Caring for sublimated uniforms

by Scott M. Affordable Uniforms Online

Sublimated uniforms are available for all sports, ages, and genders. There are sublimated basketball uniforms, sublimated soccer uniforms, sublimated volleyball uniforms, and so much more!

Getting one of these uniforms is the best decision amateur teams and dedicated players can make. They’re comfortable, let your body perform at its best during the match, and they make you look very professional. Not to mention that you can engrave your team’s colors and design on them!

Caring for a sublimated uniform is just as important as choosing a high-quality manufacturer. Sublimated uniforms can last a very long time if you take care of them properly. The colors stay vivid, the design stays sharp, and the fabric stays light and soft if you look after it well.

In order for your uniform to live a long, happy life, we’ve put together this article. It is a guide on how to look after your uniform to make sure it’s not damaged during the washing process. You’ll see, taking good care of it is not hard at all and it will pay off!

The sublimation process

Sublimated uniforms are equipment that have gone through the sublimation process. This is the best printing technique available on the market today. It prints virtually any design and color onto a jersey or uniform of your choosing.

The best part about this whole process is that it does not make the fabric wrinkly or heavy at all. Unlike what happens with other printing techniques, the uniform is just as heavy and flowy after being printed as it was before.

But because this technique uses some special products, taking care of the end result is imperative. If you expose the uniform to the wrong temperatures or moistness levels, the dye could fade and ruin the overall look.

Washing sublimated uniforms

After a long practice, it’s no wonder that your uniform will start to smell. While with some custom uniforms you need to reduce the number of washes, you don’t need to worry about that with sublimated uniforms. As soon as you want to wash it, you can! As long as you do it properly…

The first thing you need to do is put them in the washing machine. Use a cycle that uses cold water (preferably) or warm water. Never, ever, ever wash your equipment with hot water, though!

Secondly, look at the colors of your uniform. Is it a colorful piece? If so, wash it with the colored clothes. If your uniform is white, however, wash it with white clothes. We recommend doing this because the dye on the uniform can easily transfer onto other pieces.

You also need to keep in mind that sublimated uniforms should always be washed inside-out. This protects the designs and the colors from fading away with hundreds of washes.

Next, always choose a mild detergent. Harsher detergents can be too rough on the colors and design of the uniform and damage it after some washes. Same thing goes for fabric softeners: never use them to wash sublimated uniforms.

The last thing to keep in mind is to not overfill the washing machine. On one hand, a too-full machine doesn’t wash well all the clothes. On the other hand, too much friction between the pieces of clothing means that your uniform might get damaged.

Drying sublimated uniforms

Getting your uniform dry shouldn’t be too much of a hassle. The best thing you could do is air-dry it. Take it out of the washing machine as soon as the cycle is done and hang it on a wooden or plastic hanger. Put it up outside or on a room that has good air ventilation, so it dries faster and properly.

If the weather doesn’t let you air-dry your equipment, you may use the dryer. But be careful! Only use the low-heat option of your machine. Always avoid drying the uniform with high heat. This may cause shrinkage and it will damage the design and colors of the uniform.

Where to store the uniform?

Storing also shouldn’t be a problem. Any drawer that is cool and dry will be a good home for your sublimated uniform. Just like you wouldn’t put your favorite shirt in a humid drawer, you wouldn’t do it either to the uniform. Humid places tend to promote mold growth between the fabric fibers. Yikes…

What NOT to do!

As you may have already noticed, there are some things that you should never, ever do to your sublimated uniform.

The first of all is also the most important. Don’t expose the uniform to high temperatures. This means avoiding the high-heat setting of your dryer and the hot-water setting of your washing machine.

Secondly, for the same reasons, never iron your uniform. High-heat ruins the colors and design of the uniform and will make it look bad in the long-run. Plus, most jersey and uniform material doesn’t need to be ironed either way, since it doesn’t wrinkle easily.

Another thing to keep in mind is to never take your uniform to the dry cleaners. Cleaning your uniform is something that’s very easy, anyway. And if you do take it to the dry cleaners, you might end up with a bad-looking uniform as a result…

Remember to always keep bleach and chlorine away from your sublimated uniform. Would you ever use bleach on your favorite blouse? We don’t think so… The same principle applies with sublimated uniforms. Bleach takes colors away and makes the fabric very rough: something you definitely do not want!

The last piece of advice is to never use fabric softener on your sublimated uniform. Once again, softeners are too rough on some materials and sublimated uniforms are no exception. The color that is infused in the fibers of the fabric might come off because of the softener.

Buying high-quality sublimated uniforms

Do you see how easy it is to care for sublimated uniforms? There are just so many advantages to getting good uniforms for your team… And a sublimated one is the best you can ever purchase!

Affordable Uniforms Online specializes in creating high-quality sublimated uniforms at an affordable price. We believe quality doesn’t have to cost a fortune, hence why we created an affordable line.

To get a quote today, all you have to do is call us. We’ll be more than happy to answer your questions and assure you there’s no better than our uniforms. After all, our specialists have been designing sublimated uniforms for more than two decades!