For all you rollers out there…any tips on how to wash your Kimono’s/Gi’s/Suits etc? How do you avoid shrinkage on non preshrunk Gi’s?
OMC
wash in cold water, hang to dry
[quote]danew wrote:
wash in cold water, hang to dry[/quote]
ditto. If you don’t want it to be all stiff after drying out in the sun, make sure to add some fabric softener to the rinse cycle. Also, I like to add a little oxi-clean along with whatever detergent I’m using to keep it smelling fresh and looking clean
mine were all heavy weight ones anyways so hanging them was a bit of a challange,kept breaking hangers.
but wash in cold water and hang to dry
or dry on the gental air fluff cycle with softner
[quote]slimjim wrote:
danew wrote:
wash in cold water, hang to dry
ditto. If you don’t want it to be all stiff after drying out in the sun, make sure to add some fabric softener to the rinse cycle. Also, I like to add a little oxi-clean along with whatever detergent I’m using to keep it smelling fresh and looking clean[/quote]
I actually I think you wouldn’t want to use fabric softener with a Gi.
It leaves a residue on the gi,yes there might be an "advantage"to having a gi that might feel differentery. or be slippery
I actually prefer them to wear like a Carhartt- its much much harder to grab .
As uncomfortable it may be, its more uncomfortable for your opponent than for you.
cold water, bleach if you need to disinfect and oxi clean couldnt hurt.
kmc
I use Tide with the fabric softener in it, and then hang to dry, no residue or anything, and my gi is still soft.
Wash in cold water, hang to dry, then tumble on no heat for a few minutes to loosen it up before training. Before a tournament I skip the tumbling and the damn thing feels like cardboard haha
Dry cleaning.
[quote]danew wrote:
wash in cold water, hang to dry[/quote]
lots of chlorox bleach on first wash, then rewash without detergiant.
Air Dry… In competition mode, I use to put lots of starch on the seams so that if someone tries to grab my jacket, I can force his hand to skid on it and give them a little bit of a burn… 
1 thing I do is after every training session I hang it out to dry, so the sweat won’t soak in, and after it dried I wash it by hand - very cold water !
[quote]Melvin Smiley wrote:
Wash in cold water, hang to dry, then tumble on no heat for a few minutes to loosen it up before training. Before a tournament I skip the tumbling and the damn thing feels like cardboard haha[/quote]
That’s basically what I do too…without the tumbling in the drying it’s gonna be stiff…
i asked my mom about this because it actually had me thinking.
ever since i was little my stuff was nice and soft and then when I started washing my own it would be really stiff untill I started to sweat in it then it would loosen up.
what she told me was this
wash it in cold water and then hang dry it
after it was dry or mostly dry put it thru an air fluff cycle in the dryer with a few softner sheets
[quote]danew wrote:
wash in cold water, hang to dry[/quote]
Yep, that’s the way I do it; although I will put it in the dryer on air dry from time-to-time.
Thanks a lot for all the tips guys…washed it and it didn’t shrink to any noticeable extent. I’m really relieved with this as its a lucky Gi and they aren’t pre shrunk.
Thanks again.
OMC
Just something else to try. I add a cup of vinegar into the wash with my gi, it seems to really get the stink out I find.
Also, I have one gi for practice and one just for competition, that way my competition gi stays very stiff, almost like brand-new.
Jelly
Do Wado Kai and I never wash gi or belt. (That is tradition, not washing the belt.) I do not wash my gi anyway, like it more with the bloodstains on it. Makes it look tough
“I add a cup of vinegar into the wash with my gi, it seems to really get the stink out I find.”
I second this… it works really well once a gi gets older and kind of “funky”
I’ll add a heavy duty degreaser to wash to get the deep seated sweat stains out. My old gray gi actually returned to white after adding a couple ounces of “Rigwash” to the normal soap.
I call B.S. on the whole “never wash the belt” tradition. I doubt it was ever a tradition to neglect the belt. I will say that it is smart to not wash your belt though. At least not in conventional washing machines. My mother’s washing machine was reduced to 200lb door stop after my belt got under agitator and wrapped around the spindle. Stripped the spindle gears and burned out the electric motor. Also be a bit leary of gi pants with really long draw strings.
I use the same method as Jelly Roll, I add a little bit of vinegar to get the smell out and to keep it clean.