'Tis The Season To Clean Baseball Pants

'Tis the Season! Time for baseball. Time for a busier schedule. Time for making fun memories watching your player. Time for the struggle of cleaning baseball pants!

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Over the years, I have found my favorite methods for getting out stubborn clay. I tried MANY products including the overpriced ones that sold at sporting goods stores specifically for cleaning baseball pants. The best things I found were right under my nose in the grocery store.  I thought it would be helpful to share these with you.

First of all, do NOT use bleach on white pants. The pants will turn a yellowish tint and start looking dingy.

My son mostly wore white pants and my favorite discovery is IRON OUT.  It is a heavy-duty rust stain remover powder. Just a warning to take precaution when using it. The fumes are strong and you do not want to accidentally inhale it. I use either a 5-gallon bucket or bath tub because I have a front loader washer and soaking doesn’t work.  I often leave them longer that the directions say to soak. Partly because I find it works better but mostly because I get distracted and forget to put in the washer.

The directions provided by IRON OUT for cleaning whites are as follows"

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1. Add 1/2 cup to warm water as washer is filling (for front loading machines add to the detergent drawer).
2. Add clothes and let soak for 5 minutes (if possible, with soak cycle or by stopping machine).
3. Add detergent and resume wash/rinse cycle.
4. Dry as usual.

Another product that I learned about during many years of washing uniforms is Fels Naptha.  It is an inexpensive bar soap that works wonders. It works great on grass stains so does well on football pants too. It will remove clay but in my experience not as well as the Iron OUT if your player comes home covered.

Lastly, when stains are few and lighter, I use Spray and Wash, bought in bulk from Amazon or Costco.

Sometimes, I find it necessary to use a combination of these products. Please comment below and let us know your favorite way to clean baseball pants.