There’s more to staying on top of your game than just the reps you put in during practice. Off the field, it’s important to remember that taking good care of your gear is an essential part of performance.
And when it comes down to successfully catching the football in those game-defining moments, you want your gloves to be as ready as you are. Nobody knows this better than professional wide receiver Jalen Tolbert, so we tapped him to take us through a very important off-the-field play: How to wash football gloves to keep them game-ready.
WHY YOU SHOULD CLEAN FOOTBALL GLOVES
Beyond maintaining the grip surfaces on your gloves, which helps you catch and keep the ball, regular cleanings also ensure the rest of the fabric stays in good condition. That means you can hold onto a pair for a full season (or beyond), saving you money and saving the landfill from more waste.
Need another reason to learn how to wash your football gloves? With every use, sweat and grime work their way into the fabric, which can lead to a buildup of bacteria that can irritate skin and emit a surprisingly pungent odor. Nobody wants that, so give your gloves a quick spa day every ten wears or so. Your teammates, coaches, friends, and family thank you in advance.
HOW TO CLEAN FOOTBALL GLOVES
1. Remove gloves
2. Prep your cleaning supplies
3. Scrub gloves
4. Rinse gloves
5. Air dry gloves
Keep reading for more details on each step. The good news? It’s easy.
STEP ONE: REMOVE GLOVES
This is maybe a no-brainer, but first you’ll want to take your gloves off to get them clean. Turn them inside out, so you can be sure to wash away sweat from your hands. In our experience, this is the hardest part of the job, because those grip surfaces can stick to each other while you’re trying to get all the fingers inside out. It’s worth the effort though to get them nice and clean!
STEP TWO: PREP YOUR CLEANING SUPPLIES
Once your gloves are ready, prepare the rest of your cleaning supplies. All you need is a sink or bucket to fill with cold water and a little bit of gentle soap or detergent. Using cold water is important here, because hot water would potentially damage the fabric and grip surfaces of your gloves. Make the water nice and sudsy, and then you’re ready to get to cleaning.
STEP THREE: SCRUB GLOVES
Dunk your gloves into the soapy water. Once they’re soaked through and sudsed up, start gently scrubbing them with your hands to wash away sweat and grime. Work the soap into the fabric but avoid scratching with your fingernails or stretching the gloves out in a way that could misshape them. If your gloves are particularly dirty, you can leave them to soak in your sink or bucket for up to an hour.
STEP FOUR: RINSE GLOVES
Now you’re ready to rinse. You can go ahead and drain your sink or dump out your bucket, and then start rinsing the gloves with fresh, cold water. Start with them inside out as they’ve been, then turn them back to normal and continue washing out the soap. Don’t rush through this step—keep rinsing until the water runs clear and you no longer see any soap or bubbles left behind. Reason being, if any residual suds are left to dry on the grip fabric, it can affect the performance of those all-important ball-catching surfaces (and not in a good way). All it would take is a little bit of sweat or water during a game to re-activate those soap remnants, and you’d have yourself some inconveniently slippery gloves.
STEP FIVE: DRY GLOVES
Alright, we’ve finally made it to the final maneuver of this play: Getting your football gloves dry. Like the previous steps, this one is as easy as it gets. Simply hang your gloves somewhere with good air circulation so they can dry, like a drying rack or even by clipping them on a hanger or clothesline. Whatever you do, don’t throw your gloves into the dryer. As mentioned earlier, heat will damage the fabric.
We should mention that if you do find yourself needing your hands free for other tasks, you can wash your football gloves using a washing machine. Turn the gloves inside out and throw them into a pillowcase for added protection. Use cold water, gentle detergent, and wash them on a delicate cycle. And as for drying, the principle remains the same: Air dry only. Our best tip for how to keep football gloves sticky in a pinch is simple: use a baby wipe to remove dirt and grime from the grippy parts of your gloves.
Add this play to your routine to keep your gloves sticky and fresh for games, practice, and seasons to come. Curious how to clean other common training gear? Check out our cleaning guides for cleaning running shoes, hiking shoes, and more. Need help finding your ideal fit for cleats? Read up in our Football Cleats Guide to choose the right pair for you.