How To Wash A Judogi | A Guide To Keeping Your Judogi Clean

Want to know the best way to properly clean your judogi? Don’t worry it is actually a pretty simple process. This easy three-step guide will show you exactly how to properly wash a judogi. Since you will probably spend a fair amount of money on your gi it is important to know how to properly take care of it. After all, washing a judogi is not as simple as throwing it in the laundry with all of your other clothes. So then how do you wash a judo gi?

The quick answer is that you want to flip your judo gi inside out and wash it with a high-quality detergent in cold water. You will want to avoid using bleach and other harsh chemicals on your judogi. Lastly, you want to avoid drying your judogi in the dryer. Instead, you want to air-dry your gi.

Of course, that is just the basics of how to wash a judogi. Later we will go over a more comprehensive guide to washing your judogi. But first, let’s talk about why and how often you should wash your gi. 

You should be washing your judogi after every class. Of course, this is assuming that you would like to make some friends at your judo school. It is considered bad etiquette to come to class with a dirty judogi or with bad hygiene in general.

Bad hygiene will not only make it harder to make friends but it can also cause serious problems. There are certain diseases that you can spread to other people at your school including ringworm and staph infections. 

One basic thing you can do to help prevent this is to keep your gi and your body clean. Which is why it is important to know how to properly wash your judogi.

I would also recommend that you invest in a handful of judogis. This will help to make sure you always have a clean gi to wear to class. If you do not have enough judogis then you might have to rush the drying process and potentially wear out your gis faster.

The 3 Steps To Washing A Judogi

#1 Turn Your Jodogi Inside Out 

The first thing you are going to want to do is to turn your judogi inside out. You will want to do this for both the jacket and the pants. This is true for washing any kind of gi. In fact, you would wash a BJJ gi the same way you would wash a judogi. 

The reason you want to do this is that it helps prevent damage on the outside of your judogi. This will help you keep the outside including any patches from wearing faster than it needs to. Make sure not to wash a white judogi with colored clothing.

#2 Use High-Quality Laundry Detergent 

After you have turned your judogi inside out, place it into the washing machine. Then you are going to want to make sure to use high-quality laundry detergent.  This is because during class you are going to work up a fair deal of sweat that is going to be absorbed by your judogi.

In addition, you will also absorb oil from other people’s bodies as well and might even get bloodstains or who knows what else on your judogi as well.  Because of this, you will want to use very good and powerful laundry detergent. My recommendation is to use Persil ProClean.

Persil ProClean was one of the few detergents that could handle tough stains from body oil and blood according to a study done by consumer reports. This makes it the perfect detergent to fight many of the strains commonly found on a judogi.

It is best to avoid using bleach and fabric softeners on your judogi. Later on, we will go over how to keep your judogi white without bleach. In addition, we will talk about how to get tough stains out as well. But for now, let’s stick to the three steps.

*Note: To help keep sweat off of your judogi you might also want to invest in some rashguards and spats. Simply put them on under your judogi so that they absorb the sweat instead of your judogi. I should mention that they are not allowed in competitions but I recommend wearing them during practice.

#3 Wash Your Judogi In Cold Water 

Something you will want to avoid at all costs is washing your judogi in hot water. Hot water will cause your judogi to wear out much faster. In addition, hot water will also cause your judogi to shrink. Unless you are trying to shrink your gi on purpose you will want to avoid this.

So before you start your cycle make sure that the water temperature is set to cold. There are also likely a few different washing cycle choices to choose from. Of course, not all washing machines are the same but there should be a setting for either delicate wash or hand wash cycle. Choose one of these two options.

Once you have chosen the right cycle and have set the water temperature to cold go ahead and press start. Then simply wait for the washing machine to do its thing. This brings us to an equally important part of the process. That is, of course, drying your judogi.

How To Properly Dry Your Judogi

Drying your judogi properly is just as important as washing it correctly. You do not want to dry your judogi in the dryer. The dryer will cause your judogi to wear out faster and will also cause it to shrink. So it is best to avoid using a dryer as much as possible.

Instead, you are going to want to let your judogi air dry by hanging it in a closet or outside in the shade. If you choose to let it air dry outside make sure that it is in the shade and not in the sun. Direct sunlight can cause discoloration and can potentially even shrink your gi.

That said, if you must put it in the dryer because you are short on time, make sure to put it in on a setting with little or no heat. This is usually called air dry, air fluff cycle, or tumble dry on most dryers. You mostly want to make sure not to shrink your gi. Note that I still do not recommend this but if you are going to do it you might as well know the best way to do it.

Perhaps a better method to help you dry out a judogi faster is to put it in front of a fan. Sure this might not be as fast as putting it into the dryer but it will certainly shave some time off the process. The truth however is that you should never really have to rush drying out your judogi.

This is because you should invest in a handful of judogis instead of only having one or two. You do not need a ton of them but working your way up to at least three judogis is a good idea. This way you always have a clean gi to wear to class.

That said, I understand that judogis are not super cheap. I am not saying you need three gis before you can start judo. Just that it would be a good idea to work your way up to it. If you invest in some good high-quality judogis and take care of them they should last a long time.

How To Get Tough Stains Out Of Your Judogi

The most important rule in getting a stain out of a judogi is to address the stain as soon as you can. A very common stain associated with a judogi is a bloodstain. Bloodstains can be a pain if you do not address them quickly. The best way to get rid of bloodstains is with hydrogen peroxide.

If at all possible apply some 3% percent hydrogen peroxide to the bloodstain while it is still fresh. It will likely come off immediately. Then rinse it off with cold water. After that, wash your gi like you typically would as soon as you get home.

If you cannot get to the stain immediately and have to wait till you get home then I would recommend using white vinegar. This would be the preferred method if the bloodstain has already dried. If so, pour a small amount of white vinegar directly on the stain and let it soak for 10 minutes.

Then use a towel to blot out the stain. You might need to repeat this process and few times. Afterward, wash your judogi like you usually would. Avoid using bleach and other harsh chemicals on your judogi. If you need to keep your gi nice and white there is a better solution. This solution is also great for removing general stains as well.