06-30-2007, 09:53 PM
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#1 | | Just Joined
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 7
| Various Washing issues/questions
I've purchased my first set of equipment, and while blade maintenance isn't a problem, uniform maintenance is becoming one.
I'm using a Leon Paul Jacket, Plastron, knickers, and glove, (yay starter kits), and I was curious.
Leon Paul has the "safe" washing temperature at 30 degrees. Is that 30 degrees centigrade or farenheit? I purchased my equipment at their US branch, so I am not sure if they adjusted it for us yanks.
Secondly, nothing is mentioned about detergents or bleaches. This may sound stupid, but does anyone have any suggestions in that area? I'm pretty sure you don't just send your gear through some water and hope for the best.
I know I'm being paranoid, but I'd rather sound stupid than waste money.
First Post, cheers.
-NT.
Last edited by Winback15; 06-30-2007 at 09:57 PM.
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06-30-2007, 10:08 PM
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#2 | | Armorer
Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Long Beach, CA / Las Vegas
Posts: 3,514
| Considering 30 degrees Fahrenheit is not water but ice, I think we can safely say it is Centigrade which is about 86 degrees Fahrenheit. It is usually best to avoid bleach and except for lame' you can use whatever regular soap you use for your other washing.
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Donald Hollis Clinton, Jr. DHCJr@juno.com
To Teach is to Learn (Japanese Proverb)
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06-30-2007, 10:08 PM
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#3 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Pacoima, ca USA
Posts: 5,991
| Use somethiing like Tide with bleach alternative, or something without bleach at all.
Set the machine on cold water wash and hang up to dry...simple!
(given that LP us a Euro company, they probably mean 30C (around the mid 80F range) 30F is below 0C...no machine;s going to get that cold! | |
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07-01-2007, 01:46 AM
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#4 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Illinois
Posts: 495
| So out of curiosity, what happens to the material if you run it at a hot wash?  | |
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07-01-2007, 02:12 AM
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#5 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Pacoima, ca USA
Posts: 5,991
| On clothihng items you may shrink the material.
For washing lames....go to my website and click on the washing hte lame link.... | |
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07-01-2007, 03:32 AM
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#6 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Melbourne, North Korea
Posts: 305
| Look on the clothign tag, you should be able to find a number of little symbols, osme of which you may or may not already know what they mean. This is what's referred to as a "care label".
You can find a detailed list explaining all the symbols here: http://www.fabriclink.com/Care/Caresymbols.cfm
That should certainly make a lot more sense than looking at the tags on your LP gear and exclaiming "ARGH! NO TRIANGLES OR SQUARES! ARGH!!!!"
(Also, I'd just like to point out the everybody outside of the US uses degrees celsius...  ) | |
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07-01-2007, 04:12 AM
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#7 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Pacoima, ca USA
Posts: 5,991
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Monash_Armourer  (Also, I'd just like to point out the everybody outside of the US uses degrees celsius... ) | I'm amazed the French didn't make up their OWN scale, just because they're...well...the French! | |
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07-01-2007, 05:34 AM
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#8 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Melbourne, North Korea
Posts: 305
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Purple Fencer I'm amazed the French didn't make up their OWN scale, just because they're...well...the French! | You assume they already have not.
How about degrees Delisle or degrees Réaumur? 30 degrees in each scale would corrrespond to 80 C/176 F and 37.5 C/100 F respectively. 
I'm pretty sure there is an ISO standard for care labels, but I'll be darned if I can find it anywhere... | |
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07-01-2007, 07:25 PM
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#9 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Linköping/Sweden
Posts: 109
|  Well Fahrenheit is a book (if you read Bradbury), Kelvin is absolutely zero...
What remains is Celsius. However, +30 C is a bit cold, all modern fencing jackets can tolerate at least +40 C when in the washer.
Use + 40 c, and no bleach, and you will be safe.
Then again, when it comes down to giving our club jackets a good cleaning, twice a year I hit them hard with a big stick and wash them at + 40 c with bleach... that is, if they don´t hit me first! | |
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07-01-2007, 08:43 PM
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#10 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 232
| Quote:
Originally Posted by pokey So out of curiosity, what happens to the material if you run it at a hot wash? |
On Euro washing machines, you have a choice of wash temperatures - 30 deg, 40, 60, and 95. I thought running my allstar startex through the 40 deg wash wouldn't be much different than the 30 deg, but I was wrong. The items have shrunk around 10-20% over time - not a lot, but enough that they aren't that comfy any more. And I don't think it's just that I got larger - I have 4 uniforms and I only ran the experiment on one. The other three are still their original size.
In terms of what to use if your uniform smells like eau de cat box: try borax/borateem or febreeze, and wash your uniform every time you use it, or at least hang it up to dry as soon as you get home. Don't ever bleach the FIE uniforms, because the bleach will weaken the fibers and might make them unsafe over time, not to mention giving it an icky yellowish color. | |
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07-01-2007, 08:47 PM
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#11 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 232
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Purple Fencer I'm amazed the French didn't make up their OWN scale, just because they're...well...the French! | I thought they did...wasn't the Celsius scale (like the metric system) invented during the French Revolution? | |
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07-02-2007, 06:11 AM
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#12 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Melbourne, North Korea
Posts: 305
| Anders Celsius was Swedish, he just spent a lot of time in France.
Joseph-Nicolas Delisle and René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur were both French. | |
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