Can you wash hockey gear

Fortunately, hockey gloves and most other items of hockey equipment can be washed or cleaned to keep the odors to a minimum. It may surprise you but the easiest way to keep your gloves and some of your other articles of equipment clean is to place them in a washing machine and then hang them up to air dry.

Hockey players sweat when they practice and play and this can produce bacteria as it grows in moist, warm areas. The bacteria which seeps into their hockey gloves and other equipment can then result in unpleasant odors.

Furthermore, the bacteria in the equipment could lead to health problems such as infections, diseases, and rashes.

It can also ruin the equipment by breaking down the fibers in it. Drying racks are ideal for this. You might find it will dry a little quicker if you place a dehumidifier in the same room as this can help wick out some of the moisture.

The simplest way to keep your hockey gloves and other equipment bacteria-free is to place the items in a washing machine on a regular cycle. You may need a couple of warm or cold-water loads to clean it all depending on how much gear you have and how big it is.

White vinegar can be added to the fabric softener compartment of the washing machine or in the water as it helps to reduce odors naturally. Start with stuffing newspapers into the blocker and catcher and skates. This is going to start to wick the moisture that is in there with the microbes onto the carbon of the ink and will assist you in cleaning it all up! Use a scrubber with an arm on it by dipping the bristled end into the soap.

Scrub up and into all areas. Use a bottle cleaner for the glove fingers to be sure to disturb all the debris in there. By thoroughly rinsing in cold water you will be good. Do this I would expect at least two or three times to be sure you have reached it all. By missing some, it just gets reactivated as soon as you wear the gear again and start to warm up and your nose will let you know! With the pads, toss them all into your non-agitated washing machine.

Then do a double rinse to be sure all the soapy residue is gone as it will make you very itchy if it is not. Skates and helmet need to be done by hand in the sink with your scrubbers.

Scrub the helmet everywhere inside. Scrub the chin cup especially. Very important and also the cage if there is one. Scrub the insoles with the brush as well as the laces. They will wind all around everything and tightly and it is next to impossible to get it undone.

But scrub the laces too. Scrub the skates with your scrubber inside all the way to where the toes go by bending back the tongue and throwing in lots of muscle to be sure you are disturbing the dirt and getting it loosened and out.

With the hockey bag itself, be sure to use cold water be it in the tub if it is a wheeled goalie or player bag with your soap and antiseptic. The bag houses all that noxious stuff so you KNOW it has to have some of that microbial growth on it. Hang to dry by bungee cords or whatever you have to suspend it so all water goes downward and out of the bag. Otherwise, tomorrow, like I did , you will have skate pockets full of water and end compartments with water.

AIr dry now. As it dries be sure to flex the palms of your gloves and any other pieces with cotton, leather, clarino or any headbands. This will stop them from hardening as they dry and from becoming very course.

Once all dry the next day at least so give yourself 24 hours to do it , reassemble all your pads back where they went.

Make sure you put your hands into your gloves again too. Flex them around just to warm the gloves a bit to reshape to your hand. Folks the bottom line here is to have a hygienic mindset and you all clearly do. With that said, keep your olfactory sensory keen and smell for when you start to notice it and when you do, get those newspapers going in and out of the gloves and skates after every skate and pull it out after a day to de-moisturize skates and glove and even helmet.

Best to you all! Lets keep it clean out there in every way we can and play this game we all love so much! Thanks for popping in again, Ken. Love all your insight and advice. Great point about the hockey bag.

I never even think to wash ours. Pretty scary to think of the infections that can be caused by moldy gear! Check out the. If you can get the gear dry quickly the mold griejbg becomes less of an issue!!

Developed for our goalie son! Helps cut down on The stink!! Provided there is no heat in the application then all the manufacturers would support it. As soon as heat is used, even though it may not be visible, it can breach the integrity of the compression foams and pvc in the gear. If it is cycle air, like if you put something on tumble dry in your dryer, then it will work. I know the Rocket System out of Montreal caused some gear to melt, deform and even in on instance catch fire.

So as long as you are cognizant, then yes, by keeping the feeding ground for microbes at bay you eliminate one of the two elements needed for them to grow. Moist area is one of them and of course the sweat is what the microbes eat. Eliminate one, as you are suggesting, then you have started to quell the growth no question.

The HappyHooligans is a great read as often as I am notified of new blogs and updates on this one in particular being close to what we went through. In terms of any cleaning solution vinegar works well. Not sure about the long term impact but the higher heat is useful to help kill the bacteria. Besides, in general the equipment is being replaced quite regularly anyhow because of growth, equipment improvements, breakdown etc.

In between cleanings drying it after each use is best just hanging it on a rack works. A little Febreeze must be the Antibacterial version spray can also help to keep the odour down.

I guess a spray bottle with vinegar and water to mist it may work too. Hi all! I decided to use it on all my goalie equipment. I do soak it once in a while in the tub and rinse with warm water and antibacterial dawn dish washing liquid. It seems gentle on the equipment. I always lay out my equipment immediately after returning from a game and spray everything. Bag gets a lysol spray down. Seems to be working…thought I would share—especially for gloves—the lysol was drying out the leather bad!

This seems like great cleaning advice and I will try it, but your opening is not inclusive of those of us who ARE the hockey player and are female. Perhaps you could update or adjust your mindset to realize that there are female hockey players out there. Thanks for the tips! Is it possible to put it into the washing machine? Always looking for good ways to clean stinky equipment.

It works great. I recommend that the dishwasher is empty!! Good to know it can be done. We hockey dads and hockey husbands have to deal with this, too. Good to know about The Rocket, Frank. Being offended by something you read is a personal choice. Try Odor-Aid disinfectant. The clerk at Play-it-again Sports treats used equipment with it and it works well for gloves and skates.

Hydroxyl is the term used for an oxygen-hydrogen -OH side group on another chemical. Peroxide is O2 with a single bond found either as a radical no other atoms attached or between other side chains e. Peroxide is the chemical moiety found in cleaners like Oxy-clean. I put everything except the helmet, skates, and plastic part of the jock in our front loader with tide and borax. Works like a charm. It is great stuff — you spray the inside of the piece until very damp and let dry overnight.

To clean it, you can use a mixture of a cup of chlorine bleach and a gallon of water. Leave it on the seal for about five minutes before wiping it off. It is suggested to wipe down the rubber seal after every use. By wearing a layer underneath and airing it out your hockey equipment will stink a lot less. This is because it will help to absorb a lot of your sweat and help it evaporate therefore preventing it from soaking into your equipment.

It also acts as a barrier between your skin and the equipment to stop dead skin, oils and grease from your body from getting into your gear and becoming a breeding ground for bacteria. After playing a game of hockey your equipment will be damp.

It needs to be aired out, otherwise it will grow bacteria and stink. Airing out your hockey equipment is one of the most important steps in preventing smelly gear. Be sure to hang up your base layer, jock, elbow pads and socks, pull out your shin pads with the padding side up, and take the insoles out of your skates. If you have space for a sports drying rack this is ideal but really you can hang your gear anywhere like over a chair or banister.

Seasoned hockey players know that after a while your hockey equipment will start to smell no matter what you do. By using the tips above your actual equipment will rarely ever smells. You will just wash your jock, socks and base layer regularly. If your hockey equipment already smells though there is an easy way to clean it: Put it in the washing machine! Yes, it is that easy. Tip — If your hockey equipment is REALLY stinky rinse it first by filling the washing machine, letting it soak, draining it, and then put it through a proper wash cycle.

Warning: If you have Velcro straps attach them to their Velcro partner, otherwise you can end up with a birds nest of equipment. It can deteriorate your padding and it will start falling out of your equipment. Do not put anything that has leather parts in the dryer as this will dry it out and cause cracking.