How to Wash Sports Apparel the Right Way
Your technical sportswear uses specialized materials designed to keep you dry, comfortable, and performing at your best. That's why it's worth the investment, and it should be worth taking care of too. Luckily, we've got the right way to wash your sports apparel so you can make the most out of your favorite gear.
Why Your Sportswear Needs Technical Care
Step-by-Step: How to Wash Sports Apparel
Why Your Sportswear Needs Technical Care
What most athletes don't know is that standard laundry detergents contain harsh chemicals that can damage technical fabrics and water-repellent coatings in sports apparel, breaking down the materials that give it performance properties and forcing you to replace expensive items after just a few washes. Proper sportswear care, like our Sportswear Wash and our Water Repellent Wash, extends its lifespan, maintains performance features and material integrity, and keeps your gear ready for the next challenge. Our detergent solutions:
- Clean fibers from the inside out without damaging technical materials
- Remove stubborn dirt, stains, and odors while preserving performance
- Add a liquid repellent layer that reactivates water and stain protection
- Work on all specialized materials without leaving residue (including water-repellent coatings)
- Dose perfectly every time with the automatic dosing system
Step-by-Step
1. PREP Turn your garment inside out and secure zips, straps, or velcro before tossing it into the washing machine.
2. DOSE Turn the bottle upside down with the lid closed, wait until the 25ml chamber is full, then turn it right side up. The perfect amount of solution will pour out when you open the lid, and the rest will stay down.
3. WASH Clean the dispensers of your washing machine first. Pour the Sportswear Wash into the main dispenser. If you're washing water-repellent garments, add the Water Repellent Wash into the fabric softener dispenser to reactivate its protective properties. Then choose a gentle, cold cycle.
4. DRY For best results, tumble dry with a clean tennis ball or dryer ball. Air drying works too, but puffer jackets may clump without agitation.
Disclaimer: Always check individual garment care labels for specific instructions.Bonus Care Tips
Skip the Fabric Softener
Fabric softeners work by covering fibers with a waxy coating that makes fabrics feel soft. But that same coating damages the quick-drying properties of technical fabrics and makes your gear trap sweat instead of moving it away from your skin, which ultimately means it loses breathability.
Wash Less, Refresh More
Not every workout requires a full wash. Over-washing wears down materials faster and uses unnecessary water and energy, so less washing means less waste and longer gear life. A good rule: wash base layers after every use, mid-layers every 2-3 uses, and outer shells only when needed.
For lightly worn items or gear that just needs odor elimination, use our Sportswear Refresher instead. Its water-based, PFAS-free formula activates upon contact with your apparel and targets those odor-causing molecules that build up in your gear over time.
For more care tips, check out our product care guide.
Why Choose DFNS?
We're committed to designing our solutions so you can keep your favorite apparel in play for longer, without compromising on quality or sustainability.
Our Sportswear Wash detergent removes stubborn dirt, stains, and odors while maintaining your apparel's performance. Our Water Repellent Wash adds a liquid repellent layer to specialized garments, reactivating water and stain repellent properties with each cycle while protecting your apparel's performance. Our solutions are:
- Highly concentrated
- Safe for cotton, polyester, nylon, spandex and viscose
- Kind to water-repellent coatings
- Effective on hot and cold cycles
- Water-based and solvent-free
- Packed in a recyclable bottle with an automatic dosing system
- Efficient, lasting up to 10 washes
- Kind to your skin and the environment
Ready to give your apparel the care it deserves? Get your Sportswear Wash and our Water Repellent Wash and keep your performance gear performing at its peak for years to come.
