Found a great Canadian web site (Done Right Sports Equipment) last year that had tips for washing hockey gear - which I tried last summer. Worked like a charm. I washed the gear on a warm day out in the back yard, with a hose and bucket of soap as noted below. I let the gear dry outside - OUT of the sun. Drying it in your basement would be a good option as well.
During the winter months you might think the gear would take a long time to dry, but most days are so lacking in humidity that the gear dries quite quickly.
You can of course use one of the commercial gear washing services, and we've heard very good things about them. However, if you can't afford it, are too far from one, or just want to take care of it yourself - the instructions found on the Canadian web site work pretty well:
- Use a laundry soap like Tide or Sunlight for items without leather (breezers, shin pads, shoulder pads, helmets, skates).
- Use 1 cup of powdered soap in a bucket of water (liquid would require less, of course) as well as 1 cup of household amonia to remove odor.
- ALWAYS use cold water, not hot. It is hard on both leather and synthetic gear.
- NEVER use bleach.
- Wash outside or in your tub (tub is better if you want to soak the gear for a short while).
- Rinse very well and dry in a cool, dry area - like a basement.
- Use a fan to speed drying - expect 24-48 hours to dry (most of my gear was dry in 24 hours - but my gloves took 3 days).
- For skates, fill with cold water, 2 tablespoons of household detergent and 2 tablespoons of household amonia. Scrub with a clean (NEW!!!) toilet brush. Rinse well and let dry.
- For leather products, like gloves, use Murphy's Oil Soap. I used about a 1/4 of a cup in a bucket of water. Do not rinse.
On another part of their web page they give other good gear tips:
- Sprinkle Odor Eater's foot powder on your gear between wearings to kill odor and help cut down on bacteria on your gear.
- To prevent fogging, smear liquid dish soap on your visor and let dry. Once dry, buff with a soft cloth until clear (wonder if this works on eyeglasses?)
- If you like to wet your gloves before playing because they are stiff, fill a squirt bottle half with water and half with Murphy's Oil Soap. Squirt this in your gloves instead of water.
- Store your skates with the toes up and pull up the insoles so the rivets can dry - preventing them from rusting.
- Use peroxide to remove blood from gear.
- Smear toothpaste on your visor and buff to eliminate scratches.
You might not realize it, but dirty gear is a health hazzard to you and your teammates. There are unfortunately lots of nasty bugs - bacteria and viruses - that live and breed on sweaty equipment.
Aside from the stink factor, you could literally be endangering your health - here's a link to an article talking about how dirty gear contains tons and tons of bacteria...including antibiotic resistant staph germs. You know...the flesh-eating bacteria that can't be stopped....
