You had a blast shopping for you football team kits. Careful consideration was taken choosing the right design. Personalizing the back was a tough choice. Did you go with your favourite player, the most popular or your own name perhaps? Hopefully you had it sized properly so you could either play comfortably or watch the match at the pub in comfort and style. Now, you just need to know how to care for your football kit.

Above all, make sure you shake off excess dirt or mud prior to washing or soaking. You can take a soft brush to gently knock off any chunky mud or dirt. Avoid rubbing it in further as this will make it more difficult to remove in the wash.

Soak or wash your football kit as soon as possible to avoid allowing any grass or mud stains to set. This will reduce discolouration. Keep your dark and light colours separate when washing or soaking. Use a good detergent. You paid a good sum for your football kit, don’t start pinching pennies now! If your football team kit is black, use a detergent for black clothes to avoid fading. If it is light in colour, use a colour safe bleach alternative to brighten the white and colours as well.

Some definite no-no’s!

Do not use bleach on your football team kits. This will definitely cause splotchy discolouration or yellowing of whites. Never dry clean your football kit (crazy prices on dry-cleaning anyway!). Never overfill the washer. This makes it difficult to adequately clean your football kit because of the crowding. Never add too much detergent thinking this will make everything cleaner. You’ll likely have suds spewing from your machine. As well, the rinse cycle won’t be able to get the excess detergent out, leaving your football kit stiff and scratchy.

Speaking of scratchy, it is recommended most often to not use fabric conditioners on your football kit. This can lead to darkened spots. Luckily, the soft nature of most kits means you don’t have to use fabric conditioner anyway. Unless otherwise specified, do not tumble-dry. Use a cool iron to remove wrinkles if need be. Removing your football kit from the wash immediately, shaking out the wrinkles and laying flat to dry is the best way to keep it wrinkle free.