Which tool is important for cleaning catcher's gear?

You'll need the following cleaning tools. Mild cleaning agents or detergents Antibacterial and disinfectant wipes Stiff and soft bristles brush Cleaning rough cloth Washing machine Deodorizing spray

How to Clean Catcher's Gear? Do it Right

Does your catcher’s gear look dirty and dull? Have you ever cleaned it? If you have never given it a proper cleaning session, then this blog post is for you. Learn how to clean catcher’s gear in no minutes.

Catcher’s gear is like a constant companion of passionate baseball catchers. Having it always on the field with you can certainly make it dirty and stinky as well. Not washing it often can also leave a bad impression on your baseball fellows.

Do you know?

In addition to that, a well-washed and well-maintained catcher’s gear will last even longer. Catcher’s gear offers great protection during fielding. So cleaning it is your responsibility and it also makes you look presentable.

Doesn’t every player want to look extraordinary? Yes, they do. So stop procrastinating and start cleaning your catcher’s gear. Let’s not wait further time and get into learning the best way to clean a catcher’s gear.

How to Clean Catcher’s Gear?

To keep your catcher’s gear dirt-free and smell-free, it’s essential to wash or clean them regularly. Otherwise, there’s a strong chance that dirt can ruin them and you have to spend more money on buying new catcher’s gear.

Additionally, you have to be careful while washing all the parts of the catcher’s gear. You can’t use one washing process for cleaning all parts of the catcher’s gear. That’s why we have compiled this detailed guide so that you don’t ruin your gear. Here we go. Let’s learn how to clean catcher’s gear by using the right method.

How to Clean Different Parts of Catcher’s Gear?

Catcher gear consists of different parts and each part requires proper care to keep it clean and enhance performance. Following are parts of the catcher’s gear.

Catcher’s Helmet
Catcher’s Mitts
Catcher’s Chest protector
Catcher’s Bag
Catcher’s Shin Guards

Let’s start with a comprehensive guide on how to wash catcher’s gear.

Cleaning of Catcher’s Gloves

Catcher’s gloves or mitts are undoubtedly one of the most used and vital parts in gear. Mitts involve catching and passing the ball which means so much is going to stick to the mitts. All of the dirt and germs are going to produce a foul smell. That will be disgusting!

But no worries! Here is a step-by-step catcher’s glove-cleaning method to keep your leather catcher gloves safe.

The first step you should be doing is to take a hard bristle brush to scrub out all the dirt from the outer layer. You can also use a rough damp cloth to wipe down all the visible dirt. Additionally, it’s a great idea to scrub the dirt after each game.
If you want deep cleaning of gloves, you need to open the laces of gloves. This way you’ll be able to do a deep cleaning. Also, sometimes you might need to cut the laces off if there’s too much dirt.
For the next step, you need to apply a non-toxic cleaning agent on the layer of gloves. Take a soft fabric cloth and try to cover the whole surface of the mitts.
Keep dabbing the cleaning agent inside the gloves so that each part has enough cleaning agents. You can follow circular motion for better cleaning. Now, you have to wait for at least one day.

Gloves Conditioning

Conditioning is as important as cleaning the gloves. Conditioning provides life to your catcher’s gloves. Also, frequent conditioning allows your mitts to be long-lasting and in perfect shape.

Take glove conditioner or oil on the soft fabric cloth and cover the entire gloves with the oil. Make sure you’re not using an excessive amount of oil otherwise it may ruin the fabric of your glove. After that, keep the gloves for a day, at least.

Cleaning of Catcher’s Helmet

Catcher’s helmet is used to protect the head of the player from getting hit by a baseball. It’s one of the most used items that can get extremely dirty and smelly after each game. Having said that, not cleaning it’s going to make it stinky and not suitable for further use. So, here this guide will help you learn how to clean the inside of a baseball helmet.

Take a damp cloth and clean the dovetail halving of the helmet.
Now, rub the entire upper surface of the helmet with a mild detergent or soapy water. This will scrub out all the loose dirt from the helmet.
Now coming to the face mask attached to the helmet. You have to run a detergent-soaked cloth through it. As it’s the visible part of the helmet.
Consider washing the inner side of the helmet with mild detergent water if it’s producing too much odor due to sweating.
You can spray disinfectant on the entire surface of the helmet to remove germs.
Now that every part is cleaned, keep the helmet dry completely.

Cleaning of Catcher’s Shin Guards

Cleaning of Catcher’s Shin or Knee Guards won’t give you a hard time. Since they are easy to clean but wiping them with an antibacterial wipe after the game is not a bad idea. Here is the guide to how to clean catcher’s gear, the shin guards.

Take a tub of warm water, and mix mild detergent in it. Now soak the synthetic foam in the detergent water for 10 to 15 minutes. Now run it with the help of a soft bristle brush. Didn’t get too harsh with rubbing.
After washing this part, you need to keep it under sunlight to dry it entirely.
Now, let’s talk about the leather layer of shin guards. You don’t need to wash it, just an antibacterial wipe is enough to clean all the dirt. You can also use disinfectant spray for this purpose.
In the end, wash the knee foam with mild detergent water with the same procedure as the leg guard foam.

Cleaning of Catcher’s Chest Protector

A chest protector is another essential part of the catcher’s gear that needs a proper cleaning session. The chest protector consists of two parts, one is the inner part made of foam and fabrics while the second one is the outer layer made of plastic.

First of all, you need to separate both the inner and outer parts of the protector.
For cleaning chest protection, using a washing machine is perfectly fine. Also, it’ll make the washing process a lot easier.
Pour the warm water into the machine, add mild liquid detergent, and now put the foam part of the protector inside the machine.
Arrange the time according to you, 10 minutes would do fine. After washing every part of the chest protector, take every part out.
Now, air dries every part and keeps it under the sun for about 1 day.
If you don’t want to do deep cleaning, you can only use deodorizing spray as well.

Cleaning Catcher’s Bag

Where do you put all your catcher gear? In the Catcher’s Bag. Right? Using the catcher’s gear bag is going to get very dirty and full of sweat as well. So, cleaning it properly is essential for keeping all the gear clean and dirt-free.

Before starting the cleaning process, it’s recommended to move out all the gear.
Clean the loose dirt with the help of a stiff bristle brush or damp rough cloth.
Now, soak the bag in the soapy water solution for 20-30 minutes.
Keep rubbing the bag with a light hand or use a brush for scrubbing all the dirt stuck in the fabric.
After that, pour clean lukewarm water over the bag to rinse the detergent.
Now, air dries the bag under sunlight.

Cleaning Catcher's Bag - How to clean catcher's gear

Safety Precautions While Cleaning the Catcher’s Gear

Following are a few precautions you should keep in mind while washing the catcher’s gear.

Don’t use too much detergent. It may ruin the fabric and quality of the gear.
Make sure to do deep cleaning of the gear once in a while.
It’s great to provide sunlight to the catcher’s gear after washing.
Don’t rub or scrub the fabric of the gear too much or aggressively.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, you can wash the catcher’s gear in the washing machine. It’s surely a great and recommended way to clean the gear but you need to follow the instructions of the gear company. Because most of the parts of the catcher’s gear are made of foam and fabric, it can get ruined with constant and hard rotation of the washing machine.

Yes, you certainly can. These two kitchen ingredients are easily available everywhere and provide extraordinary cleaning properties. So, it is a great alternative to harsh detergents.

Most of the durable and well-constructed catcher’s gear can easily last for 4-5 seasons. On the other hand, less-durable equipment can only last for 2 seasons.

You’ll need the following cleaning tools.

Mild cleaning agents or detergents
Antibacterial and disinfectant wipes
Stiff and soft bristles brush
Cleaning rough cloth
Washing machine
Deodorizing spray

To keep the smell away from your catcher’s gear, you need to deodorize your gear with the help of deodorizing spray. Other than that, you should keep cleaning the catcher’s gear frequently to keep all the smell away.

Conclusion

Who doesn’t want to have clean and properly washed catcher’s gear? Regular cleaning keeps the gear useful for the long term and in shape for maximum seasons. Every baseball player must know the best ways to clean the catcher’s gear.

Catcher’s gear has different parts and each requires different caring and washing techniques. You must keep instructions in mind before starting the washing process.

It’s recommended to use glove conditioner and gloves oils to give your mitts a new life. Furthermore, cleaning the other parts with disinfectant wipes after a game is surely a great idea.

Now you must’ve learned how to clean catcher’s gear in the best way possible. Never keep dirty and sweaty. It’ll affect your whole personality. Happy Washing!