FAN PRO JERSEY · CARE GUIDE

How to Wash a Football Shirt (And Keep It Looking New)

A good football shirt should outlast the season it celebrates. Most don’t — not because of how they are made, but because of how they are washed. The rules are simple, and almost everybody breaks at least one of them.

The five rules

1 · Cold water, always. Thirty degrees, no exceptions. Heat is what fades the red you paid for and weakens the press on the name and number. Modern detergent works fine in cold water; your shirt does not need the punishment.

2 · Inside out. The outside of the shirt carries everything that matters — the crest, the colours, the print. Turn it inside out and the wash beats up the side nobody sees.

3 · Skip the fabric softener. Softener coats the fibres, and coated fibres hold on to sweat and smell instead of releasing them. If a shirt starts to smell permanent, softener is usually why.

4 · Never the tumble dryer. The tumble dryer is where names and numbers go to crack. Hang the shirt in the shade — not in direct sun, which fades colour almost as fast as heat does — and it will be dry by morning.

5 · Keep the iron away from the print. If you must iron, do it inside out, on low, and never across the crest or the numbers. Better still: hang the shirt in the bathroom while you shower and let the steam do the work.

The short version

One more for the mud players: resist the urge to attack wet mud. Let it dry completely, brush it off, then wash cold as normal. Wet scrubbing drives the stain deeper; dry mud falls away.

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