washing your gi

[Grenadier]

What is yoru advise on washing a black proforce double weave black judo Gi for the first time?

Cold water, and a conservative amount of detergent. If anything, fill up the washing machine with water first, add the detergent, and mix it up. Then add the clothes. Use a gentle cycle (permanent press) instead of the standard washing cycle.

Let it drip dry. Don't use the dryer.

[Grenadier]

On another note, if you want to keep it as black as possible throughout the years, you may want to switch detergents entirely, to one of the products that were designed specifically for gentle washing of dark colors, such as Woolite for darks. This is probably overkill, though, since those of us that own black gis probably also don't mind it fading to dark grey over time.

[unknownstyle]

machine it

[Zaine]

yeah use the lmachine its not like the gi is sacred or anything

[Goldtooth]

My two Jukado Ryoyo's and my double weeve judo top all fare very poorly in the washer. Two factors that cause them to become damaged prematurely are: the agitator rubs the thick fabric, and because it is so sturdy and unlikely to yield, it causes wear, and clumps of soap can actually burn your gis if you toss in the powder without letting it thoroughly difuse thorugh the water (grab a handful of powdered soap, squeeze it, hold it under water, hot!).

So, i either mix the soap in the water or use a liquid soap now. I also let the gis soak for a while, then use the gentle cycle. I dont tumble dry. I hang dry. I am less merciful on gi pants and lower cost, mixed material gis with poly cotton blends. Poly blends are low mainainance, double weaves and brushed cotton tops are as expensive and worthy of prudent care as any silk shirts or dress coats are.

[Jay]

machine

[Freddy]

lets get some action in this thread again . I just washed my gi in 60 degrees (i think) with vannish oxy action and it wont turn all white. There are still stains of greyish on it, i just dont know what to do =( tips?

And another question; how do you iron you gi??? My mom always folds my gi after washing it which results in "pressmarks" along sleves and legs, this i find very much annoying! Ive tried to iron them away but it jsut wont work =/ any tips here? (the gi is a kamikaze america, if it matters)

[Jussi Häkkinen]

lets get some action in this thread again . I just washed my gi in 60 degrees (i think) with vannish oxy action and it wont turn all white. There are still stains of greyish on it, i just dont know what to do =( tips?

Soak the do-gi overnight in a solution made from water and a good amount of detergent. Then, add some detergent directly to the stain area and wash the do-gi normally with a machine. You might want to rinse the do-gi twice, since there's a high amount of detergent in it after soaking.

And another question; how do you iron you gi??? My mom always folds my gi after washing it which results in "pressmarks" along sleves and legs, this i find very much annoying! Ive tried to iron them away but it jsut wont work =/ any tips here? (the gi is a kamikaze america, if it matters)

I iron the do-gi after drying it (while it's a bit damp). After that (when dry), I fold it mostly along the seams (so the pressmarks are hidden with seams) Some pressmarks will stay visible - that's OK.

[karatekid1975]

My boyfriend just bought two Judo gi's. One was a 4 and the other is a 3. He dried the 4 in the dryer, and it shrunk. Now it fits him perfect. So now I won't dry my gi (3) in the dryer. It will end up too small (it fits perfect now). So if you WANT to shrink your gi, throw it in the dryer. If not, hang dry.

[lgm]

What do you do when you wash your gi? Wash it by hand? Use a nachine? Take it to a cleaners?

Which type of cleaning agent do you use and do you use any specialist cleaners, such as washing bleach (eg ACE bleach) or Oxy-Clean? Also, do you use fabric conditioner (softener)?

I use the washing machine with powdered soap and then sun dry or machine dry my karate gis, depending on the weather. Finally, I have my maid iron them before storing them on hangers.

Some people think I'm OC, but I use a clean and iron-pressed karate gi everytime I do my karate workout. I do this out of respect to the martial art I love to do and for personal hygiene.