The Best Way To Clean And Maintain Goalkeeping Gloves

In the same way as any piece of football gear, goalkeeping gloves deteriorate if not maintained and cleaned correctly. It doesn’t matter how well-made or how expensive they are, over time they will lose their performance and appearance. Maintaining and cleaning will help slow this process down significantly.

The purpose of this article is to provide a deeper understanding of how to clean and maintain goalkeeping gloves.

A few essential tips

To get you started, here are some essential tips:

Prior to a match or practice

Taking care of your goalie gloves begins the moment they are first used. Pre-wash and let them naturally dry in accordance with the washing instructions. This process removes any preservatives from the manufacturing process, activates the latex, and ensures maximum grip. Second pre-washes are completely necessary.

During its use

You should occasionally dampen the palms of your gloves in order to ensure optimal grip and durability. The reason for this advice is that latex shouldn’t be dry. When you watch professional football matches, you’ll often notice that goalies squirt water into their gloves, sometimes even spitting on them.

After the Use

It’s inevitable that goalkeeping gloves need to be cleaned after being used in a training session or a match. Prior to anything else, wash them thoroughly (inside and out). Allow them to dry naturally after that. Don’t let them sit for too long, as the latex may become too brittle, affecting the grip and durability of the glove. There are some quality gloves available at Just Keepers that can take a punch, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Glove washing

The following are some general instructions for washing goalie gloves:

• It’s ideal to wash your gloves with warm water at a temperature of no more than 30 degrees Celsius after each use.
• If you use a goalie glove cleaner designed specifically for this purpose, you’ll get better results and save time.
• You should soak and rinse the gloves properly after using a glove cleaner, so that the cleaner is not left on the gloves.
• You should not machine wash your goalkeeping gloves, as it can damage them. Handwashing is recommended. Scrub the dirt off with your thumb, but do not use too much pressure to avoid tearing the latex. This is why brush/scrubbers aren’t recommended here.
• You should dry your gloves naturally once again. The use of artificial drying solutions such as a hairdryer and clothes dryer can damage latex and other glove materials.

Gloves drying

In order to prevent damage to your goalkeeping gloves, here are some things to avoid when drying them. The following methods should not be used to dry your gloves:

• The tumble dryer
• The iron
• The process of wringing them out
• The airing cupboard
• With a fire in front of you
• Direct sunlight

By using these methods, you will damage your gloves’ latex by making it brittle. It is recommended that you do not leave gloves out for more than a day after they have dried naturally.

Glove storage

The storage of goalie gloves is also an important aspect of glove maintenance. You should ensure that they don’t get wet when storing them.

In order to avoid over-drying, you’ll want to place the gloves inside a glove wallet. You must ensure that your palms do not touch during this process because the adhesive latex may tear if you leave it on too long.

Goalkeeping gloves should be properly washed before being stored away; dirt sticks to them.

When you purchase gloves, keep the thin plastic package each glove comes in after you buy them. Upon proper drying, each glove should be placed inside the packet, which provides them with a cool, dry (but not too dry) environment.

Maintenance and Cleaning of Goalkeeping Gloves

Hopefully, this guide will assist you in preparing your gloves for a match, maintaining them during play, and properly washing/drying them afterwards. If not taken care of properly, even the most expensive goalkeeping gloves will quickly deteriorate.

Make sure you follow our guidelines and you will be able to enjoy your favourite pair of goalie gloves without any worries. At some point, you will need to replace them, but let’s push it back as far as possible.