Cleaning Hockey Gear

[Dr Van Nostrand]

Cleaning your equipment

How do you clean your equipment?

Personally, I throw everything I can in the washer (socks, hockey socks, skate insoles, jersey, shin guard liners) and wash everything I can't throw in teh washer with either isopropyl alcohol or soap and water.

 

[ChiTownHawks]

I put everything but my helmet and skates in the washer on delicate about once a month. I have not had a problem with any breakdown and I have been doing this for about a year. One important thing though is that I have a front loading washer that does not have an agitator or agiator or whatever the post thing is called in a top loading washer. I would think that thing could snag things and mess them up.

The things like undershirt, jock shorts, socks, and jerseys get washed in between evey skate.

Also everything comes out of the bag right away and is hung on a drying tree.

 

[Jarick]

Limit bacteria growth by airing out gear and spraying with rubbing alcohol immediately after games. The sooner the better.

Temporarily kill bacteria growth and smell by soaking everything except skates and helmet every couple months in the tub with some detergent and bleach, then put it on the wire rack with a fan in front to dry.

 

[Trevor3]

Clean? You can do that?

I just open my bag, spread my gear out on the basement floor and give it a good spraying with Febreeze.

 

[vapor11]

I throw my equipment in the bathtub and give it a shower..just water..I always take my equipment out of the bag and throw it on a chair and my basement floor

 

[Pog Form]

I spread my stuff out in my tiny little mud room, turn on a small fan, crank the dehumidifier, and close the door.

I didn't use to have a dehumidifier (I used to spray an alcohol/water mix, and just let the stuff sit there), but now that I bought one, it's appalling to see the amount of liquid that comes out. The thought of it all staying inside my gear makes me cringe. I haven't been spraying my gear since I got the dehumidifier because it's worked so well, but I think I will start up again, and use the two methods in tandem.

That is great for "maintenance" of my equipment, but for actual washing, every now and then I'll clean selected pieces of gear. I've tried a few methods: washing machine, scrubbing, soaking, etc. The best so far was leaving my stuff to soak in a tub of hot water with a few scoops of OxyClean. I used some dumbbells to keep everything submerged and let it soak for a couple of hours. After that, a very, very thorough rinsing and then let it dry. It worked really well.

Apparently my shoulder pads are white?

 

[Bexlyspeed]

i just use my shock doctor bag, hook the dryer up to it as soon as i get home and let it run for a few hours, dry's all the gear and there is no smell, i think it has something that kills the bacteria. best 150.00 i ever spent. my gear only leaves the bag when i play an d i have not had to replace anything due to odor for about 5 years now

 

[OpenIceHit42]

I usually let it air out, wash jerseys-socks-etc once a week. I recently tried the Febreeze sport but that stuff does not work at all.

 

[Guffaw]

I just air it out immediately and wash the socks, jock, and jerseys. I'm not a smelly guy so it's not too bad or at least no one has told me it is

 

[Wildturkey12]

I wash my socks, jersey, jock and undershirt after every time and hang the rest of my stuff on a hockey tree. Once a month I take it outside, hose it off and hang it in the sun for a few days.

 

[noobman]

You're supposed to wash your equipment??

I have a makeshift rack that I use to hang my equipment on. It fits my gear surprisingly well. I occasionally spray my equipment down with rubbing alcohol. I've accumulated a lot of jerseys, so I can usually go about 4 months before having to do a big load of laundry with all of my jerseys. The last month sucks because I wind up using jerseys from when I was 14. They're a *little* tight.

My gloves and elbow pads are both nine years old, so they look beaten up and have a bit of a musk to them. My shoulder pads, pants, shin guards, jock, and helmet were all replaced within the last two years so they are still pretty clean and smell OK with all of the air they get.

I've heard of people who toss their equipment in the tub with some soapy water and let it dry.

 

[mhkehoe]

Best solution I have found is the Anti-microbial Febreeze. I didn't care for the smell of the Sport version, and using the isopropyl seems to work okay, but the gear still smells salty (probably time to hose the gear off a bit).

 

[Dr Van Nostrand]

After reading your success, I decided to boil some water and mix in non-ammonia based soap and a small amount of bleach. I think the exact amounts were 2 quarts (1/2 gallon) of boiled water, a 1/2 second squirt of dish soap, and 1/2 tsp of bleach. I sprayed it on after the water cooled with a spray bottle and wiped the solution on all of my equipment with a sponge and then used 1 cup of cold water on each piece to dilute the solution. I then set it out to dry overnight and through some of the day. I used a slightly modified solution on the insides of my bag and dumped the water out (there are two holes for "airing things out" in each corner on the side and bottom). I sat it out to dry upside down on top of at least 3 towels. Tomorrow I plan on pouring more water on the equipment so there are no suds coming out during my next practice/game or (god forbid) diluted bleach going right onto my skin. I used some Pert on the insides of my helmet and rinsed that out at least 3 times. I'm rinsing it out 2 more times tomorrow. Thank god I had 2 days off between practices for the first time in three weeks lol.

Apparently my pants are supposed to be light blue?

 

[nullterm]

Underarmour johns, cup, socks washed after every game. Everything else spread out on the patio (safe from rain) till dry.

Once a season I throw everything (except skates and helmet) in the tub with a bit of laundry detergent just to get all the dried up nasty out. Making sure to shower it off thoroughly so no soap residue is left which can irritate/burn once you start sweating.

 

[Wilch]

Anyone here use the Shockdoctor blow drying bag?

I'm thinking about getting one if it works well because I live in Asia, and it's anything but dry here.

 

[izzy3]

I wash everything except helmet once or twice (after hockeycamp, 3 icetimes a day, 6 days in a row) a year in the washing machine. I don't care if it shortens their life, I must the smell...

 

[Jarick]

Anyone here use the Shockdoctor blow drying bag?

I'm thinking about getting one if it works well because I live in Asia, and it's anything but dry here.

I had one for a while...it worked well, but the bag was super heavy and huge and a pain to carry around. Setting the stuff out to dry after games works just as well, and I have a backpack because I carry stuff up and down stairs in my apartment.

 

[Wilch]

I had one for a while...it worked well, but the bag was super heavy and huge and a pain to carry around. Setting the stuff out to dry after games works just as well, and I have a backpack because I carry stuff up and down stairs in my apartment.

Did you need to stick it in a sealed room with dehumidifier? Because it's awfully humid here in Asia... The smell doesnt go away even for clothing sometimes if we let it hang outside

 

[Jarick]

I kept it in my fairly cold basement. No idea. My guess is from your situation you'd want to wash it more frequently.

No offense but for some stupid reason I'm imaging you storing your gear in a hut with no air conditioning

If you've got a bathroom with a fan, best thing would be set the gear out, spray with with alcohol, then put an oscillating fan in front to help dry it plus run the fan above to get rid of the smell.

 

[ryan41]

i usually lay everything out, spray the crap out of it with febreeze, let it sit outside for the night, and clean my helmet with alcohol wipes.

 

[Jimmy Carter]

Haven't tried it yet, but in another "how do you clean equipment" someone suggested anti-bacteria Febreeze in between washes. Picked some up the other day, but like I said, I haven't sprayed my stuff with it yet.

 

[Wildturkey12]

Anyone here use the Shockdoctor blow drying bag?

I dont have the bag but I use the dryer hooked up to my hockey tree. It works pretty good.

 

[OpenIceHit42]

For anyone that has put the equipment (not skates or helmet) into the wash machine or a tub with detergent, does it effect the quality/durability of the equipment at all?

 

[SkateThroughIt]

Wash your gear? I wash my Under Armour...but air out the rest. Bad mojo if you do!

As far as breaking down in the washer. I don't see a need for, just run under water, maybe spray febreeze every now and then. I would be afraid of what above is inquiring about. ^^^ I could see threads weakening, and them getting all torn up. Not worth it...

 

[The Tikkanen]

I have an HE washing machine with no tumbler in the middle, wash my jock, shin pads, ice hockey pants, shoulder pads and elbow pads-have never had a problem. Usually do this about once every 2 months as well as air drying and spraying my gear with Febreze Sport or antimicrobial Febreze.