How to Get Stains Out of Soccer Jerseys

My son’s white 100 percent polyester soccer uniform is dirt-stained.  How can I safely bleach it?

I have good news for you: polyester fibers can be safely bleached with Clorox^® Disinfecting Bleach.  Chances are the shirt also has a player number and maybe even a name.  If those components are screen prints, then they should also be bleachable.  If they are sewn on, then as long as the shirt’s care label says “100 % polyester” and not “100% polyester exclusive of trim” then the shirt should still be bleachable and you can proceed as follows:

• • Start by rinsing away loose soil and ground-in dirt.
• • If the shirt is really dirty, then you could use a bleach soaking solution to really jump start cleaning.  For this, use ¼ cup Clorox^® Disinfecting Bleach per gallon of water and fully submerge the shirt for 5 minutes.
• • Drain the soaking solution and then wash the shirt in the hottest water recommended on the care label using detergent + ⅓ cup Clorox^® Disinfecting Bleach.
• • If you have localized dirt stains, you could skip the bleach soak and instead pretreat with a bleach and water solution made with ¼ cup Clorox^® Disinfecting Bleach added to ¾ cup water. Apply the bleach and water solution to the stain and then immediately machine wash the item using detergent and ⅓ cup Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach

Whatever you do, don’t give in to the temptation to apply full strength bleach to stains — in time the area that was exposed to undiluted bleach could end up with a hole!