage the fabric like bleach.

[R. Exnicios]

Bleach will destroy the fabric. Salt as in sweat and dirt will also break down the fabric over time. Routine Gentle washing seems to be the best long term solution.I wash my gear after every use. I have two set so I alternate.

Cold water, gentil cycle or a shorter cycle I run it with more water than needed. As in it's enough for a small load and I set it on medium. I never dry them. I dryed my under arm protector a few times and it shrank.

We were at a program last summer where we fencered every day for 10 days. We couldn't wash our stuff so i would tkae it into the shower with me and rinse it out then hang it out he window to dry over night. it would still be damp but after 10 days I didn't smell like road kill.

Oh, all my gear is Allstar FIE.

Cheers

R

[D'Artag-NOT]

If your stuff gets extra-dirty, try using the pre-soak cycle on your washing machine to just let it sit in warm water and detergent for half an hour or so. Then wash in warm water with a cold rinse and air dry.

I'm another of those people who air-dries all my clothes except for underwear and socks. The only things I put in the dryer are the abovementioned unmentionables, household linens, and pet beds.

[MyraTrue]

A couple of things- the grime that turns your jacket and knickers a dirty shade won't always smell. So wash your stuff more often, but in warm or cold (so you have no more pink problems, I third the RIT dye remover suggestion). Dirt can get ground into your clothes, and if you're only washing when they start to smell, the dirt has had time to get comfortable. And also, if its that bad, try the spray-n-wash, but get a good stiff bristled scrub brush, and consider it your workout to scrub collar and cuffs and wherever else is looking particularly bad. It may help. And then wash when it starts looking dirty.

Otherwise, oxclean... and good luck.