In this post we are going to show you how to wash a Gi for BJJ. When you first start BJJ I bet you never thought that washing would become a big part of your life as well right? Well, I’m afraid to tell you that it’s going to become a HUGE part. Your Gi’s need to be washed before every single class that you do. Because if you don’t they start to absolutely STINK.
You haven’t gone to all this trouble to buy the best BJJ gi only to have no-one want to train with you because you are the “Stinky Gi Guy”
Why and how to wash a Gi for BJJ
There are health and safety reasons for wanting to clean your Gi after every session. There are a lot of germs and bacteria than around and you don’t want to catch anything that can make you sick and keep you out of training. Training in a sweaty and exhausting activity like Jiu-Jitsu means that you are going to be in someone’s face all the time, breathing in their hot air, rolling around in their sweat. Gross right. And having a Gi full of bacteria isn’t going to help the situation.
So, having a clean Gi and belt before every class is a must. Oh, and yes, I did say to wash your belt as well. There is no such thing as belt magic, regardless of what those upper belts tell you.
What are the best ways to wash a Gi.
The first time you wash your Gi is should be a cold wash. This is because the Gi will generally shrink when you first get them. So washing it in cold water will prevent that shrinkage from occurring.
If the Gi is a little bit too big and you are thinking about shrinking it, still do the cold wash first because they all seem to shrink a little bit in the first wash.
If you still think you need to shrink your Gi because it is a little bit too big then I recommend washing in warm water and tumble drying it. This will help to shrink it a little bit more and hopefully make it fit a bit better.
For ongoing washes keep using cold water washes.
When washing your belt use a wash bag or a bra bag if you have one. This will just prevent all the stripes or whatnot from falling off and just keep it in a nice, good condition through the spin cycle.
What soap to use to wash a Gi?
Wash it just using your normal washing powder or liquid, whichever one you use. You can add a dash of white vinegar to prevent any funky smell from embedding in the Gi (it does happen if you aren’t washing it frequently enough). The bonus is that this will act as a bit of a fabric softener too. It doesn’t leave a vinegar smell and comes out when drying.
If you use fabric softener, try not to use too much as this breaks down the fabric materials (that’s just how fabric softener works).
Drying your Gi
I suggest that you air dry your Gi’s. Just hang them up on a drawing rack or outside to dry and don’t tumble dry them because, as mentioned above, this will cause the Gi to shrink. If you want to get some stiffness out of the Gi, if you find that your Gi is a bit stiff like cardboard, after you’ve dried it, put it in your dryer just on the air-drying mode and give it a tumble for twenty minutes. This will just beat the Gi into a bit of a softer condition.
