How To Wash Lacrosse Gloves Without Damaging Them: A Guide

Do your lacrosse gloves smell bad? If they do, then you’ve probably forgotten to wash them. Washing your gloves and pads can be an inconvenience especially when you’re in the middle of a season. Who wants to wash gloves anyway? But not doing so leads to bad effects – not on your game, but with your hygiene and the people around you. 

If that got your attention, then that’s perfect. You should know that no matter how much a hassle it is to wash your gloves, you have to do it at least once a week. Doing so will lengthen the life of your gloves and will prevent any bacteria from building up. Just imagine having molds inside your gloves. That’s gross.

How to Clean Your Lacrosse Gloves

So how do you wash your lacrosse gloves? There are two ways. One is by using a washing machine and the other is by handwashing them. Here is your guide on how to do these two ways. 

Using a Washing Machine

The easiest way to wash your lacrosse gloves is to use a washing machine. It’s quick and simple. You don’t even have to do any handwashing at all, so here’s how you can do it. 

1. Put your gloves right into the washing machine. Set the machine to the lowest cycle possible. You don’t want a deep clean on your gloves and you most definitely don’t want them to be cleaned for a long time inside the machine. 
2. Put any type of detergent into the washer. You can use any brand or type, just as long as it doesn’t have any bleach. 
3. Let the gloves wash in the washing machine. 
4. After a few minutes, take it out of the washer and hang them out to air-dry. Don’t put them in the dryer because the gloves might get ruined. 
5. When you hang them out to dry, make sure that they are in an area that has a roof. You don’t want them getting wet right after cleaning. 
6. Before you put them in your gear bag, check if there are still areas that are damp. If it’s not entirely dry, don’t store them yet to avoid producing any smell or molds. Let them dry for a few hours to make sure that any remaining moisture has been removed.

Using Your Hands

Even if you can use a washing machine, there are times when you might want to use your hands instead. Later, you know why it’s better to do so. In the meantime, here is what you need to do when handwashing your lacrosse gloves. 

1. To start washing your lacrosse gloves, fill a bathtub with warm water. If you don’t have a bathtub, you can also use a basin that is large enough to soak your gloves in. 
2. Pour warm water in the basin and pour ¼ cup of laundry detergent. Similar to using a washing machine, don’t use laundry detergents with bleach. 
3. Mix the detergent with the water and soak the gloves. Wait for 10-15 minutes. 
4. After 15 minutes, rinse your gloves with cold water. You can scrub the gloves to make sure that there’s no detergent left on them. Don’t scrub harshly, though, to avoid ruining your gloves and pads. 
5. When there isn’t any soap left, hang your gloves to dry. Don’t put them in a dryer, but make sure they’re in a warm spot. You can also just place them on a bench right out in the sunlight. 
6. After a few hours, check if the gloves are already dry. If they are, that’s the only time you can place them back in your gear bag. Otherwise, just let them dry a little more to avoid building molds and a stench from the moisture. 

Is It Better to Use a Washing Machine for Your Lacrosse Gloves?

This is a common question and to tell you frankly, answers vary all the time. There are people who insist that using a washing machine will only damage the gloves. They’re not entirely wrong, though.

In fact, this follows the same reason why you shouldn’t use a dryer. The dryer can be harsh on the pads and on your gloves because it makes sure that every part of the apparel is dry. The same can be said for your washing machine. Who knows how rough your washing machine is with your clothes? 

That’s why if you ever decide to use a washing machine, you should only set it to the lowest or gentlest cycle. This will help lessen the movement and the length of time your gloves will be inside the machine. 

So is handwashing better? Yes. There are several lacrosse brands that will advise you to handwash your gloves instead of using a washing machine. While they don’t necessarily advise against using machines, they claim that washing it yourself will lead to less damage in the long run. 

If you prefer to do things your way, then handwashing your lacrosse gloves is the way to go. Besides, it won’t take more than 30 minutes for you to do so. Much of the hard work is done by the detergent anyway since it cleans your gloves while they’re soaked in the basin. 

However, if you don’t have much time, you can always use your washing machine. Just don’t forget to set it to the fewest cycles and dry them out in the sun.

You can also regularly put out your gloves under the sun after every game so that it dries the sweat and it kills the bacteria. It also helps that you don’t stuff your gloves in your bag for so long. Right after you get home, make sure that you take it out and leave it outside to dry.

Final Words

Washing your lacrosse gloves isn’t the best thing in the world especially when you’re in the middle of a busy season. However, it’s a must if you want to take care of your gloves. It’s a good thing there are two ways to wash them and that’s either by handwash or a washing machine. 

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