One of the questions we get asked the most by our customers is how they should clean their karate gi. How should it be washed? What recommendations should I follow to keep my kartegui in perfect condition and make it last longer? In this article we will try to answer these questions.
Every karateka must take the utmost care of his or her personal image, which includes the care and cleanliness of his or her own Gi. It is something we must do out of respect for ourselves, but also for the Dojo and the other karateka.
Karategis are made from natural fabrics and it is very important to follow the official washing instructions. If we follow the brand’s recommendations, we will prevent the karategi from shrinking, its fabric from deteriorating prematurely and, in short, its useful life from being shortened.
Tips for washing your karategi
However, the continuous use of the karate gi, the demands of training and competitions or the appearance of stains can force us to look for cleaning techniques that make it easier to wash without damaging the fabric. For this reason we are going to divide this post into two parts: on the one hand (I) official instructions, which we recommend from Hajime Karate, and secondly, (II) home tips from some of our customers that help us to extend the life of our Gi and keep it impeccable for longer.
(I) These are the official instructions for washing your karategui:
- Wash gently at a maximum temperature of 30 °C, higher temperatures may cause shrinkage.
- Do not use bleach or whitener products, as this may cause breakage.
- Drying is not recommended.
- Iron without steam at a maximum temperature of 110 degrees.
- Do not wash black Karategi or coloured belts together with other items to prevent them from fading.
- Do not dry the karategui in the sun. It is advisable to dry the karategui in the shade.
(II) Recommendations from our customers!
However, everyone has their own way of doing things’ From Hajime Karate we have contacted some of our best customers and asked them a series of questions to learn and draw conclusions from the experience of washes and washes of karate fans like us.
María, from Madrid
- Do you use fabric softener? No.
- At what maximum temperature do you wash it? At 40 °C.
- How long is the programme? Short programme, 45 minutes.
- Do you use bleaching products? And bleach? No and no.
- Do you dry it on a hanger? Yes.
- Do you iron it wet? No.
- How many days a week do you wash it? Once a week.
- How old is the karategui you are washing? Two years.
- How do you remove traces of sweat from the most blackened parts of the collar lapel, hips, etc.? Do you brush it with a brush or rub it with something before washing? Yes, we put dish soap on it before washing it.
Paula, from Barcelona
- Do you use fabric softener? Yes, white fabric softener.
- At what maximum temperature do you wash it? At 30 °C.
- How long is the programme? Around one hour.
- Do you use bleaching products? And bleach? No bleach, only bleaching product.
- Do you dry it on a hanger? No, I dry it only in the shade.
- Do you iron it wet? No, completely dry.
- How many days a week do you wash it? Three times a week.
- How old is the karategui you are washing? One and a half years.
- How do you remove traces of sweat from the most blackened parts of the collar lapel, hips, etc.? Do you brush it with a brush or rub it with something before washing? With liquid detergent all stains are completely removed.
Victor, from Seville
- Do you use fabric softener? No.
- At what maximum temperature do you wash it? At 40 °C.
- How long is the programme? About an hour or so.
- Do you use bleaching products? And bleach? Bleaching product yes, bleach no.
- Do you dry it on a hanger? No, folded.
- Do you iron it wet? No, dry.
- How many days a week do you wash it? The competition one, only after competition and the training one two or three days per week.
- How old is the karategui you are washing? The one to compete for a year and a half and the one to train for three years.
- How do you remove traces of sweat from the most blackened parts of the collar lapel, hips, etc.? Do you brush it with a brush or rub it with something before washing? Applying anti-stain product in that area.
Lúcás, from Brussels
- Do you use fabric softener? A little fabric softener.
- At what maximum temperature do you wash it? At 40 °C.
- How long is the programme? One-hour wash.
- Do you use bleaching products? And bleach? Only bleaching product.
- Do you dry it on a hanger? I dry it on ropes.
- Do you iron it wet? Dry ironing with steam.
- How many days a week do you wash it? Once a week.
- How old is the karategui you are washing? Five years.
- How do you remove traces of sweat from the most blackened parts of the collar lapel, hips, etc.? Do you brush it with a brush or rub it with something before washing? Before washing, rub the collar, cuffs, hems and the sweatiest parts of the garment with a brush.
Conclusions
- A little detergent is enough. Most of our customers do not use fabric softener, although some add a little.
- Maximum 40ºC. Although 30º is recommended, you may get better results if you occasionally wash it in slightly warmer water when you need to remove stubborn stains.
- Short programmes: It is best to use short wash programmes that do NOT exceed one hour.
- Do not use bleach: although some of our customers use bleach-free bleach.
- Dry ironing: all of these are in line with official recommendations.
- Wash it only as much as you need to make it last much longer.
- To remove stains before putting it in the washing machine, give it a brush and soap, even with some grease or stain remover to help with the cleaning of the parts with more scuffing.ra.
Remember that Shureido karategis are handmade from the Japanese island of Okinawa. And it has a very particular bluish-white colour in order to preserve the whiteness for a longer period of time and to prevent the fabric from yellowing.
We hope these tips will help you to keep your karategi as good as the first day and for much longer. And if you have any ideas or recommendations to make, don’t hesitate to share them. You will surely help many karatekas to show off an impeccable Gi, just like in the legendary advertising from the 80’s in Spain.
